Pick-N-Pull to expand vehicle and scrap storage in Sennett

Pick-N-Pull, an auto parts and recycling center in Sennett, plans to expand its parking lot for salvage vehicles as well as expand storage areas for scrap metal and vehicle storage.

The site plan for the expansion was approved "without change" by the county on March 15. Initially the project came before Cayuga County's Planning and Economic Development Board in February, but at that time the board decided the application was incomplete due to not also including an application from the town of Throop as the Pick-N-Pull junkyard's property also includes five Throop parcels.

In March, the county received a letter from Throop's zoning officer, Tom Weed, which stated that the town determined site plan approval is not required for the activities of the project happening within the Throop parcels. Sennett is the lead agency on Pick-N-Pull's application, although Throop planning board was listed as an involved agency and Auburn was listed as an interested agency as the business also straddles the city-town line.

Pick-N-Pull's application submitted to the county's planning board indicates the project includes "expansion of existing vehicle dismantling facility to meet current and projected market demand." Proposed is a 2.1 acre expansion for a gravel staging and storage area to the north and 2.3 acres to the south. Roughly 5.5 acres of land, of the nearly 30-acre site at 6983 North St., will be disturbed.

The goal is "to increase parking of salvaged vehicles" by adding over 180 new parking spaces, and to increase storage for "vehicles and scrap metal," the application stated.

The project will also include "the re-subdivision of multiple lots (located in Sennett) into a single lot (in Sennett)" and construction for storm water management, per New York state Department of Environmental Conservation regulations.

The county planning board noted that Pick-N-Pull was addressing storm water very well, and that it had no notable concerns with the plan itself.

The anticipated period of construction for the expansion is three months.

The project "is still in the process (of being approved)" by the town of Sennett, Town Clerk Penelope Dennis said. "It will be a few months before that (project approval) happens."

Pick-N-Pull declined to comment on the project.