BUSTI - A salvage yard owner in Busti is planning to change his line of work.
On Monday, the Busti Town Board held a public hearing on the proposal from Joe Casel to add self-storage units to his business. Casel, who owns Casel Auto Wrecking, said he is looking to transform his salvage yard into a self-storage unit business. He has one facility that holds about 25 units, but has applied to build two more units for a total of three on the property. Casel said the property has been a salvage yard since the 1960s and he has owned it for more than 30 years.
Two property owners near the business attended the public hearing. Both said as long as there isn't too much lighting around the business at night they have no problem with the self-storage units. Casel said his business will only run from dawn to dusk, so no additional lighting will be added.
During the public hearing, board members discussed adding terms to the special-use permit like Casel needing to reapply in three years for the certification, specific business hours and adding additional fencing and gates around the property for more security. Kenneth Lawton, Busti councilman, said he didn't know if more restrictions were necessary. He said more restrictions aren't conducive to promoting business in the town.
After the public hearing, the board voted 4 to 1 to allow the special-use permit. Richard Sanders, Busti councilman, was the one board member who voted no.
In other business, Chris Yates, Chautauqua Lake Association board president, gave a report to the board on what the association has been doing this summer. Yates thanked the board for its $10,000 appropriation this year, which has helped the association run three full-time crews. The crews run 10 hours a day, five days a week. Yates said the association uses six harvesters on the lake to remove weeds. He said because of the mild winter and hot summer, conditions have led to there being more weeds this year. However, he said thanks to volunteer programs, like Cummins Engine workers donating 1,900 man hours to cleaning up the lake, has helped the process. He also said the adopt a shoreline program has assisted with residents volunteering time to help in cleaning up weeds.