The battles between the Bonca's restaurant owners and the town of Sennett are continuing, as the town code enforcement officer has issued appearance tickets against the business for its use of umbrellas at outdoor tables.
The most recent ticket, issued on June 17 for a violation on June 16, requires Bonca's partner Greg Rigby to appear before the Sennett Town Justice on July 15, Rigby said. The ticket was issued for putting table umbrellas outside bearing a logo for Perry's Ice Cream, which constitutes a sign. Allowing signage without site plan review before the planning board is a violation of local law.
The appearance ticket said that this was a continuing violation first reported on May 8.
Code Enforcement Officer Paul Weiman said he was surprised the umbrella issue was not addressed at a town Zoning Board of Appeals meeting.
“The issue of signage was supposed to be cleared up at the last ZBA meeting,” he said.
But signage on the umbrellas hadn't been included in the appeal filed by the owners for the last ZBA meeting.
Weiman said once the ticket is brought to court, the owners could take the umbrellas down or they could take the issue back to the ZBA.
“They think it's being picayune,” Weiman said of Bonca's owners. “Out in the commercial district, it's not an issue. But it is a business in a residential district.”
Rigby said he believed the business was being “targeted” and that the town was doing “selective enforcement.”
“We've received a ton of appearance tickets,” Rigby said.
The tickets go back to January, when Bonca's was cited for failure to get an amended building permit, reflecting “as built” plans. He said the company's architect went back to re-measure the entire building to satisfy the code.
“We submitted five different sets of prints before we found one he (Weiman) would accept,” Rigby said.
He believed the final plan was accepted because the upstairs rooms weren't labeled. Using the second floor of the building for anything other than residential use was prohibited in the town code for non-conforming use, according to earlier testimony before the ZBA.
Bonca's is appealing that decision to the state Appellate Division in Rochester. It will be heard sometime in November or December.
When Rigby was asked if he considered covering the Perry's logo on the umbrellas to comply with the code, he said, tongue-in-cheek, “We thought about having a cover made for the umbrellas that had all of the appearance tickets laminated on it. Then it would become a freedom of speech issue.”
Staff writer Kathleen Barran can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 238 or kathleen.barran@lee.net
The appearance ticket said that this was a continuing violation first reported on May 8.
Code Enforcement Officer Paul Weiman said he was surprised the umbrella issue was not addressed at a town Zoning Board of Appeals meeting.
“The issue of signage was supposed to be cleared up at the last ZBA meeting,” he said.
But signage on the umbrellas hadn't been included in the appeal filed by the owners for the last ZBA meeting.
Weiman said once the ticket is brought to court, the owners could take the umbrellas down or they could take the issue back to the ZBA.
“They think it's being picayune,” Weiman said of Bonca's owners. “Out in the commercial district, it's not an issue. But it is a business in a residential district.”
Rigby said he believed the business was being “targeted” and that the town was doing “selective enforcement.”
“We've received a ton of appearance tickets,” Rigby said.
The tickets go back to January, when Bonca's was cited for failure to get an amended building permit, reflecting “as built” plans. He said the company's architect went back to re-measure the entire building to satisfy the code.
“We submitted five different sets of prints before we found one he (Weiman) would accept,” Rigby said.
He believed the final plan was accepted because the upstairs rooms weren't labeled. Using the second floor of the building for anything other than residential use was prohibited in the town code for non-conforming use, according to earlier testimony before the ZBA.
Bonca's is appealing that decision to the state Appellate Division in Rochester. It will be heard sometime in November or December.
When Rigby was asked if he considered covering the Perry's logo on the umbrellas to comply with the code, he said, tongue-in-cheek, “We thought about having a cover made for the umbrellas that had all of the appearance tickets laminated on it. Then it would become a freedom of speech issue.”
Staff writer Kathleen Barran can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 238 or kathleen.barran@lee.net
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chestnutridgerd wrote on Jul 7, 2009 10:49 PM:
The issue with Bonca's resturant is a personal vendetta between the Town Super. (and a couple of his henchmen) and the owners of Bonca's. These board members have tried everything they could think of to harass the Bonca's folks, even went to court to the tune of $$$$$$ taxpayer (read MY money) dollars and found out they did not have a case. Apparently that isn't enough.
Seems Mr.Sicorra and pals have nothing else to do all day except drive back and forth past Bonca's looking for ridiculous reasons to keep the fight going. Maybe we can take it back to court and waste some more money? Over umbrellas?
My Sennett neighbors have no complaints about the landscaping/signage/traffic related to Bonca's. The pizza is good, the ice cream is great. The owners seem like regular professional business people trying to get a small business established in a reasonable manner.
I think it's funny if the Town Board folks are catering to the Skaneatles hoighty toighty as none of those board members qualify for THAT lifestyle!!!!
Unfortunately this is not a new story, antics of this nature have been going on for years as noted below by numerous writers.
The good news is the current regieme's time is short. This fall Sennett townsfolk will be able to vote in some new, young voices who truly have the town's best interest at heart as opposed to their own profit. Remember this Town Of Sennett Residents at the voting booth! "
mamimbe wrote on Jul 7, 2009 8:12 PM:
sennettfarm wrote on Jul 7, 2009 7:14 PM:
guitardude62 wrote on Jul 7, 2009 5:49 PM:
tim5150 wrote on Jul 7, 2009 4:54 PM:
guitardude62 wrote on Jul 7, 2009 3:31 PM:
The Truth wrote on Jul 7, 2009 3:08 PM:
twingles13 wrote on Jul 7, 2009 1:38 PM:
CayCntyLifer wrote on Jul 7, 2009 1:32 PM:
CayCntyLifer wrote on Jul 7, 2009 1:29 PM:
CayCntyLifer wrote on Jul 7, 2009 1:28 PM:
Mr. Cynical wrote on Jul 7, 2009 1:24 PM:
"Please donate to the Paul Weiman
Testing for Alzheimer's Fund."
On a more serious note, my wife and I have had several dealings with the town and Mr. Weiman over the last 20+ plus years, and each encounter is more difficult and takes longer to resolve. I used to respect him but no longer.
My wife and I once thought about starting a home based business in the town so that I wouldn't have to work out of state, and Mr. Weiman categorically stated that Sennett didn't want engineering consulting businesses in the town, even if I went to the commericial area.
When my current out of state assignment ends, my wife and I plan to leave Sennett for the southwest. We are going to become absentee landlords(we own rental properties in Sennett and elsewhere), and we are going to be looking for the trashiest, noisiest tenants we can find for the Sennett property. I bet that Mr. Weiman, who clearly needs to go into retirement, will be just thrilled to have these people in the town.
BTW, we'll be taking our joint incomes, over $100,000 per year, out of the town as well. We have been letting our house slowly deteoriate for the last several years so that we don't have to deal with this pompous, officious lout by trying to get repairs approved by him.
Yes, I am angry about Mr. Weiman's actions. I hope that Bonca's owners clean his clock and win their fight. "
madtaxpayer wrote on Jul 7, 2009 12:36 PM:
Floretta wrote on Jul 7, 2009 11:50 AM:
wondertwin wrote on Jul 7, 2009 11:28 AM:
guitardude62 wrote on Jul 7, 2009 11:08 AM:
infxmous wrote on Jul 7, 2009 10:53 AM:
Laughitup wrote on Jul 7, 2009 10:10 AM:
streetcat wrote on Jul 7, 2009 10:03 AM:
I like Bonca's; I often eat there, however, they should realize that umbrellas are fine, but advertisements on them are not.
It is very easy for a restaurant to start placing Pepsi signs and Perry's logos and other advertisements all over the place once they start.
I agree that this whole thing has seemed like a fiasco and that it has been a confused effort by the town since the beginning, but if I were attempting to preserve a certain quality of a neighborhood, I don't think Perry's umbrellas would fit either. "
beentasered wrote on Jul 7, 2009 9:18 AM:
Other communities have experienced this and I applaud Sennett for their proactive approach to code enforcement. http://xrl.us/bez54v
Mr Weiman carry on, enjoy your food at Bonca's. Be sure to bring your own umbrella.
- Marty "
tome8689 wrote on Jul 7, 2009 8:59 AM:
Rickshaw45 wrote on Jul 7, 2009 8:55 AM:
aubmomof2 wrote on Jul 7, 2009 8:27 AM:
LOVE IT!!!!! ROFL!!!!! "
stevedallas wrote on Jul 7, 2009 7:51 AM:
horseradish wrote on Jul 7, 2009 7:40 AM:
pentangelli wrote on Jul 7, 2009 7:03 AM:
ethan wrote on Jul 7, 2009 1:15 AM: