Planning Board issues SEQR negative declaration for Angry Pig but defers final site approval pending parking variance

The Town of Lysander Planning Board designated itself lead agency under the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act and issued a negative declaration for the controlled site use application filed by Joshua Reynolds for The Angry Pig at 2935 Lamson Road, but the board deferred final site-plan approval until the applicant secures a parking variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals.

Joshua Reynolds, owner of The Angry Pig, told the board the project will be built in phases and includes a 28-foot-by-30-foot pavilion on the north side, an east-side addition replacing an existing bump-out with three new restrooms (one ADA compliant), expanded mechanical space and a roughly 900–950 square-foot dining area intended to accommodate about 25 to 30 people. “There will be additional seating there,” Reynolds said, adding that current seating is about 40 with space for additional capacity during events.

Town Engineer Al Yager told the board that Lysander’s code calculates required parking on gross floor area rather than seating, a formula that can raise parking requirements for restaurants with large kitchens or mechanical spaces. Yager described a plan using angled parking and reduced drive-aisle widths paired with grass overflow parking to reach the required count, but said the applicant will need a parking-variance from the ZBA. “The Landscape Architect ... elected to go with angled parking spaces to meet the number of spaces that are required for the gross floor area of the restaurant,” Yager said, and added that the angled layout prevents meeting the standard 24-foot drive aisle.

Board members and staff discussed whether parking calculations should be tied to seating capacity instead of gross area; that change would be a Town Board matter. Planning Board member Steve Darcangelo said the current code creates unintended burdens for barbecue and other restaurants that have large back-of-house equipment. Two handicap parking spaces were shown on the plan, consistent with the code requirement, and Yager reiterated that the applicant will seek a parking variance.

Reynolds asked for permission to host trivia nights and occasional acoustic performers in the pavilion; he described modest evening hours and said he was not seeking large concerts. “I’m not looking to bring in Luke Bryant and having a huge concert,” Reynolds said. Chairman John Corey cautioned the applicant about amplified sound near nearby residences and noted the town noise ordinance, which reduces the allowable sound level to 60 decibels from 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. The board said it may place limits on hours or speaker use as conditions of any future approval.

By motion of Chairman John Corey, seconded by Matt Hunt, the board voted 5–0 to designate itself lead agency for SEQR; shortly after, by motion of Corey and seconded by Hugh Kimball, the board voted 5–0 to issue a negative declaration after reviewing the Short Environmental Assessment Form. Rather than act on the Controlled Site Use that evening, the board directed Reynolds to apply to the ZBA for the required parking variance and to return with an updated site plan at the next meeting.

Next steps: the applicant will appear before the Zoning Board of Appeals to pursue the parking variance and then return to the Planning Board with revised plans. If the ZBA grants the variance and the Planning Board approves the updated site plan, any conditions on hours, amplified sound or parking configuration will be noted in the Planning Board’s approval.