HomeMy WebLinkAboutComp Plan Residence 2 RationaleRESIDENCE-2 RECOMMENDATION IN THE JUNE 1, 2012 DRAFT OF THE VILLAGE
OF CAYUGA HEIGHTS COMPREHENSIVE PLAN - EXPLANATORY NOTES
July 23, 2012
Introduction
Two important objectives are stated in the draft Comprehensive Plan:
“Expand the stock of moderately priced owner-occupied housing within the
community” (Objective HO1.5, page 58), and
“Enhance the property tax base in the Village and stabilize or reduce property tax rates
for residents and businesses” (Objective EC1.4 on page 56 )
In developing the draft Plan, the Planning Board considered that a useful link can be
made between these two objectives. By modifying the existing Zoning Ordinance at
appropriate locations within the Village, modest population growth could be realized with
positive impact on the tax base without negatively impacting the existing quality of life
and the environment. The Residence-2 District proposal addresses these issues.
Concept
The new Residence-2 Zoning District as presently proposed would consist of
approximately 35 acres of land along North Triphammer Road and south of the Kendal
at Ithaca retirement community. The purpose of this District is two-fold: to create
opportunities for the development of new owner-occupied homes for young families;
and to create opportunities for redevelopment of properties along North Triphammer
Road in a manner that will create more attractive housing options than are currently
available in the Village for a variety of age groups, particularly seniors looking to age in
place.
The proposed Residence-2 District would permit a higher density than currently allowed
with lots in the range of 8,000 to 10,000 square feet. It is anticipated this required
reduction in lot size would encourage the development of housing for families with
incomes around the median family income for the Village of approximately $130,000
(US Census Bureau) and increase the percentage of Village residents within easy
walking distance to retail and other services in the Community Corners/Village Green
area. We believe this change can be made without adversely affecting the
environmental quality of this area of the Village. As in the existing Residence District,
single- and two-family dwellings would be permitted with the same limits on occupancy
by non-related persons as in the Residence District; accessory uses as are customarily
incidental to the primary use of residential properties; and customary home occupations
and businesses.
In addition to single-family detached homes, the new Residence-2 District could permit
owner-occupied attached housing subject to design standards governing elements such
as building height and bulk, garages, dedicated common space and landscaped buffer
areas. The ownership could be through condominium or cooperative ownership, with a
homeowners association or similar organization responsible for maintenance of
commonly held areas and facilities. This may be a more attractive option for parcels
along North Triphammer Road, where traffic and noise may make the traditional single-
family home less desirable. Architectural approaches that mitigate street noise (e.g.
courtyard house types), and site design features such as landscape buffering, parking
to the side or rear of buildings and shared open space can create an attractive living
environment.
Density would be controlled through the minimum lot area requirement of 8,000 to
10,000 square feet for conventional lots, or a minimum of 4,000 to 5,000 square feet per
dwelling, plus yard setback requirements.
Nowhere in this proposed District is multiple-family rental housing contemplated.
Although it is essentially built out, Cayuga Heights has been and will continue evolving
in the coming years, demographically and physically. This evolution has been a
constant theme throughout this planning process. The comprehensive plan drafted by
the Planning Board is relatively unusual because, rather than having to deal primarily
with issues of growth and growth management, it has been able to focus on how to
ensure that the Village evolves in the coming years in a direction that is desirable for all
existing and future residents.
North Triphammer Road
The North Triphammer Road corridor exhibits the type of evolution that occurs where
homes were built on a road that changes over time into a heavily trafficked street. The
homes that were built 50 to 60 years ago when North Triphammer was little more than a
country highway are not well suited to the heavy volumes of traffic the road carries
today. Typically throughout the country in such circumstances, property values stabilize,
then usually begin to decline. Properties convert to absentee-owned rental properties.
Property maintenance begins to lag. Conceivably, this could happen along North
Triphammer Road.
In the case of the 2100, 2200 and 2300 blocks of North Triphammer Road, 5 of the 21
properties are now listed as absentee-owned. Assessed values of homes on the east
side of the road range between $130,000 and $250,000, with an average assessed
value of just under $190,750. In contrast, assessed values of homes on Winthrop
Drive, Simsbury Drive and Spruce Lane average just under $244,650, $262,150 and
$323,100 respectively. The average assessed values for homes on these three streets
combined is 1.4 times the average assessed values for homes along North Triphammer
Road.
We consider the manner in which the North Triphammer Road area is evolving should
be of concern to the Village. In many communities in the USA, the response by local
government has been to either 1) let the area deteriorate as a residential area until it is
only marketable as low-quality, low-income housing; or 2) zone the area for strip
commercial development in the hope that the market will stimulate redevelopment.
The Planning Board has developed a possible alternative approach: encourage
redevelopment of the area with new residential architecture that can provide a high
quality of life along a busy street, and increase the number of Village residents living
within walking distance of Community Corners. The proposed approach for stimulating
this redevelopment is a combination of permitting an increase in the development
density and encouraging over time alternatives to the single-family detached home.
This recommendation is in no way meant to reflect negatively on the current quality,
ownership and upkeep of existing houses along the street, only to try and ensure a high
quality living environment into the long term future.
Examples Elsewhere
A model for the type of single- and two-family home development on individual lots that
is envisioned for the proposed Residence-2 District is the Bryant Park neighborhood on
East Hill here in Ithaca. Development of Bryant Park was begun in 1908 and also
involved Cayuga Heights developer Jared Newman. The 45-acre subdivision and street
network were designed by the landscape architecture firm of Townsend and Fleming
from Buffalo, NY. Like Cayuga Heights, the curving streets of Bryant Park were
designed to follow the natural contours of the land. Although Bryant Park was designed
to be an attractive city neighborhood and less a park-like setting for homes, this kind of
development could be an excellent model for this particular area of the village.
Typical lot sizes in the Bryant Park neighborhood are around 6,000 to 7,000 square feet,
or approximately 60 to 70 feet by 100 to 120 feet. A sampling of about 30 properties on
Bryant Avenue and the 300 block of Ithaca Road shows lots ranging in size from a low
of 3,500 square feet to almost 11,000 square feet, with an average size of about 7,020
square feet. Assessed valuations for properties in the sample ranged between
$225,000 and $430,000, with the average assessed value being about $294,550. (The
3,500 sq. ft. lot with home is assessed for $240,000.)
Whenever the concept of attached single-family housing (i.e. townhouses,
condominiums, cooperatives, etc.) is floated, arguments are made that such residential
development is inferior and leads to diminished property values. Here in Ithaca as well
as elsewhere the evidence points strongly in the opposite direction: as is the case with
single-family detached homes, location, design and quality of construction have a
greater impact on the value of these types of residences than the fact that residents
may share walls, site amenities such as parking, lawns and other jointly-owned
improvements.
According to data available through the Tompkins County Assessment Department,
individual dwellings in several recent condominium developments in the Ithaca area are
being assessed for as much if not more than single-family homes. Assessed values for
a sampling of townhouse units on Belwood Lane in the Shannon Park development
range between $275,000 and $300,000, with an average of $287,500. Assessed values
for new townhouse units on Nor Way off Warren Road in the Village of Lansing range
between $347,000 and $372,000, with an average assessed value of just over
$353,000.
By the same token, there is no evidence we are aware of that the gradual introduction of
such housing units into an existing detached, single-family residential area has a
downward influence on the property values of those detached, single-family homes that
remain - likely the reverse.
From an environmental standpoint, under the density limits proposed as part of the
Residence-2 district concept, the type of attached single-family homes that could be
permitted can result in a much smaller development footprint. Studies using existing
town-home developments in the Town of Ithaca such as the Eastwood Commons and
Deer Run developments indicate that some 60% to 70% of the site would remain as
permeable surfaces such as lawns, landscaping and natural areas. The much smaller
footprints of individual dwelling units would translate into lower lot coverage per
dwelling, much less pavement per dwelling for parking, etc., much less storm-water run-
off per dwelling, and much less loss of valuable open space per dwelling unit.
Kendal at Ithaca Property
The Planning Board acknowledges that the present owners of this property have no
plans for developing or selling this site. It also acknowledges that the Kendal property
was developed as a Planned Unit Development (PUD) in accordance with the Village’s
PUD Law and, as such, a number of legal restrictions on any future development of the
property owned by Kendal at Ithaca already exist. However, if the Trustees were to
approve a zoning change for the site under consideration for inclusion in the proposed
Residence-2 district, these restrictions could either remain in place or could be modified
as a result of such change.
Any details of a possible zoning change such as road frontage and access, site layout
and environmental buffering would require careful analysis. If new development at this
location is to be considered, the Planning Board would, among other factors, need first
to evaluate the topography of the site to determine opportunities for buildings to be sited
in such a way as not to impede the view shed from existing properties on Spruce Lane
and to be sufficiently distant from existing Kendal at Ithaca housing as not to negatively
impact those south facing units.
No part of any possible future development would be permitted to occur on wetland
areas.
Ithaca Country Club
The Country Club property is included in the Planning Board’s proposed Residence-2
District to cover the long range possibility that its present use as a golf course and even
its ownership may change, and new uses may need to be considered at that time.
These possibilities are entirely speculative and is based on no evidence that the present
owners intend to sell or change the property’s use at the present time. Among the
purposes of a comprehensive plan is consideration of the potential for future use of
property or changes from current uses.
Traffic and Natural Environment Impacts
Would the envisioned development increase traffic on North Triphammer Road and
adjacent streets? The answer is obviously "Yes," as any new residential development
will result in some increase in traffic within a community However, data from recognized
sources such as the Institute of Transportation Engineers shows that the traffic
generated within the proposed Residence-2 areas would be 30% to 40% lower per
dwelling than what could be generated by a conventional subdivision. The placement of
the areas relatively close to Community Corners, and along established bus routes, will
encourage walking, bicycling and public transit use as alternatives to the automobile
and further reduce potential traffic impacts.
Would the envisioned development increase flooding or infringe on wetlands? Perhaps
thirty years ago, before the basic principles of storm-water management became the
norm in site planning and development and, in the case of Cayuga Heights, the law,
flooding downstream of new developments was a potential impact. The draft
Comprehensive Plan has both mapped wetland or possible wetland areas within the
Village, and makes the protection of its wetland resources a clear priority. Any new
development or redevelopment of parcels within the proposed Residence-2 areas would
be subject to regulations already on the books that mitigate storm-water impacts and
protect wetlands.
Summary
There is nothing radical about the above concepts. They are modeled on highly
successful communities elsewhere, including Bryant Park here in Ithaca (1910),
Radburn, NJ (1928), and Greenbelt, MD (1937). All three such communities, like
Cayuga Heights, attest to the vision and foresight of their founders, and to this date
continue to provide their residents with a high quality lifestyle.
Village of Cayuga Heights Planning Board" " " " " "
in conjunction with George Frantz, AICP,
VCH Comprehensive Plan Planning Consultant