A highly visible and abandoned property on the corner of Route 13 and Starr Road received a breath of fresh air with plans made to turn the property into a sales lot for Hartley’s RVs, but now faces an uncertain future.
During the Town of Cortlandville planning board meeting on Tuesday evening, owner Steve Hartley was in attendance seeking a conditional permit to sell up to 50 campers on the property. Hartley is a well known businessman with dealerships located in Polkville and next to Aldi in Cortlandville.
What was supposed to be a brief discussion on the number of campers allowed on the property turned into more of a push by some board members on what they wanted to see done to the property.
Board member, Ann Hotchkin, spoke and even presented renderings (which she had done) of what she would like the building to look and even brought color samples. She did note to Hartley that he didn’t have to pick these colors she had, but would like the building to be updated.
Additionally, she continued she would like to see greenspace added including trees, shrubbery, and grass. Hartley informed the board that he did have plans to spruce up the building, reseal the parking lot and remove aging light fixtures. He continued on to say though that adding green space could prove costly, a section of pavement would need to be removed, and placing trees would attract birds that could damage products on the lot.
On the discussion of how many spaces should be allotted for campers, the board agreed 40 would be a better number than the 50 Hartley had requested. Arguments by Hartley were that he needs a variety of campers available for his customers and a low number of campers allowed on the property would prove to be unsustainable.
In the end, the board asked Hartley if he was willing to hire a landscaper to look at the property, estimates mentioned were about $500. Hartley agreed he could look into this, but it is not definite he will return to the board next month with a revised site plan.
*Featured Image via Google*
