The Leader-Herald
GLOVERSVILLE – A former Captain Video store could be turned into a dog grooming business under a proposal being reviewed by the city Planning Board.
Jessica Palloni of Canine Design LLC presented her plans to the board Tuesday. The former video store is at 36 Fourth Ave.
The board scheduled a public hearing for 7 p.m. Oct. 1, contingent on Palloni making revisions to her site plan.
Board member said Palloni needs to change the layout of an outside dog pen to prevent waste from potentially running down the slope and into the street.
Originally Palloni planned to have the pen sitting alongside the building, near the entrance, but she wasn’t sure how to clean the paved area or prevent runoff. The board told her instead to reduce the pen’s size and use green space, where the waste would be absorbed into the soil instead of running off.
Board Member John Castiglione raised a concern about the amount of noise dogs would create in a residential area. But Palloni said the dogs would only be in the pen when they need to relieve themselves, and only dogs from the same household would be in the pen at the same time.
She said when the dogs aren’t outside, they would be placed in a crate inside the building until their owner picked them up.
She said no dogs would be boarded. Most customers would leave their pets there only three to four hours, she said.
The Planning Board also asked for Palloni to have her site plan identify the traffic pattern of the parking lot and include plans for barriers to control how vehicles enter and exit the driveway. They also asked her to identify the available spaces at the site as well.
The city previously changed the zoning for the owners of the former Captain Video building, allowing more flexibility for the site’s use.
City Attorney Anthony Casale previously said zoning on that side of the street was residential, while the opposite side was zoned residential/commercial.
Since the property is on the border of that zoning district, the city could extend the other zone from across the street, Casale said.
Cafe and apartments
Also at Tuesday’s meeting, Marae Tesi of Town and Country Properties presented a plan that would create additional residential units in an apartment building she purchased, and also create a new cafe space in the location that used to house Stump City.
Tesi plans to add seven apartments and a laundry room to 5 Fremont St., which now has 12 units. Tesi’s plans indicate there used to be 20 units in the building, but a previous owner changed the layout without Planning Board approval.
The cafe that would provide not only beverages and food but also space for local artwork, as well as an open mic for musicians. She said she would be hiring staff once the project has been approved by the board.
“I’m trying to bring residents and something to do to downtown Gloversville,” Tesi said.
She told the board her cafe would be open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday to Saturday.
Tesi said she also has plans to open a candy shop next to the cafe in another portion of the former Stump City, store but those plans haven’t progressed enough for her to present them to the board.
Board Vice Chairman James Anderson asked Tesi to provide a Knox Box which conveniently stores business keys for first responders to access a building in the event of an emergency.
Members of the board also asked Tesi to clearly identify the parking spaces she has available in a nearby lot.
A public hearing was scheduled for the board’s next meeting, which is at 7 p.m. Oct. 1.
