CLAYTON — The owners of the French Creek Marina are proposing to construct 26 cottages on some vacant land at the marina.
Representatives of the owners will present plans for the cottages to the town planning board at 7 p.m. Thursday during a pre-application conference.
Town zoning enforcement officer Richard A. Ingerson said Wednesday that details are slim about the project and the planning board will “get a little more explanation” at tonight’s conference.
The property is owned by Wilburt C. Wahl Jr. LLC. Mr. Wahl is retired and his son, Heinz, is involved in the proposal.
Heinz Wahl couldn’t be reached for comment.
The site plan review for the “cottage colonie” project is tentatively scheduled for the April 6 planning board meeting.
The Jefferson County Planning Board also reviewed the project on Tuesday. The owners did not attend the county planning board meeting.
Senior county planner Andrew R. Nevin didn’t know much about the project, either.
The cottages must be 600 square feet or larger, according to town zoning laws. They meet minimum setback rules, Mr. Nevin said.
The county expressed some concerns about drainage from the cottages to nearby properties.
Fourth Coast Inc., a renewable energy company in Clayton, is the engineering firm working on the project.
French Creek Marina, a popular tourist destination, draws visitors interested in camping, trailering, boating and diving.
More debate occurred on another project involving the marina during Tuesday’s county planning board meeting, Mr. Nevin said. The owners plan to build a marina/convenience store at 817-821 State St. The existing store had issues with flooding in 2017 and 2019.
That project was initially approved by both the town and county planning boards about a year ago, but the owners have proposed changing the configuration of the building by 90 degrees so it faces Route 12E, Mr. Nevin said.
Because of that change, the project had to go back to the planning boards for reapproval.
“Generally, it’s the same project,” Mr. Nevin said.
The new store would be built on higher ground. It also would attract more customers because it would be more visible to the busy state highway, Mr. Nevin said.
On Tuesday, two neighbors, Tracy Brabant and Ann Major-Stephenson, expressed their opposition to the project, contending it would change the character of the residential neighborhood.
They object that two historic houses will be torn down to make room for the store. They also complained about some old boats and junk that’s on another part of the marina property not associated with either project.
The building would be split up for the store and two other possible tenants.
County planning board members had a list of questions that they recommended that the town pursue.
They suggested landscaping around the building, citing that the store would be on the Great Lakes Scenic Byway. They also expressed issues about drainage from the property, the impact of lighting on neighboring properties and the existence of possible wetlands.
Mr. Ingerson said that he was meeting with the developers on Wednesday afternoon to discuss the fate of the store project and he would have more information about it at Thursday’s town planning board meeting.
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