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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-PLED-2015-06-10Approved at the July 8, 2015 PEDC Meeting City of Ithaca Planning & Economic Development Committee Wednesday, June 10, 2015 – 6:00 p.m. Common Council Chambers, City Hall, 108 East Green Street Minutes Committee Members Attending: Joseph (Seph) Murtagh, Chair; Graham Kerslick, Ellen McCollister, Cynthia Brock, and Josephine Martell Committee Members Absent: None Other Elected Officials Attending: Alderperson George McGonigal Staff Attending: JoAnn Cornish, Director, Department of Planning, Building, Zoning, and Economic Development; Jennifer Kusznir, Economic Planner, Department of Planning, Building, Zoning, and Economic Development; Nels Bohn, Director, Ithaca Urban Renewal Agency; Debbie Grunder, Executive Assistant, Department of Planning, Building, Zoning, and Economic Development Others Attending: Julie Holcomb, City Clerk; Addisu Gebre, Bridge System Engineer; Form Ithaca Chair Seph Murtagh called the meeting to order at 6:03p.m. 1) Call to Order/Agenda Review The May 2015 will not be voted on at this meeting. Other items added to the agenda include: a) Old County Library Site – Update and Discussion b) Form Ithaca – Update c) Construction Staging in Collegetown – Ellen McCollister Approved at the July 8, 2015 PEDC Meeting 2) Public Comment and Response from Committee Members Rich DePaolo, Town of Ithaca. Spoke on MH-1 zoning. He was a signatory on a document in 2000 regarding contamination in the Southwest area namely Nates Flora Estates. Ithaca is all for affordable housing. We should be mindful of the contamination in this area. Walter Hang, 218 Wait Avenue, spoke against the changes to the MH-1 zoning. It requires a full investigation before allowing additional housing there. In years past, this was denied. Dan Hoffman, 415 Elm Street, spoke regarding the Ithaca Falls and the natur al areas. He is also concerned about the proposed changes in the setback of the MH-1 area. This area is so close to an audible waterway. Removal of the buffer would greatly inhibit these natural areas. Alderperson McCollister stated she recalls the issues years ago, and her memory indicates that a generic impact statement was done and all was approved. Alderperson Brock clarified that the environmental studies that have been conducted for Nate’s Floral Estates and the Southwest Park area, were the areas south of the current housing site and currently located under the Lowe’s parking lot. Special Order of Business a) Taxi Regulations Julie Holcomb, City Clerk, was present to provide information on Taxi Regulations, but first stated that many City and Town staff are working diligently on the topic of the natural areas. She further talked about the regulation of taxi cabs. She proposes the County take over the regulations. That would take up to a year to implement. It could also run through the TCOD which would also likely take up to a year to change. During the gas crisis, the fee schedule was changed to include a fuel surcharge. These rates plus the surcharge can be very cumbersome. She has been working with _________. They are recommending a change in the fee structure that changes when the taxi ride crosses over county or City lines. She also would like the surcharge eliminated. Alderperson McCollister asked whether there is any indication whether Ebert Uber or Life Lyft will be coming to our area. Approved at the July 8, 2015 PEDC Meeting Holcomb stated she thinks Ithaca would not be an area which would benefit from such companies. Chair Murtagh stated he recently read that there was something recently passed that doesn’t allow Ebert to come to this area. Alderperson Brock asked whether decreasing the fare rates when gasoline prices go down would work. Holcomb stated that even though the gasoline prices go down, the companies’ expenses don’t go down. Alderperson Brock is also in favor of the meters in the cabs even though the rates have been changed based on the destination. Holcomb’s request to the committee is to recommend what they would like to see and will come back to the committee. 3) Announcements, Updates, and Reports a) Lake Street Park Enhancements Addisu Gebre stated they have received site-plan approval from the Planning and Development Board to go ahead with their project. They are now waiting for the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) go ahead to start. He thinks that will happen within the next few days. The project would then have a targeted start date of early July. Funding has come from the Empire State Tourism grant in the amount of $20,000 which they asked $60,000. $175,000 is the projected cost of the project. The project does not have enough funding yet. After funding has been granted, the plan is to go to the City Administration (CA) meeting to request the funding gap. Alderperson Brock asked how the project cost would be reduced if funding doesn’t come through. Gebre stated that amenities such as bike racks, benches, etc. would be scale d back if necessary. Alderperson Kerslick stated he would like to see a Plan B which would be doable with the funding available. Alderperson Brock requested at the next Council meeting a discussion on the sidewalk guidelines should take place. Alderperson McGonigal stated that the project has been to the CA committee several months ago and they asked for an alternative plan. Why isn’t there an additional Plan B like Alderperson Kerslick mentioned? Approved at the July 8, 2015 PEDC Meeting Chair Murtagh pointed out that during the plan for the Lake Street Bridge it was discovered that the park area was in need of repair. Cornish asked Gebre what does the delay of this project do to the available funding. Gebre stated the projects will be bid out together – the Bridge and the Park. Once the bid is awarded, the City and the contractor will work together to finish the project. Alderperson McCollister stated the project details should be laid out and then presented to Parks Commission and the Natural Areas Commission. These two committees are crucial to the approval of the project. Alderperson McGonigal stated that he doesn’t feel any City department should limit or suggest not allowing entrance to the creek bed. Cornish offered to discuss the project with Engineering to see what can be done to keep this project going. b) Incentive/Inclusionary Zoning Chair Murtagh stated that at last month’s meeting it was suggested a committee be formed to review this particular zoning. It was decided that this will be handled by this committee and not a committee be formed. Alderperson McCollister asked how this type of zoning will work with the CIITAP program. Should we keep CIITAP simple? Lynn Truame will be attending two conferences on this topic. Once she has returned, she will discuss it with all. The Mayor joined the group at 7:50 p.m. 4) Action Items – Voting to Send on to Council a) Cornell/City/County Housing Fund – Disbursement of Funds to Assist 210 Hancock Street Housing Fund, Funding Round #9 – Authorize Disbursement of $100,000 Pursuant to an Executed MOU Moved by Alderperson McCollister; seconded by Alderperson Kerslick. Carried unanimously 5-0. Whereas, pursuant to an executed MOU, the Program Oversight Committee for the Cornell/City/County Housing Fund recommends that the City of Ithaca approve funding assistance for the following affordable housing project: Approved at the July 8, 2015 PEDC Meeting $100,000 210 Hancock Street, a 53-unit affordable rental housing project located at 210 Hancock Street, Ithaca, NY., and Whereas, the Housing Fund Program Oversight Committee (POC) met on March 23, 2015, to review recommendations from the Application Review Committee of round #9 funding applications for new affordable housing projects, and Whereas, the City of Ithaca is represented on the POC by Alderperson J.R. Clairborne, Chris Proulx, Ithaca Urban Renewal Agency (IURA) member, and Doug Dylla, past member of the IURA, and Whereas, the Housing Fund was established in 2009 by Memorandum of Agreement (MOU) as a six -year program between and among the City of Ithaca, Tompkins County and Cornell University to raise and award funds to increase the supply of permanently affordable housing in the County, and Whereas, the Common Council determined that City contributions to the Housing Fund should be used to assist projects located within the City of Ithaca, and Whereas, City funds committed to the Housing Fund are derived from Gateway Loan proceeds that originated from sale of City-owned land for the Eddygate project, and are held by the IURA, and Whereas, the POC recommends round #9 funding of $200,000 for the following project: Round #9, Housing Fund - Recommended Funding Awards Applicant Project # Afford. Units Location Funding ($1,000s) Cornell County City Total Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services 210 Hancock St. - New Construction 53 rental 210 Hancock St., City of Ithaca 100 0 100 200 Totals 53 100 0 100 200 Whereas, on May 26, 2015, the City of Ithaca Planning and Development Board, acting as lead agency in the environmental review of this project, determined the project will result in no significant impact on the environment , and Resolved, that the Common Council for the City of Ithaca hereby authorizes an expenditure of up to $100,000 to support the 210 Hancock St. affordable housing project pursuant to the executed MOU, and be if further Resolved, that such funds shall be derived from Gateway Loan Proceeds held by the Ithaca Urban Renewal Agency, and be it further, Resolved, that the Mayor is authorized, subject to advice of the City Attorney, to execut e a fiscal agency agreement with Tompkins County to implement this resolution. Alderperson Brock stated that this program expires at the end of this year. What will happen next? Nels Bohn stated that every Dollar City puts forward, Cornell puts in $2.00 Approved at the July 8, 2015 PEDC Meeting 5) Discussion a) Exterior Property Maintenance Ordinance (EPMO) Fines JoAnn Cornish stated that fines at certain times of the year (move ins/move outs) could be relaxed; property owners and landlords could keep on top of the trash that these particular times of the year generates. Alderperson McCollister stated that there are a number of areas in Collegetown that already have dumpsters out. Many tenant properties use their front porches for such trash and storage. She is not in favor of easing up on that. Alderperson Kerslick stated he would be very concerned in allowing more dumpsters in Collegetown since trash is picked up almost every day. If something could be done rather than adding more dumpsters, he is all in favor of it. Chair Murtagh requested a follow up on the new database. JoAnn Cornish stated the Building Division is busy collecting emails to enter into the database which will generate fine notification. b) Ithaca Falls Natural Area – Next Steps Chair Murtagh asked the committee how we should handle this area. Alderpersons McCollister and Martell both agreed that this should be kept with this committee. The question that needs to be answered is if we designate these properties as a natural area, can it be changed to park or public use? In the resolution approved last month, we gave us a year to decide what to do with the house. Mayor Myrick stated it is an important decision to make, but it doesn’t have to be a difficult one. Alderperson McGonigal stated that it looks like someone or more seem to be taking up squatting in that area with a mattress, etc. Nels Bohn stated it’s a sticky situation given the size of the property as it is only 400 square feet. There has been a fair amount of interest. If it’s been designated a natural area, it cannot be used for residential use. Approved at the July 8, 2015 PEDC Meeting The residential river way goes in and out in the area so some of the existing properties aren’t held to a higher standard. Alderperson Brock stated since this is near the former Gun Hill site, she would like to have it tested for lead and mercury contamination. Alderperson Kerslick stated that we should try to get help on reviewing costs. A list of things the committee would like to see will be sent out to the rest of Council for their thoughts, i.e., cost of demolition, cost of decommissioning, etc. Chair Murtagh stated if we decide to designate this as a natural area, the house cannot be used. There are many people who think it should be demolished. Alderperson Kerslick stated that this doesn’t come at a small cost. c) MH-1 Zoning Alderperson McCollister stated that with the overwhelming amount of information tonight on this, she would like more time to digest and review it. JoAnn Cornish stated that we are waiting to hear from the health department and we will review everything are have questions answered. She stated we will report back next month. A lot of documentation is just not readily available if at all. A site visit was suggested. d) Old Library Site – Update and Discussion Chair Murtagh stated the committee picked the project they liked. It will now go to the full legislature. This vote could override the committee vote. Alderperson McCollister pointed out that even though the County has voiced and approved what they would like to see there, since this property is in the historic district it may not be exactly what was voted on, i.e., it may not be 60 units. On another topic, Alderperson Kerslick informed the committee that a small group discussed fire safety. There are things that need to be looked, one being that sprinkler systems should be on separate water lines. Making these changes would make it easier for homeowners to add the requirement of a sprinkler system. It was further pointed out that adding a sprinkler system doesn’t always protect a sprinkler system home from burning down to the ground. Approved at the July 8, 2015 PEDC Meeting e) Construction Staging in Collegetown – Ellen McCollister Alderperson McCollister stated that major construction projects staging must be planned out early on. Parking for the contractors, sidewalk closings and new paths, etc. need to be discussed and set up. Cornish stated that from this point forward, a street permit will be necessary. This will identify all such issues. Alderperson Brock is in favor of this, but a mechanism should be put in place to hold the contractor accountable when they don’t follow their plan. 6) Review and Approval of Minutes a) April 2015 – Moved by Alderperson Kerslick; seconded by Alderperson Brock. Carried unanimously. 7) Adjournment Alderperson McCollister moved to adjourn; seconded by Alderperson Martell. The meeting was adjourned at 8:45 p.m.