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TWM - A Fisher Associates Landscape Architecture Studio
Fisher Associates, P.E., L.S., L.A., D.P.C.
1001 West Seneca Street, Suite 201 Ithaca, New York 14850 ph: 607.277.1400
www.twm.la | www.fisherassoc.com
February 18, 2022
Brent Cross
Cc: Fred Cowett
Village of Cayuga Heights
Marcham Hall
836 Hanshaw Road
Ithaca, NY 14850
RE: 408 E. Upland Road Office Building
Dear Brent, Fred, and members of the planning board,
Thank you for your time and feedback given to the 408 E Upland Road project, both at the January 24, 2022
planning board meeting and in e-mail comments. In response to feedback, the project team has addressed
and updated the following items:
SEQRA Form
• Question 2: Updated requested items from Cayuga Heights Zoning Board, removed special use
permit as stated previously. The project will now need a variance for lot coverage, which has
been listed as an item from the Cayuga Heights Zoning Board.
• Question 3: Revised parcel size area from .5 acre to .56 acres
• Question 13: Answer a revised to “yes” per designation from the EAF Mapper. Nearby Pleasant
Grove Brook and Renwick Brook are identified in the National Wetland Inventory (NWI). Answer
b remains as “no” as the wetlands identified by the EAF Mapper are not located within the
project boundaries and will not be altered or impacted by this project in any way.
Planting Plan:
The planting plan layout has been revised since the initial site plan review submission. Planting selection and
layout along the east, south, and west of the building has been revised due to shade conflicts with the solar
panels, and to allow area for maintenance access along the south of the building. Planting along the north
side of the site has been reduced at the request of the client to increase visibility between the two properties.
Vegetative buffers remain along property edges adjacent to a different use, as required by zoning, which in
this case are adjacent zoned residential properties.
Site Lighting:
Fixtures for the site lighting have been selected. Please find their cut sheets, as well as a photometric plan
enclosed in this submission. The pole lights along the north side of the parking lot will be of 3000K and
equipped with light dimmers and motion sensor. The fixture will run at 50% output until the integrated motion
sensor sees activity, resulting in uniformly low light levels when nobody is around.
Request for Variances: An additional variance for lot coverage will be requested by the project due to revised
calculations. The building overhang length is greater than 3’-0” and therefore requires the full roof area to be
included in the lot coverage calculation. The lot coverage calculation in the previous site plan review
submission did not take the building overhang into account. With the building overhang included, the
footprint of the building is 6477 SF. The revised lot coverage with the updated footprint size is 26.5% which
slightly exceeds the 25% allowable lot coverage.
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Based on additional comments received, we wish to clarify the following items:
Stormwater: At the request of Brent Cross and the Planning Board, the client will agree to a Stormwater
Management Agreement with the village upholding their responsibility to maintain site stormwater practices,
including the maintenance of the hydrodynamic separator. Additional information on the maintenance of the
hydrodynamic separator will be provided as well.
Program Square Footage: Of the 5,500 SF building, 3149 SF will be leasable square footage and 1874 SF
will be occupied by Sciarabba Walker & Co. The remaining square footage dedicated to the lobby and
mechanical spaces within the building.
We look forward to February 28, 2022 Planning Board Meeting where we hope to achieve the following:
SEQRA declaration, public hearing, conditional site plan approval, approval of special use permit, as well as
a recommendation to the Village Zoning Board to grant the variances asked of by the project.
Thank you for your continued review of this project and please reach out with any comments or questions.
Sincerely,
Lauren E. Butts, RLA, ASLA
Landscape Architect I