Storage facilities plans in LeRay move forward

EVANS MILLS — Plans for two self-storage facilities along Route 11 in the Town of LeRay are moving forward.

The town Planning Board gave final site plan approval to one project and clarified lot size requirements for another at its meeting earlier this month.

The board put some conditions on its approval of Walter H. VanTassel's proposed three-story permanent self-storage and truck rental facility at Holbrook Road and Route 11. Mr. VanTassel will have to combine two adjacent lots he wants to use for the project.

Mr. VanTassel owns only one of the lots he wants to use for the project. The requirement that he combine the lots means he must purchase the other lot before his project can move forward.

Mr. VanTassel also will have to secure permits from the town for driveway entrances and water and sewer connections before the Planning Boardwill issue a permit, Community Development Coordinator Jessica L. Jenack said.

All previous approvals for another use of the site were withdrawn, which means a building with three storage units now on the site must be removed.

The Planning Board also revisited a plan for a self-storage facility, truck rental and auto repair business along Route 11's northbound lanes south of Holbrook Road, proposed by developer Gaetano Javarone.

A question arose about the minimum lot size requirement for the facility, since it would combine two uses: an auto repair shop, which requires 30,000 square feet under the town's zoning law, and truck rental storage, which requires 11/2 acres. The law does not preclude dual uses, but does not specify how the board should deal with the matter of minimum lot size requirements in such cases.

Rather than adding together the minimum lot size requirements, the Planning Board decided to use the stricter of the two size requirements for Mr. Javarone's dual-use proposal. In this case, that would mean a minimum lot size of 1.5 acres. That excludes an area behind the lot reserved for a future town road.

A public hearing was set for the Planning Board's Dec. 3 meeting before final site plan approval can be granted on Mr. Javarone's application.