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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes1 Village of Cayuga Heights Planning Board Meeting #102 Special Meeting with Village Board of Trustees Tuesday, May 10, 2022 RaNic Golf Club – 3:00 pm Minutes Present: Planning Board Members Chair F. Cowett, M. McMurry, E. Quaroni Code Enforcement Officer B. Cross, Attorney R. Marcus, Alternate Member M. Johnston Mayor Woodard and the Village Board of Trustees S. Whitaker, owner, RaNic Golf Club N. Demarest, architect, STREAM Collaborative K. Gyaw, interior designer, Kyi Gyaw Interiors Members of the Public Item 1 – Meeting called to order • Chair F. Cowett opened the meeting at 3:00 pm. • Chair F. Cowett stated that Board Member J. Leijonhufvud is unable to attend the meeting, and Alternate M. Johnston is appointed a full voting member of the Board for this meeting. Item 2 – Video-Conferencing For Conduct of Meetings • Chair F. Cowett stated that Attorney R. Marcus has advised the Planning Board to consider a resolution authorizing the use of video-conferencing for the conduct of Board meetings; to consider such a resolution at the Board’s meeting on May 23, the Board needs to pass a resolution scheduling a public hearing for that meeting. Motion: M. McMurry Second: E. Quaroni RESOLUTION No. 347 TO HOLD A PUBLIC HEARING TO AUTHORIZE THE USE OF VIDEO-CONFERENCING FOR THE CONDUCT OF PLANNING BOARD MEETINGS RESOLVED, that a public hearing will be held on Monday, May 23 2022 at 7:05 pm regarding the use of videoconferencing for the conduct of the meetings of the Planning Board of the Village of Cayuga Heights. Aye votes – Chair F. Cowett, M. Johnston, M. McMurry, E. Quaroni Opposed – None 2 Item 3 – RaNic Meeting – Developers Conference • S. Whitaker, owner, RaNic Golf Club, introduced the project for redevelopment of the former Ithaca Country Club; the goal is to preserve open, recreational space for the local community and to create a place to which people want to travel to play golf; the club had been in decline since 2004 when there were 600 family members; by 2020 there were only 100 family members and the club nearly went bankrupt; the goal is to increase membership to 300 family members while moving the club away from a fully private facility and towards accommodating public usage; public usage of the club currently accounts for 20 percent of revenue; the club needs significant investment; the golf course requires $5 million in expenditures including $2 million for a new irrigation system, $1.5 million for improved drainage, and $1.5 million for stormwater management; drainage and stormwater have become pressing problems given the increased intensity of precipitation events and the course was flooded a dozen times last year; the clubhouse requires $1 million to address roof leaks and issues with its septic system, to replace dated flooring, and to modernize its floor plan. • S. Whitaker further stated that, given the club’s need for significant investment, three options for redevelopment were considered; Option A would keep the 18 hole golf course while generating increased revenue by building townhouses most of which would be owner occupied within an HOA, building a 52 room boutique hotel on the site of the existing pool house, and revitalizing the former Sharp Farm at 340 Warren Road as an event space; Option B would reconfigure the club as a 9 hole golf course which would be far less expensive to maintain and subdivide the remaining land for single family homes; and Option C would sell the property and build a new course outside Ithaca, which is a much bigger project; Option A is the preferred option subject to the creation of revenue streams necessary to put the club on a sustainable financial footing. • N. Demarest, architect, STREAM Collaborative, stated that renovations to the existing clubhouse, which is 28,000 square feet and one story high, would include a new bar and restaurant, golf simulators, a golf shop, locker rooms, and exterior upgrades; a clerestory window will be added to the roof to increase light in the building; the maximum number of townhouses would be 32 with 22 in Cayuga Heights and 10 in the Town of Ithaca; they would be between 1200 and 1600 square feet in area and one and two stories high; the sketch plan provided shows the maximum number of townhouses that could be built; this is subject to change; for example, accomodating garages would reduce the number of townhouses; the number of townhouses sold to private owners or retained and managed by the golf club will depend on market demand; the hotel comprise 52 rooms in two separate buildings; one building will be three stories high over a walkout basement and the other building wil be three stories high including covered parking on the ground floor; the walkout basement will 3 include storage spaces and possibly a café; total square footage of the hotel will be 60,000 square feet with 1000 square feet per room; there may also be several cabanas associated with the hotel nestled in the nearby trees; the architectural features of the clubhouse and hotel will reflect the residential architecture of Cayuga Heights with inspiration from the Gamble House in Pasadena, CA; on Warren Road, the barn and farm house will comprise event space that is not golf related; there may be a duplex on the east side of Warren Road that can be added to the club’s stay and play portfolio; there are also vacant areas along on the golf course which would be suitable for the construction of single family homes. • S. Whitaker stated that the project team discussed the possibility of building the hotel north of the clubhouse, which would be in the Town of Ithaca, but felt this location would impinge too much on the golf course and provides inferior views of the course and therefore decided against this. • K. Gyaw, interior designer, Kyi Gyaw Interiors, stated that the interior design of the clubhouse will reflect an extension of someone’s living room, inclusiveness, and opening the clubhouse to everyone; there will be comfortable furniture and luxurious fabrics, a welcoming and understated bar, and tables to facilitate conversations, gatherings, and business meetings; the color palette in the hotel will be rich autumn colors and design features will be clean, simple, and welcoming to rejuvenate guests from the Ithaca winters; it will not be a generic hotel, but a rich, calm, soothing, and elevated experience. • R. DePaulo, Town of Ithaca, asked about the room rates for the hotel. • N. Demarest replied that a hotel consultant has been employed to figure out the room rates appropriate for a hotel of this size and design. • Trustee P. Salton asked about the market mix for the hotel. • S. Whitaker replied that the market mix will be seasonal, with golf in the summer and Cornell-oriented otherwise; the goal is to make the club a destination. • E. Quaroni asked about restaurant facilities. • S. Whitaker replied that the clubhouse restaurant will be repurposed for the masses and the café in the hotel will be more high end. • R. DePaulo asked if price points have been identified for the townhouses. • S. Whitaker replied that townhouse price points will be in the $500k to $600k range. • B. Warren, Warren Realty, asked if project phasing has been considered. • S. Whitaker replied that he is not interested in project phasing and wishes to get things done as quickly as possible. • Trustee J. Marshall asked about the club driveway flanked by rows of parking shown in the sketch plan provided and whether this is more characteristic of a shopping mall than a high end destination. • N. Demarest replied that the sketch plan is intended to show the maximum number of parking spaces available; it is possible that the driveway planned for Hanshaw Road could be lined with trees rather than parking spaces; similarly, the sketch plan shows 4 the maximum number of townhouses that can physically fit on the property and not the number that will ultimately be built; the number of townhouses to be built will almost certainly be less than the maximum number shown on the plan; residential parcels acquired by the club on Hanshaw Road could make possible the relocation and reconfiguration of some townhouses; to move beyond the sketch plan phase and develop plans further, the project team needs to know from Cayuga Heights whether the Village will even permit townhouses and a hotel, neither of which is an allowed use under current zoning. • S. Whitaker stated that revenue-wise the townhouses are necessary for the project to move forward, but the hotel is not required. • E. Quaroni asked whether the proposed townhouses on Pleasant Grove Road would face the street or parking area and how far set back they would be from the street. • N. Demarest replied that a New Urbanism approach is appropriate for this site with front porches facing the sidewalk on Pleasant Grove Road, set back 15 feet; a HOA will control the architectural aspects of the townhouses including paint color and landscaping. Item 4 – New Business • The Board’s next regularly scheduled meeting is Monday, May 23, 2022 at 7:00 pm. Item 6 – Adjourn • Meeting adjourned at 4:54 pm.