Village approves zoning law updates

WATKINS GLEN--After months of tabling action on the law and conducting revisions, the Watkins Glen village board finally passed a local law Monday, Sept. 19, updating their zoning code.
One of the main concerns voiced by residents throughout the entire process was wording in the law that limits where and how long a person can park a recreational vehicle (RV). One village resident continued to voice these concerns Monday, noting many people in the village are not able to meet the requirements to park their RV on their property. She stated this will result in an increased cost for RV owners who will now have to pay to rent space to store their vehicle on other lots.
"The main intention of this law is to get these things off the street," Village Trustee Tony Fraboni said. He also said it is part of buying an RV or a boat and trailer to have a proper place to store them, which sometimes means incurring an additional storage cost. Fraboni has previously mentioned hearing complaints from residents who have had RVs park along the street and in front of their houses while living there for most of the summer.
Trustee Laurie DeNardo added it can be a safety issue to have a boat or an RV parked on the street. She sympathized with how much it can cost to store something like a boat and trailer, recommending if the village has any room to have some smaller fee to help the residents have a place to store their vehicles. Mayor Sam Schimizzi said that is something the board can work toward.
Action on the law was also tabled during last month's meeting due to several grammatical errors and contradictory statements found by some village residents. County Planner Kristin VanHorn said the village planing board went through the law word by word fixing the mistakes, several of which she said dated back to the 2004 law.
Once the law was approved, the board said they can still go back and make adjustments if certain issues come up. The law will not go into effect until filed with the secretary of state, which could take anywhere from one to three weeks.
In other business:
• Watkins Glen Fire Chief Charlie Scaptura and Deputy Chief Robert DeDominick discussed the village department's upgrade in their ISO (Insurance Services Office) rating. ISO governs the fire rates and cost of fire insurance to homes and businesses. DeDominick said with one being the best and 10 being the worst, Watkins Glen use to have a 10 country rating and a six rating in the village in 2001. He said this was then upgraded to eight and four respectively in 2003, which was sustained until the department's recent upgrade to a two, as part of the new protection classes. DeDominick said this should especially have an impact on area businesses when it becomes official Dec. 1.
• The board accepted a small increase in park rates for 2017. Seasonal camping will increase from $2,300 to $2,325, seasonal cable will increase from $190 to $200, seasonal boat parking will increase from $175 to 200 and seasonal camper boat parking will increase from $50 to $60. The skate fee was also increased from $5 to $7 for Friday night skate, and from $95 to $100 for special skate events.