By Kate Hill

Staff Writer

On March 9, the Village of Cazenovia Planning Board voted to conditionally approve revisions to the site plan for 33 Rippleton Road — the former home of Empire Farm Brewery.

DeWitt-based Feldmeier Equipment and its holding company, Rocale, LLC, purchased the facility at a bankruptcy auction last fall for $3.44 million.

The property’s new owners plan to re-open and to continue the prior operation of a mixed-use agricultural/farmstead brewery business and associated restaurant and visitor accommodation areas on the premises. Such uses are currently permitted in the planned development district within which the premises are located.

The application submitted by Rocale, LLC proposes the following site plan modifications: the addition of 129 new designated parking spaces; the construction of an enclosure around the existing outdoor patio area to create a “three season” dining area; the extension of the outdoor patio area immediately adjacent and to the west of the existing patio area; the reconstruction of the canopy over the existing customer entrance on the northerly side of the building; and additional landscaping and associated improvements to the existing storm water management areas and facilities.

A resolution granting the application for amended site plan approval and architectural approval was filed on March 10.

The planning board made its determination after considering all correspondence and submitted materials (e.g., architectural drawings, a boundary and topographic survey map of the project site, a storm water pollution prevention plan, a traffic report, a site photometrics plan, etc.); input from the village engineer and other professionals; comments from the Cazenovia Area Conservation Commission; and written and oral input from the public — including a number of concerns voiced by neighbors at the Feb. 10 public hearing.

Prior to granting approval, the board also made a determination with respect to the New York State Environmental Quality and Review Act (SEQRA).

According to the adopted resolution, “The Board’s view of the objective evidence in the record leads it to the conclusion that while the Action will involve a physical change to the project site, particularly with respect to the vehicle parking areas, that change will improve the function and operation of the site and does not entail any significant adverse environmental impacts.”

The resolution also notes that in making its determination of significance, the board found that there are no potentially significant adverse impacts with respect to any of the principle areas of concern — impact on land, impact on transportation, impact on noise, odor and light, and potential impact on community character.

“The board did its best to address the desire of the applicant to move quickly in order to make a successful investment in our community,” said Planning Board Chairman Rich Huftalen. “At the same time, we felt the need to put conditions in the approval to limit the impact on the neighborhood, especially given the applicant’s stated desire to hold events. The resolution we passed was an attempt to balance the interests of the stakeholders and the community at large.”

The resolution lists the following conditions of approval:

1. The conditions of PDD zoning approval imposed by the board of trustees and all prior conditions of site plan approval imposed by the planning board shall remain applicable.
2. Final engineering approval of the storm water pollution prevention plan.
3. Issuance of any permit required by the NYS Department of Transportation for any relocation of the business identification sign affecting the Route 13 highway right of way.
4. No signage shall be applied to the grain silos. The sign near the Route 13 entrance shall be in substantial conformance with previously submitted (March 2, 2020) drawings, unless otherwise specifically approved by the planning board. Lighting for the sign shall be ground-mounted or downward facing goose necks facing the sign faces, with the minimum wattage and lumens necessary for nighttime visibility of the sign.
5. Construction of the berm and fencing near the southerly boundary of the premises shall be completed, along with the planting of all trees, no later than May 1, 2020.
6. All operations of the facility shall occur within the building and the patio area adjoining the westerly side of the building. No tents or other temporary structures or facilities are permitted on lawns and/or in parking areas. Planning board-approved signs shall be installed to encourage patrons outside these areas to remain within the parking areas and designated pedestrian trail access areas.
7. Total patron seating capacity at any one time shall not exceed 360 seats, of which not more than 70 may be located in the expanded “Phase II” patio area and not more than 88 of which may be located in the proposed three season room.
8. Operating hours shall end no later than 10 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and no later than 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
9. All delivery trucks shall enter and exit the site between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Monday through Friday, and between 9 a.m. and noon on Saturdays. There may be no Sunday deliveries.
10. Phase II improvements affecting the building’s exterior and/or site shall be presented in detail for further approval by the planning board prior to the issuance of any building permit or the commencement of construction. Designs for the three-season room enclosure, the expanded patio and retaining wall, and all associated lighting shall be submitted. All lighting shall be directed downward and/or toward the main brewery building, and shall be dark skies compliant.
11. The Phase II patio retaining wall/seating shall be at least as high as that shown in the photographic representation submitted with the applicant’s March 2, 2020 letter. There shall be no means of patron access directly from the patio to the adjacent lawn areas, except to the extent necessary to comply with NYS fire and/or building codes. The planning board shall approve the final design and appearance of the wall upon further application.
12. All “Phase I” site lighting shall be dark skies compliant and shielded to direct light toward the interior of the site. All exterior lighting will be reviewed as part of the evaluation of the Phase II improvements.
13. All buses transporting patrons to and/or from the site shall arrive no later than 4 p.m. and shall park only in the designated area. There shall be no idling of buses for longer than five minutes.
14. There shall be no amplified music or sound of any type, whether live or recoded, permitted outside the brewery/restaurant building. No such sounds shall be permitted in the three seasons room, on the patio, or on the exterior grounds, and no such amplified sound within the brewery shall be audible beyond the property lines of the premises.
15. The loading dock area shall be for the loading and unloading of trucks only.
16. All planted vegetation shall be replaced if it dies or becomes substantially stressed after planting. The applicant shall enter into a landscaping maintenance agreement to ensure the continued future maintenance of the landscaping prior to the commencement of site work.
17. The applicant shall enter into a maintenance agreement with the village providing for the permanent maintenance of all storm water management facilities as well as access rights for the village to enter the premises and perform maintenance in the event of the owner’s failure to do so.
18. The applicant shall present proof of a current license from NYS to operate a farm brewery on the premises prior to the issuance of a building permit.

The village planning board meets on the second Monday of each month at 7 p.m. in the Village Municipal Building. For more information, visit villageofcazenovia.com.