Village of Otisville
Zoning Board of Appeals
Meeting Minutes
January 13th, 2021
Meeting Called to Order by: Maureen Coppola, Chairwoman, 7:07pm
Present: Chairwoman: Maureen Coppola, Board Members: Joe Fornera, and Kathy
Coppola
Present Remotely: Board Member, Mary Ann McDonough
Excused Absent: Board Member, Angelo Pagano
Guests: Mr. Ben Smith, Mr. Mike McCaw, Mr. Loren McCune, Owner’s/
Representatives Unison Projects, LLC, Mr. Sherman Mann, Village Resident
Chair Woman Coppola opened the meeting with a public announcement that the board
will not be voting tonight on the Unison Project LLCS application for a variance as the
Village’s legal council is unable to attend the meeting as he is still in Tennessee.
New Business: Distribution of updated Village Employee handbook to members of the
board. Chairwoman Coppola distributed the updated handbook pages to members of
the board who signed them and returned them to the ZBA secretary. DIscussed ways to
get copies of the updated handbook pages to the members of the board who were not
present at the meeting.
Correspondence: Thank You letter from MaryAnn McDonough to the board.
Chairwoman Coppola turned the meeting over to the guest’s from Unison Projects LLC.
Mr. Ben Smith introduced himself as a representative of the applicant who is also a part
owner of the LLC. Engineer John Fuller, and Attorney Onofry were unable to attend the
meeting. He wished to inform the board of who UNISON is. They are four partners. He
introduced two other partners who came with him to the meeting, Mr.Mike McCaw who
lives locally in Deer Park for the past 6 years, and Mr. Lauren McCuen resident of Deer
Park/ Port Jervis for a few years and is currently the President of the Port Jervis Rotary.
Mr. Smith wished to recap to the board Attorney Onofry’s presentation of the 5 Criteria
and compliance needed for a variance. Board member MaryAnn McDonough interjected
that since the public hearing had been closed, the applicant should have no further
comment with regard to the application, and the ZBA should not entertain them since
the public hearing has been closed. Chairwoman Coppola voiced that it is unfortunate
that the Village’s attorney was not available to ask if the Applicant has the right to
further comment at this point in the process since the public hearing has been closed.
Mr.Smith stated that if it would cause any issue if they were to continue, that no further
comment on their part was necessary and that they need not say anymore.
Boardmember McDonough feels that it would be a disservice to the public who are not
present, and that by allowing the applicant to continue to present, they may influence
the opinion of the board members.
7:25pm- UNISON Project LLC’s members left the meeting.
After the applicant left, the members of the board discussed their concerns if the
Village’s attorney is still away when the board needs to vote on issuing the variance.
Chairwoman Coppola assured the board that they would have the necessary legal
council needed to complete the vote within the 62 day time frame from the date of the
public hearing. She asked if any members had any questions concerning the January
6th public hearing. At this time, 7:27 village resident Sherman Mann left the Village Hall.
Chairwoman Coppola states that the members of UNISON Projects LLC may have
shown up so that the board members can see that they are local people, since it was
asked at the public hearing who the principal players of the company are. Chairwoman
Coppola reminds the members of the board what their responsibilities are when passing
a determination for an area variance. The board must address the 5 factors and be
concrete in their thoughts. They are not to be emotional in their decision making, but
should go step by step through the 5 points. Board member asked to what degree do
they take the public’s opinion into account. He was referred to pages 75 and 76 in the
Zoning manual where is it explained what to be concerned about and the powers and
duties of the board are, and what it to be taken into consideration when making the
determination. Chairwoman Coppola will research literature to see if there is a written
rule regarding the public’s opinion in the decision making process before the board’s
next meeting. Chairwoman Coppola asked the members of the board to review the
differences between an area variance and a use variance to make sure they are looking
at the application the right way.
The board reviewed the minutes from the public hearing.
A motion was made:
Joe Fornera made a motion to approve the minutes from the January 6th Public Hearing
Kathy Coppola 2nd the motion
All in Favor- None opposed
Board Member Fornera asked when the next meeting would be as he’s looking to head
south for the winter but does not want to leave before the board votes. Chairwoman
Coppola said that the next meeting is scheduled for February 10th, but they may need
to have a special meeting sooner if necessary. She would prefer to meet when the
Village’s legal council present. The members of the board are not opposed to having a
special meeting if needed.
A motion is made:
Kathy Coppola makes a motion to adjourn the meeting
Joe Fornera 2nd the motion
All in favor, none opposed.
Meeting Adjourned 8:05pm
The next meeting is February 10th, 7pm
Respectfully Submitted:
Dawn Howell, ZBA Secretary
CC: Village Board, Building Inspector, ZBA Liaison, Planning Board, File
