Thank ‘ewe’ to all
The trial committee of the 15th Annual Leatherstocking Sheepdog Trials that were held August 13, 14, 15, would like to take this opportunity to thank the community, our sponsor Dog Wild Canine Supply, The Clark Foundation and especially employees Rudy Burkhart and Joe Miller, The Cooperstown Chamber of Commerce, all our advertisers and vendors for your support.
Also, thanks to the Fly Creek United Methodist Church and its volunteers for the great food, Bennett Motors for the farm utility vehicle,Dr. Fran Fassett for being our emergency vet on call, Cooperstown Natural Foods and Brier Street pottery for their donations.
We even had a thoughtful spectator that made dog biscuits for our canine friends to enjoy after a long day of sheep herding competition. Many ``wags’’ and thanks from all of us.
Linda Hotchkiss
Hartwick
Everyone should be held to same laws
How many of you know what the Cooperstown laws are for operating a Bed and Breakfast?
1. The operator of a B&B must own and live in the B&B house and be present whenever there are guests in the house.
2. The owner/operator has to have a parking space for each room that is rented. Each space has to be 9ft wide and 20ft long.
3.The owner/operator has to have TWO parking spaces for him/herself, even if he/she owns only one car… or none.
4. The property on which the parking spaces are located must be owned by the owner/operator of the B&B and must be no further from the B&B than 400 feet.
I know all of this because I applied for a permit in 2008 to reopen a two-bedroom B&B in my home. I attended three months of meetings with the Planning and Zoning Boards. The Planning Board approved my request, but the Zoning board denied it. The reason they cited: The lack of adequate parking. I was told my only recourse to having their decision overturned was to sue the Village.
I operated a two-bedroom B&B in this same house for thirteen years, between 1988 and 2001. These parking restrictions were made into law in 1989. There are two parking spaces in my driveway, which were used for guests, and I rented a space for myself in the parking lot owned by Leatherstocking Corporation, which is within 400 ft. I was ``Grandfathered’’ so did not need two parking spaces for myself, nor did I have to own the property on which the spaces were located.
This worked out satisfactorily for thirteen years, with absolutely no problems. This is what I intended to do this time around. I was willing to pay rent for two parking spaces, although I own only one car and one space would never be used. I consulted Judge John Lambert, who at that time was the Village Attorney, and he said, in his judgment, leasing the two spaces on a yearly basis would satisfy the law. However, the Zoning Board would not accept that judgment. They said I had to actually own the property. I had been out of business too long, due to my husband’s illness and subsequent death, to be ``Grandfathered,’’ so even though it worked for thirteen years, I was denied the permit.
Two years later, in January of this year, the rental apartment on the other side of my house became vacant. I again applied for a permit, this time for renting that apartment on a weekly basis for just three months of the year. As it would only be rented to one family each week, only one parking space would be needed in the driveway.
There would be room for my car next to it and I would clear out enough space in front of my car to satisfy the space requirement for another car, even though I do not own another car. Again, the Zoning Board turned me down for lack of adequate parking space. They said there could be no stacking of cars, which is what it is called if one car is parked behind another. Remember, there would be no car in that space.
I think that it is a stupid law, but it is the law, and obviously they had the right to make me adhere strictly to the letter of the law. However, my contention is that everyone should be held just as strictly to the same laws. From newspaper reports and other reports, I am aware of the fact that there are establishments in the Village that are not being held to the letter of the law as I was.
It is my belief that the Zoning officer should check every single B&B/short term rental in the Village to see that they are all in compliance with the parking regulations and see that they have been issued an official permit by the Zoning Board to operate their establishments. A ``shortterm’’ rental is anything under 30 days.
Everyone should be held to these same laws, or the laws should be changed. I opt for re-evaluating the laws and making some changes.
The Zoning Board of Appeals should be just that…a Board to which all citizens of Cooperstown can appeal and have their needs met with common sense and compassion.
Grace Kull
Cooperstown
Opinion
Your Opinion: August 26, 2010
- Our Opinion
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Our Opinion: Enjoy the carnival
It does not look like there will be much snow, if any at all for this year’s Cooperstown Winter Carnival. Although many events are weather-dependent, that will not spoil all the festivities. As far as getting out your hats and mittens, you might want to dig them out. At least it does not look like the weather will be as abnormally warm as it has been so far this winter.
Continued ... -
Our Opinion: Roses
Roses to Cooperstown sixth-grader Tom Knight, who once again might have the chance to compete in the state level geography bee. He won his school district’s competition for the second year in a row this year and will be taking a written test to see if he qualifies. One could wish him luck, but Tom said he feels more confident taking the test this time around the now knows what to expect. He also said he feels more comfortable answering questions on paper that out loud in front of an audience.
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Our Opinion: Buying locally is right
We are happy to report this week that buying locally made products appears to be on the upswing in the Cooperstown area. We have long been a proponent of shopping locally. It stimulates the local economy, returns more sales tax to the county and is more environmentally sound. Buying locally made or grown products takes it one step further.
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Our Opinion: Confused much?
As if figuring out one’s tax bill isn’t mind boggling enough. Now, with a two percent limit on property tax increases, there will be more brains flustered. It is not a simple calculation at all. In fact, the tax cap will affect each school district’s levy in various ways. So don’t think you will be able to take your bill from last year and just increase it by two percent. The process uses a much more complex formula eight steps, as a matter of fact.
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Our Opinion: We’ll miss Nicols
Cooperstown Police Chief Diana Nicols will be leaving her job shortly and will be missed by the community. She is being retired by the New York State and Local Retirement System that notified her last week that she is “permanently incapacitated for the performance of duties.” The incapacitation is the result of a knee injury she received in 2008 during a training class.
Continued ... - Thursday, January 5, 2012
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Our Opinion: Roses and Raspberries
Roses to Cooperstown Central School graduate Molly Pearlman for putting off her college plans for a year to serve a 10-month term of service in the National Civilian Community Corps, an AmeriCorps program. She said her inspiration to participate in the program came from her father and brother.
Continued ... - Thursday, December 29, 2011
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Our Opinion: Looking forward
While many will spend the next few days reminiscing about 2011, we at the Crier are looking forward to next year. We are ready to ring in a new year and look forward to the events to come. Of course there are those events that happen annually such as the Cooperstown Winter Carnival,The Goodyear Polar Bear Jump, the Farmers’ Museum’s Junior Livestock Show, The National Baseball Hall of Fame’s Father’s Day Classic and Induction weekend, the Pumpkin Festival and Regatta and many more.
Continued ... - Thursday, December 22, 2011
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Our Opinion: Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus
At this holiday season, we take great pleasure in reprinting one of the classic newspaper editorials of all time − perhaps the best Christmas editorial ever written. It has survived the test of time and seems particularly fitting and poignant this year.
Continued ... - Monday, December 19, 2011
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DEC should not dismiss findings
Last week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released the findings in a draft of a new federal report that links hydraulic fracturing for natural gas in Wyoming with groundwater pollution. Hydraulic fracturing is a process that pumps millions of gallons of chemically treated water into gas wells to fracture the rock and release the gas.
Continued ... - Thursday, December 8, 2011
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Our Opinion: Who would have guessed?
Much has been revealed during the baseball winter meeting in Dallas this past week. The Miami Marlins seem to be in hot pursuit of all the big name players to fill their new stadium, Manny Ramirez announced he would like to return to Major League Basbeall, Pedro Martínez announced he plans to officially retire, elections have been held and it appears former Red Sox manager Terry Francona is swapping places with the franchise’s new manager Bobby Valentine.
Continued ...
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Our Opinion: Enjoy the carnival
- Your Opinion
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- Your Opinion: February 9, 2012
- Your Opinion: January 19, 2012
- Your Opinion: January 5, 2012
- Your Opinion: December 29, 2011
- Your Opinion: December 22, 2011
- Your Opinion: December 1, 2011
- Your Opinion: November 3, 2011
- Your Opinion: October 27, 2011
- Your Opinion: October 20, 2011
- Your Opinion: October 5, 2011
