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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-BZA-1981-02-02 BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS j COMMON COUNCIL CHAMBERS CITY OF ITHACA NEW YORK TABLE OF CONTENTS IIAppeals of the February 2 , 1981 Board of Zoning Appeals : I 1 Page fl ' Appeal No. 1331 Charles A. Fritschler 2 801 E. State Street Appeal No. 1331 Executive Session 9 � f i Appeal No. 1-1-81 Bill Zikakis Trust 10 381 Elmira Road Appeal No . 1-1-81 Executive Session 21 Appeal No. 1333 William Borra (Did not Show to 22 316 Third St. Present Appeal) ! Appeal No . 1334 Cornell Radio Guild, Inc. 22 227-231 Linden Avenue I ,!,! Appeal No . 1334 Executive Session 25 1 i �, 1 �lAppeal No. 1338 Albert E. Smith (Shortstop) 26 204 West Seneca Street Appeal No. 1338 Executive Session 29 Appeal No. 1339 Richard P. Seeley 30 i 510 Linn Street f Appeal No. 1339 Executive Session 37 i Appeal No . 1340 J. David Olds , Leon A. Olds , $ 38 Eris 0. Kimble 207 East Court Street Appeal No. 1340 Executive Session 44 I � I Appeal No. 1341 Gadabout Transportation Program 45 210 Center Street Appeal No. 1341 Executive Session 67 i i Appeal No. 1342 Paul S. Hansen 68 111 South_ pl4in Street Appeal No . 1342 Executive Session 70 Appeal No . 1343 John W. Gibson 71 501-505 North Cayuga Street i� Appeal No. 1343 Executive Session 73 i i 74 Certification of Recording Secretary �I BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS COMMON COUNCIL CHAMBERS CITY OF ITHACA, NEW YORK FEBRUARY 2 , 1981 i CHAIRMAN AMAN: I 'd like to call the February meeting of the Ithaca. ; Board of Zoning Appeals to order and I 'd like to - at the outset do two things - one to intorduce the members of the Board here !' tonight and then, secondly, to outline briefly for those of you i who haven' t appeared before the Board, our procedures . Present ( this evening are five of the six members of the Board: Mr. Peter Walsh Mr. Morris Angell Mr. William Wilcox I, Ms. Margaret Haine i; Mr. Alfred Aman, Chairman II Mr. Thomas Hoard, Bldg Comm. & Secretary to the Board !( Mrs . Barbara Ruane, Recording Secy I , Mr. Charles Weaver, the sixth member of the Board, will , I under- stand, be arriving late tonight. He will participate in the voting I` of those cases which he hears but will not participate on the cases i in which he is not here. The Board of Zoning Appeals operates i funder the provisions of the Ithaca City Charter, Ithaca Zoning Ordinance and the Ithaca Sign Ordinance. Our procedures are as i follows . We will call the cases up in order and ask that the ,! appellant or the person requesting the variance come forward and set forth your case - the reason why you feel you are entitled to (ia variance - we ask that you be complete but yet as succinct as 11possible, it is a long docket tonight. After you have made your statements there may be questions for you from the Board and we Mask that you respond to those questions . After the appellant has ( made his or her case we will then ask whether there is anyone in I I the audience who wishes to speak on behalf of the proposed variance. ,, In other words in support of what the requester asked. Then we will ask whether there is anyone who wishes to oppose the proposed; variance. We take the cases up in order and in that wary we hear ,leach case. After we have heard all the cases , the Board will then' go into executive session in private, in other words, and deliberate and come to decisions on these cases . Depending on the hour some Ij - 2 - I � of you may or may not want to wait around until we go back into ; public session but if you do wait, we will go back into public ses� , sion and announce the results of our deliberations . Otherwise thel 'j ( results will be available through the mail or through the Commis- sioner' s office. Also , although we do not work with strict rules i of court room evidence or anything of that sort we do base our de- 1 cisions on the record and this record is made by the testimony that i you present tonight - it is recorded here and therefore we ask tha� I each of you - when you speak - come forward and speak from this podium. At times you will want to make a point and perhaps just stand up in the back of the room and add a couple of sentences or whatever, but it is not likely that that would enter on the record so we ask that whatever you have to contribute to the case, you contribute it by coming forward and making your statements from I this podium. When you do come forward we ask that you state your name and address for purposes of the record. With that as an intr� I duction we will call the first case. SECRETARY HOARD: The first case Mr. Chairman, is appeal 1331 : Appeal of Charles A. Fritschler for an area i variance under Section 30. 25, Columns 6 , 11 an 13 to permit the continued use of 801 East State Street as a multiple dwelling. The property, which is located in an R-3a (residential) use district in which multiple dwellings are per- mitted; however, the property is deficient in minimum required lot size , and required front and side yard setback. The property had been converted to a multiple by a previous owner, i� violation of zoning, building and housing code ' requirements . An earlier appeal was denied by the Board on August 4 , 1980 ; the applicant has returned with a new appeal in which he propose , to provide the required off-street parking. I fCHAIRMAN AMAN: I might add that I think on tonight ' s docket we do have two or three cases which are similar in their procedural ( posture from this point that is to say the Board has considered ! them once before. When we vote on these cases we will have to i first take a vote to determine whether or not we want to reconside the case before we get to the second question of the merits of the; case. You should be apprised that there is that procedure .that the Board has to go through. We have to decide whether or not the case should be reopened and then if it is reopened we can then go forward. i i' it 3 - i IMR. STOLP: Okay? My name is Robert Stolp, I 'm an attorney, I repre- I i! sent Charles Fritschler who is the owner of 801 E. State Street. ( To be very brief, the side yard and front yard set offs total a ; minus of 4 feet. The front yard set off is a 9 foot set off - thej requirement is 10 feet. On one side of the building there is 15 feet - the minimum requirement is 10. On the other side the appellant is a minus 3 feet in that we only have 2 feet. As far as the lot size is concerned we are approximately a 1 ,250 feet ( light of what the Code requirement requires. Tonight I would like i Zito address myself specifically to the problem of off-street parkin ► - I 've had a plot plan prepared to enter into evidence or should I just show it to the members? i CHAIRMAN AMAN: We will include it in the record and pass it around to the Board. 1I i 1MR. STOLP: Also I have had an estimate of the cost of making the 'I necessary adjustments so that the property complies with the park- ing requirements. Needless to say there is no way my client can i. , move the building or change the lot size in order to comply with the deficiencies in that respect but he has and intends to comply as far as the parking lot requirements are concerned. The cost � is substantial - there is going to be an additional building that ineeds to be removed. Required to comply with the off-street park i ing requirements he' d like some indication possibly, from the Board that the variances as far as the one foot on the front and the 3 Meet on the side might be granted. Can I answer any questions? CHAIRMAN AMAN: We are to assume that your entire package here ! includes these plans for off-street parking? MR. STOLP: Absolutely, absolutely. But my client doesn' t want to, I I go to the expense of meeting this requirement if he is going to have problems with 3 feet on his side yard set off and one foot onl li his front yard set off, And again I don' t believe - I 'm not in the construction business but I don't know whether this work can be accomplished in this sort of weather. i CHAIRMAN AMAN: The statement that this was improperly converted tp I ja multiple by a previous owner is it presently zoned for multiple? I i � ii ij 4 !i IMR. STOLP: I believe it is . 1� SECRETARY HOARD: Yes it is . Ji CHAIRMAN AMAN: What was the parking deficiency? Do you recall hoW limany spaces . . . ? i' �IMR. STOLP: I don' t. Perhaps the Building Commissioner could tell ' i! 3 you. SECRETARY HOARD: How many people - I ' ll answer that with a question �IHow many people would be housed in there? The requirement is one ! parking space per two persons housed. j, MR. STOLP: Five spaces. Ten people house - five spaces . I should �imention that I 've checked with an architect and they assume approxi- ` mately 350 square feet per automobile and with the removal of the I !! garage, we ' ll have approximately - it' s on the map there some place I � - I made some calculations . There will be sufficient parking for eight cars if my calculations are correct. � MR. WALSH: Mr. Stolp, is it correct to assume that one bedroom is ', ' intended to house one person only? i ! MR. STOLP: I assume so. I can ask Mr. Fritschler. Yes , that is I correct. I' MR. WALSH: Mr. Fritschler does now own this property in fact? MR. STOLP: I believe he does , dont you, Mr. Fritschler? Ii MR. FRITSCHLER: Yes. !i MR. STOLP: Yes he does . l! MR. WALSH: I mean by deed, we are not talking about a contract owner? � MR. STOLP: He is the owner of record by deed. SMR. WALSH: How long has Mr. Fritschler owned this property? ! MR. FRITSCHLER: Approximately three years . i �I MR. STOLP: Approximately three years . i NOTE: Mr. Charles Weaver, the sixth Board member arrived at this i ( meeting at approximately 7 : SO PM. MR. WALSH: Was he aware, at the time he purchased it, that there ji were these deficiencies for the intended use? MR. STOLP: I 'm afraid, again, I ' ll have to refer to Mr, Fritschler. I, MR. FRITSCHLER: Sir , at the time I got the deed I was aware that i i' - 5 - i the time I first became involved with the property I did purchase it under a land contract and at that time I was not aware of these requirements . I ( SECRETARY HOARD: Would you identify yourself for the record? I MR. FRITSCHLER: Yes, I 'm Charles Fritschler. MR. WALSH: So you have owned the property as a record for three years and you purchased it by land contract? MR. FRITSCHLER: Yes sir. MR. WALSH: And at the time you first made the land contract , you were not aware of certain deficiencies on the property? Is that right sir? i ' MR. FRITSCHLER: Yes sir, that is correct. MR. WALSH: Were you aware that the property, as it stood at that time, was in violation of the applicable zoning requirements? MR. FRITSCHLER: No, when I first got involved with it I was not really aware of how building codes are zoned - it was about seven years ago. I was still ignorant of these things at that time. MR. WALSH: Just as a matter of interest, were you represented by I' anyone at that time? When you purchased the property? MR. FRITSCHLER: No sir. SECRETARY HOARD: Photographs - if you would like to see them. MR. STOLP: May I see them? SECRETARY HOARD: Sure. iIMR. STOLP: Mr. Hoard, are the numbers down here refering to the specific photograph - BZA 1331? SECRETARY HOARD: No, that' s this case number the appeal number. , MR. STOLP: Well for the members of the Board, Mr. Fritschler has informed me - in the particular photograph - the garage that is falling down - that is the building that is to be removed to give him the additional space for the parking, CHAIRMAN AMAN: What is the nature of the use of the houses that are on either side of this property? MR. FRITSCHLER: The one on the left as you are facing the street, I think it is 719 - or something like that , I 'm not sure, is a multiple dwelling, am I correct Mr. Hoard? II I, I 6 - SECRETARY HOARD: Which one? I SMR. FRITSCHLER: The green house on the left is a multiple dwellin ? (i There are several apartments in there. i ( MR. ANGELL: Who owns that house? i SECRETARY HOARD: Sarkus . I am not sure what the make up of it is ' toff-hand. j t p MR. FRITSCHLER: There is more than two apartments in there so I 1 assume that means it' s a multiple dwelling. And on the other side ! it ' s rented out to - house or to a group of students . i IIMR. ANGELL: Do you know who owns the houses on either side? i I IMR. FRITSCHLER: No. On the left side, Peter Sarkus does . On the '; i! 11right side - it is being managed by a company now - I do not know 1 , who owns it. CHAIRMAN AMAN: Are there any further questions from the Board? I '' Idon' t mean to rush you. �I IMR. ANGELL: What is the back lot size? I ' d like to hear from you , !( j ijust what the lot size is . !IMR. STOLP: From myself or my client? I don' t think either one of l i lius could be more specific than someone that . . . I; � MR. ANGELL: The useable lot size. What is the useable lot size? i! IjMR. STOLP: Presently? It would be the square footage that I have indicated in pencil on the map , minus the garage. If you understand jme correctly, presently there is a garage on the back that I think ' ( showed one of the pictures it is in a delapidated falling down ! state. In the event the garage is removed, which was my client' s ilintention to do, then the total square footage in the back would be, � - I believe it is 28 or 29 hundred. I could show you if you would , allow me . i 'MR. ANGELL: If you would. IjMR. STOLP: 2, 950 square feet without the garage. 11MR. ANGELL: Where does that go from? What does . . , iiMR. STOLP: I't ' s the area uncovered on the lot. You take the garage H ! away - from here -- this area back here is: a cliff and I didn' t !; include that, Right here , this square area (pointing) . . �1MR. ANGELL: That' s taking up in here (pointing) someplace? f i i - 7 iI SMR. STOLP: Right . +MR. ANGELL: How far? fi MR. STOLP: (unintelligible) 59 feet is to the - well that ii its the depth considering the cliff or whatever it is . 59 times - �Isquare footage from here (pointing) back. You can double check my ; calculations but I believe it is fairly close. So that is the it square footage. With, of course, with this garage removed - you can see from the pictures the condition of the garage . I�MR. ANGELL: That ' s right up to the house line? I MR. STOLP: I believe so . I I ! SECRETARY HOARD: What would be done about the slope? �IMR. STOLP: What slope? � SECRETARY HOARD: From the sidewalk - it drops off quite rapidly CHAIRMAN AMAN: That sounds like a significant question - if you I ' could answer that up here. I understand the question is what - IIthere seems to be a sloping or something of this nature . . . ii MR. FRITSCHLER: There is a slope from the street down into the - I where the parking lot would be and what Mr. Paolangeli said he i! would do is put in first some larger gravel and then small gravel i lion top and build it down so it will be a gradual slope down. i MR. STOLP: I assume that the estimate we gave you from the con- tractor includes the - whatever work is necessary to put the parking `1spaces in order behind the building. I should mention that the i $880. 00 doesn' t include tearing down the building or the garage. i iBut in the state it' s in I don't think it will require much work. iMR. FRITSCHLER: Mr. Angell that is a firm proposal from Mr. i i IPaolangeli - I spoke with him this afternoon and he said the price would probably be about 20% higher for 1981 because of inflation. He is prepared to do the job within that price, MR. ANGELL: Put the fill in and everything? for that price? j� MR. PRITSCHLER: It is 110 tons of fill is what the proposal callsi ii for. ii CHAIRMAN AMAN: Any further questions? (none) Thank you very muc . iIlIs there anyone here who wishes to speak on behalf of the proposed ' , ' area variance? (no one) Is there anyone here who wishes to oppose? I i I � - s - ' Hearing nothing further we will take the next case. i MR. NOVARR: I just want to ask a question. I 1 , CHAIRMAN AMAN: Do you want to speak for or against the proposal? Please come forward to the podium. I IMR. NOVARR: I 'm John Novarr, I live at 202 Eddy Street, not too far from the property that I guess Mr. Fritschler wants a variances i for. I have a question or two I 'd like to ask first if I might. I � Are you the same Mr. Fritschler that is involved with the East Hil� ( School right now? �1MR. FRITSCHLER: Yes I am. IMR. NOVARR: Yes , this is the guy who is holding up one of East i I Hill ' s better projects right now. jMR. STOLP: If it please the Board, this is completely irrelevant Viand immaterial to the granting of the variance. CHAIRMAN AMAN: Excuse me , we do have a long docket . . . I MR. NOVARR: I 'm sure you do. i j� CHAIRMAN AMAN: And - if you can speak, if you can make a point that is relevant to this piece of property we are prepared to listen but we are not going to open it up to other kinds of issues , MR. NOVARR: I think the point that I am trying to make, sir, is this . A lot of things having to do with zoning are based on trust - based on whether you actually believe somebody is going to act in j a faithful way - is going to do what they propose to do and in the past has acted in a forthright manner, so you can be assured that at least some of the public good is foremost in their minds . I think that if we went through Mr. Fritschler' s history over the last five or ten years MR, STOLP: I 'm going to object to all of this in the event it + should in any way influence the Board' s decision over one parti- cular piece of property. MR. NOVARR: I thi.nk. I have made my point . Thank you. I CHAIRMAN AMAN: You've made your point. When we deliberate we focus on the property - on the case before us so I 'm afraid that Ibis not relevant. MR. NOVARR: Thank you. i i I� l - 9 - BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS COMMON COUNCIL CHAMBERS CITY OF ITHACA, NEW YORK I j FEBRUARY 2, 1981 I! iI EXECUTIVE SESSION ( APPEAL NO. 1331 : IThe Board considered the appeal for an area variance under Section , 1; 30. 25, Columns 6, 11 and 13 to permit the continued use of 801 East, 1� JIState Street as a multiple dwelling. The property, which is located lin an R-3a use district in which multiple dwellings are permitted; ] I (however, the property is deficient in minimum required lot size, i land required front and side yard setback. The decision of the Board was as follows : MR. WALSH: I move that the Board deny the variance sought in i �j appeal number 1331. MR. ANGELL: I second the motion. �iVOTE: 5 Yes ; 0 No ; 1 Absent Denied. � 1 'FINDINGS OF FACT: ( 1) The objections previously raised when this matter was before the Board all still pertain, with the exception possibly of !I efforts made to meet off-street parking requirements . 2) The plan presented to the Board leaves in doubt whether it would I � comply with teh provisions of the Municipal Code, Section II 30. 37-A-3. I 3) The Board takes notice of the fact that the area in question is 1 densely populated with heavy traffic on State Street and an increase to as many as ten (10) persons contemplated for this i I dwelling would be a further substantial burden on the neigh- borhood. �I I! �I i � I , �i f 10 - i BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS CITY OF ITHACA NEW YORK f COMMON COUNCIL CHAMBERS j FEBRUARY 2, 1981 ; CHAIRMAN AMAN: We will call the next appeal . I� SECRETARY HOARD: The next case is appeal 1-1-81 : �! Appeal of Bill Zikakis Trust for a variance under Section 34. 6B to permit the erection of i1 three new signs at 381 Elmira Road (Bill Zikakis Imports) in a B-5 use district. The requested signs would increase the number of i; signs to four ; district regulations permit only two signs on this property. A previous appeal for additional signs for this property was i denied by the Board in April 1980. (! MR. ZIKAKIS : I 'm William Zikakis , I 'm president of Bill Zikakis I EChevrolet and Imports on 401 Elmira Road, in Ithaca. We would like iI (Ito request again the addition of three Subaru signs - the Subaru I Automobile franchise requires that I have three additional signs - I three signs just for the Subaru products and I have brought with (i us today Allen Augustine who is Business Management Manager of Subaru Distributors Corp. out of New Jersey and I thought I would i Iturn the podium over to him and let him make a proposal on the sign. i, MR. WEAVER: Question before you leave the podium. How many auto Ilmotive products do you sell out there . . . ? MR. ZIKAKIS: On the location that we are talking about at 381 j Elmira Road we sell Volvo, Mazda and Subaru. I presently have one ' ( sign that totals 64 square feet that resembles this (Exhibit "A") . ' +I �iThat has all three products on the one side . That is not satisfac i tory to Subaru. They would like to have their own identification �i program. IMR. WEAVER: Thank you. I . MR. AUGUSTINE : Mr. Chairman, members of the Board, ladies and genrt II Itlemen. My name is Allen Augustine, I 'm the Business Management ! Manager of Subaru Distributors Corp . in Walroth, New Jersey. The I purpose for my being here this evening is to pursue the application jof Bill Zikakis Trust as far as the erection of Subaru Products 1' signs . I realize that this application has been before your Board lin the past and was ruled upon and I also realize for you to hear this, basically as I understand it, there has to be some additional '! I 11findingsIof fact or evidence that would possibly cause you to be Twilling to modify the previous decision. Some of the additional j information that I have to give you this evening can be found in this brochure which I will give to your clerk there to be passed j I around to members of the Board. It is something at the last hear ing I do not believe that we had, which actually was a graphic i picture of the type of signs we are attempting to have erected. Ii bears repeating the fact that the reason we are talking about this ' sign program is that it is part of the uniform identity program of I the Subaru of America and Subaru Distributors Corp. in attempting i to upgrade our general dealership images by having proper ready identification. These signs we are attempting to have constructed i in all our markets throughout the United States , particularly within i our zone of influence which. includes the entire state of New York i and approximately the ten northern counties of New Jersey. I be- lieve in the past Mr. Zikakis or the Zikakis Trust has received approval - and correct me if I am wrong - of a 4 x 10 foot Subaru Products sign. Is that correct or not sir? SECRETARY HOARD: I 'm not sure exactly what the measurements of th� i ! existing sign are. I MR. AUGUSTINE: Okay, well anyway we won' t stipulate that but that , is what I believe to be the case. What we are trying to do is to i see if there is any type of viable compromise that can be reached regarding the remaining signs, realizing and understanding the spi�it of your Ordinance and not wanting to create undue sign pollution - realizing that what you are trying to do in that area of the city, which. is most commendable , and just trying to be good neighbors an� to have some compassion for what you as officials of the governing body in the city are trying to do. I don' t know, really, how to ! approach this in the best way other than to say that we are under- j standing but we do feel we have an obligation - Mr. Zikakis is com emitted for these signs in the form of an addendum to his sales coni I tract where he agreed to have these signs erected. 0£ course, we I realize that this is subject to the Zoning Board of Appeals con- I. currence we recognizing the very important validity of home rule i� ! 11 I p - 12 - �I 11, but we would just like to see if some type of viable meeting of the minds that we could achieve to satisfy our sign program and also i ! be in the spirit of the Ordinance that you have so skillfully 'Idrafted. Now, I would ask for some comments from you, sir, as to i 11where we might go from here. jMR. WILCOX: Sir, I would like to ask, are there any other communiµ I I ( ties where you have not been allowed to carry out the program as you i ( would like? Ii IMR. AUGUSTINE : Yes sir there are - this is not an easy program tol . MMR. WILCOX: What kind of compromises did you reach there? I 'i MR. AUGUSTINE: Well in one particularly similar area I can think �, of we compromised with two out of the four signs . This was a i ! colonial type town in New Jersey very deeply committed to preserva I Ition of colonial atmosphere and heritage and they did finally agree Ito let us put up two of the four signs . I must be fair to say that. . . I MR. WILCOX: Well you have resolved the problems in other areas ti though . . . ,SMR. AUGUSTINE: Yes sir , we have resolved the problem in other areas . i �IMR. WALSH: Mr. Augustine, you are asking for a total of four Subaru issue of signs? MR. AUGUSTINE: If we could have some type of utopia here this evening, why naturally that would be what the sign program is and there are areas in the country that do permit the four signs . I recognize the fact, in all reality, that' s not going to happen. I ilSo in the face of that, I 'm just trying to see if there is any I ' degree of meeting of minds that could be achieved to enable us to �I attempt to comply with your requirements and also to fulfill our jlprogram as much as possible . !MR. WALSH: I applaud your spirit of compromise, I guess I need to ' find out where you are starting from. With the four signs that you r ! would ideally like to see - what dimensions are we talking about 1with. those signs? i 1+MR. AUGUSTINE: Well on that brochure MR. WALSH: Which identified, I think, about six different types I I ., of signs. IE i - 13 - I j ii I' IMR. AUGUSTINE: Well , let me identify the signs from that brochure ! i land then I will be glad to - if I can identify them - we are talki�g i !! about a Subaru Product Sign which is a 4 ' x 10 ' sign. There is a j i; ISubaru - what they call "Readi Car, Used Car" sign, which is also 41 x 101 . There is a Subaru "Parts and Service" sign which is 3' j7 ' and there is what they call an outdoor "Subaru Outdoor Modular" i sign which is 4' x 32 ' because of the fact that each individual i modular is 4 x 4. If I may, sir, I will let you take a look at this. I, i ! CHAIRMAN AMAN: My understanding is that you are allowed a total of I ! two signs on this property and . . . ! MR. AUGUSTINE: Yes. 1 CHAIRMAN AMAN: Of course , Mr. Zikakis has three different compani4s I ! represented. �! MR. AUGUSTINE: I understand that. I realize the overall problem j i but I have to be concerned with the Subaru aspect of it and I do it jrealize the fact that he does handle other franchises at this par- i i ticular location. May I give this to the gentleman here to inspec ' CHAIRMAN AMAN: I think it has been around. j i �IMR. WILCOX: Could I ask, is there a formula, is there some weight that Subaru gives to dealer for their salesmanship as opposed to their I� size? I would think the success of their sales would be number one but . . . MR. AUGUSTINE: Well I would say the success of sales certainly is ! very much of or very important, however we feel that part of the ', i !Ithing that very much affects sales is the identification of the looa- I tion where the products are being sold. 1MR. WALSH: Mr. Augustine , are each of these signs , sir, intended to be double-faced - say both sides visible from the persons passing ! on the . . . i' i MR. AUGUSTINE: They can be double-faced or single-faced. Actuall SII would say that is really somewhat optional as to whether they and '' double-faced or single-faced. ! . MR. WALSH: Does your signing program make any kind of allowance tqr �j - lack of a better way of expressing it - I am talking about conceo- !� i !j ! i 14 1 � i Itration of signs in the area where the dealership is located. I 1 MR. AUGUSTINE: That ' s it. SMR. WALSH: Sign density, if you will . There are certain places where i there are more signs per 100 yards than people and other places where a single sign stands out rather sharply because there are so ! few. Does your sign program make any allowance for that kind of , differential? i MR. AUGUSTINE: To the best of my knowledge it does not sir. MR. ANGELL: Tom, what square footage are we talking about here that is allowed? I can't recall . I SECRETARY HOARD: Okay, the building there is 1001long - that is j 100' of frontage. They are allowed 1 . 5 square feet of signage per lineal foot of frontage so that's a total of 150 square feet I that they are permitted. i MR. ANGELL: And how many existing signs are there now? SECRETARY HOARD: When I was out there today there weren't any signs . MR. KIZAKIS: This one is out for repair CExhibit "A") . SECRETARY HOARD: Oh, okay. �MR. ZIKAKIS : But it is 86 square foot , iMR. ANGELL: 86. I MR. WALSH: Mr. Augustine, which- one sign that Subaru would very much like to see without promising anything (unintelligible) in Mr. Zikakis ' s display - can you tell us in fact if there would be any untold consequences for his dealership if he were not to get the full allowance of signs? MR. AUGUSTINE: Any untold, you say? MR. WALSH: Untoward - unfortunate. iMR. AUGUSTINE: WEll , just let me say this if I may. I recognize the fact that Mr. Zikakis is a very fine business man and we are ve y quick to recognize that fact because he has made substantial contri butions to the community here. However we do have an obligation toy try to pursue this to the fullest extent of the due process available to us. When we prepare an addendum to our sales agreement, when th Idealer signs it and agrees to do certain things , we have the obliga I g� i 15 - I : tion because all dealers are required to sign this if at all possible. iAnd if we don't pursue this with the same vigor, so to speak, with ! Revery dealer, we are remiss . So we have to go through all due pro- ii iicess within reason to try to be sure no stone has been left unturndd !! to have this complied with if at all possible. Bearing in mind that l ,: we do not want to be - I emphasize again - we do not want to be extremely difficult and uncooperative and not good citizens as far ! jab the neighborhoods that we have to do business in. Do I make ! myself clear? CMR. WALSH: I think I understand where you are coming from. (; CHAIRMAN AMAN: As I see it, there is still 64 square feet unaccounted is !; for, so presumably an arrangement could be worked out between you hand Mr. Zikakis to use some of that , or all of that 64 square feet ! ; for a Subaru sign. MR. ANGELL: No, there is more than that. CHAIRMAN AMAN: 86 . . . SMR. ANGELL: Well this says 64 on this one . I don' t understand . . I CHAIRMAN AMAN: I thought there was - I thought it was 86 and that , ' 6 would leave .4 ! ' MR. ANGELL: Well , that is what I thought - but on here it says 64 . h CHAIRMAN AMAN: Maybe that ' s a subtracted figure . MR. ANGELL: Do you know Tom? MR. AUGUSTINE: That 's something I think was on there . Mr. Zikakis ;' perhaps could answer- that better than I . SMR. ZIKAKIS: I think it is 64 . The present sign I think is 64 square feet. ( CHAIRMAN AMAN: That leaves 86 that is even more to play with. d MR. ANGELL: No, it leaves more than that . MR. WEAVER: Well the complement that would arrive at 150 square !; feet is what we are talking about , is available in the other free !! standing signs? Does that sound like the sort of relief that you ghave been seeking? MR. AUGUSTINE: Well it ' s soothing, it may not be totally . . . May E I; I hasten to add that in that sign that Mr. Zikakis has there, !! there is some portion representing Subaru. It would be my goal and i i ! I f i ' i I I - 16 - II I i (lour goal , to have that Subaru portion deleted from that sign and j nand added to whatever else could be arranged that would be a, so- i I ! called, authorized Subaru sign. That is something I would have toj 'itry to work out - I understand, with Mr. Zikakis and I don' t want 1�0 Hput words in his mouth, but we are not - we do not count that as an ? acceptable sign per se , as far as our sign program - that is more � I for less something that he has tried to do to have some identifica I tion of the number of products that he sells but that is not truly ! an acceptable sign for Subaru Distributors Corp. So, I realize that i IS something that would have to be discussed with Mr. Zikakis . Butt the main thing I was concerned about is the position and the climate i alas far as the Board of Zoning Appeals are concerned as to their I ii attitude about what I have been talking about and I appreciate the ; i feeling of agreement that I 've sensed so far, without committment, ' I I I! of course, but it ' s encouraging to say the least. i ; CHAIRMAN AMAN: Well , I think, based on the facts as I understand Ithem, there is room within the law as it presently exists for at least one more sign, if my figures are correct . So it may be some-1 1 , thing for you and Mr . Zikakis to work out as to whether or not he Iwants to commit that one other sign to Subaru exclusively. � g y. i MR. AUGUSTINE: Well, as I see it here - if I could just focus - da you have a very heavy agenda here, I don' t like to be taking a loth lof time from everybody else . j CHAIRMAN AMAN: Well , we do but if you feel that you have another ' i point to make , go right ahead. MR. AUGUSTINE: I ' ll try to limit this as much as I can. For argu 1 i ments sake, as I said before , I believe at some point, and this isi i! ;', subject to verification - the product sign itself - the 4 x 10 (product sign was at least given some type of placid approval in the; past. That would be - is it 40 square feet? 40 square feet having approval , leaving me 110 feet left fo r approval within the frame I� I 1work of the Ordinance, is that correct? IIMR. ANGELL: Then he is taking this sign down completely? IIMR. AUGUSTINE: No . I 'm just talking about him taking the Subaru I 'portion out of that . I 1 i, i! 17 - jCHAIRMAN AMAN: I don't think it would be that much. It is 150 minus ;'whatever that sign is without the Subaru in it. And in any event, i, homy understanding is there is one other free-standing sign so. . . !iSECRETARY HOARD: No , there is this plus one . . . !i iI jCHAIRMAN AMAN: Well there could be just one other. iI iSECRETARY HOARD: Right . i 'CHAIRMAN AMAN: So, that' s the room within the Ordinance that you j! still have to work with. IMR. ZIKAKIS: I think that' s where the rejection came the last timet ;was we wanted to put up more than two signs and that ' s where the 'appeal is that we need more than two signs - that one being one of jthem that we have currently up and then the other is whatever else i l�you would grant us . I. CHAIRMAN AMAN: So you, in effect, are asking for a total of 150 ,square feet but you want to break it up perhaps three ways instead ' of two ways? i. Ii IMR. AUGUSTINE: That would be a fair assessment . �MR. ANGELL: How many free-standing signs are they allowed, Tom? SECRETARY HOARD: They are allowed either one free-standing sign an4 i a sign on the building or two signs on the building or two free- I! ;standing signs. �i MR. ANGELL: What would you opt for? One sign on the building or one i ; more free-standing sign? I I �IMR. AUGUSTINE : Ideally, if and I ' ll be perfectly candid with you ! sir, if we could have, say for arguments sake , one more sign on the' i ;'building and one more free-standing sign Subaru only - I would feel that it was fair treatment. i� R. WALSH: Mr. Augustine , could you suggest how we should deal with I� the next car dealer on Elmira Road who comes in and asks for three ;!free-standing signs for each of its products and what I might tell him Ii (in terms of accommodating the Ordinance and balancing the interests, , of all. R. AUGUSTINE: Well I would say, sir, that anyone selling a Parti; !cular automotive product certainly should be able to tell the public ( that he is selling that product. He should be entitled to at least i I I I I! II I - 18 - ! I !lone sign for each franchise. It also would be helpful if he could fialso advertise the fact that he sells service and parts for that ( particular product. I think each case has to be to some extent ' on on its merit. I' looked u Frankly y for what you should tell another; dealer with this problem, it is difficult for me to say, because II' I1know that your problem is a difficult one, and anytime that you are! jcharged with the responsibility of interpreting zoning laws and ii Imaking policy - why, it is a thankless job and I do appreciate that. iBut, I don' t think I 've really answered your question but I 've been] i jattempting to. IMR. WALSH: I guess it ' s really not an answerable one . SMR. AUGUSTINE: Thank you for that acknowledgement. (MR. WALSH: Thank you. IICHAIRMAN AMAN: Any further questions from the Board? fi IMR, AUGUSTINE: I guess everyone understands what we are trying to ( achieve here - there is no doubt about that? ( CHAIRMAN AMAN: I think I do. What you are asking for, really, isi I ( the variance goes more to the number of signs then it does to the i ( total square footage, although. I suppose you would . . . 'IMR. WILCOX; Well if he can get two signs for Subaru, you make that ( sound like that ' s your minimum requirement? MR. AUGUSTINE: Let' s put it this way. Naturally we would like tol ( have four or certainly three, but I will be perfectly candid with ylou, jlif we could have two Subaru signs I would think under the circum i stances that the Board is being quite fair. SMR. WILCOX: Well the only persons that could answer that would bei IjMr. Zikakis , I would thank, I mean he ' s got his other franchies I too, he ' d have to . . . i1MR. AUGUSTINE: Well , of course, I' d have to add to that that in seeking these two Subaru signs I would hope it could be done so he ! icould still have perhaps at least one more product sign of whatever ilh.e handles. But that is something that is not my responsibility.! i MR. WILCOX; Would you like to comment on it Bill? SMR. ZIKAKIS : I have to keep either the existing sign or another i ( product sign I have to have - have to represent the other products . I I i i 19 - j' ( SECRETARY HOARD: Maybe you could state - just so that we have the in order - what your first choice would be and what your second ichoice would be. I 'm not a voting member so it would be up to the ' IiBoard to say . . . MR. AUGUSTINE: I ' ll leave this with you if you care to mark my priorities on here . I would say that the product sign would be number 1 - this 4 x 10 product sign. No. 2 would be this modular i� sign, the smaller of the two modular signs , I might add. MR. ANGELL: Would you identify those by letter or whatever it is. .j . MR. AUGUSTINE: The product sign is the 4 x 10 foot . . . i � MR. ANGELL: What letter is that? MR. AUGUSTINE: It' s called a 4 x 10 foot Subaru hanging mount sign. i It is letter "e". i SMR. ANGELL: "e" is number 1 . IMR. AUGUSTINE: Right. Number 2 would be "b" which is called a 4 4 outdoor modular horizontal sign, 4 ' x 321 . This is letter "b" i I and I will leave this with. your clerk here. And letter - the. thir4 choice would be the letter "d", the 4 x 10 outdoor "ready used car'i I sign and the fourth coice would be "f" , the 3 x 7 foot "parts and j service" sign. So that - e, b, d, f. ' MR. ANGELL: Two of those signs would be face-mounted on the build- ling is that right? i MR. AUGUSTINE: That would be acceptable to us . Or whatever Mr. Zikakis . . . i MR. ANGELL: As I take it , two of those signs could be incorporated - could you incorporate those into one sign, Bill? I MR. ZIKAKIS: You could. The two signs that are on the building i might fit right MR. ANGELL: That' s what I 'm saying, yes . i I IMR. ZIKAKIS: We could incorporate into one sign, if that would be ! I 1permissible . And that would be very satisfactory to me , that would ( resolve our problem. That would be these two signs together . . . � MR. ANGELL: Right . MR. ZIKAKIS: And maybe even if - to make it legal , to pin them together or something. I I II - 20 Ii MR. ANGELL: Can we do that Tom? MR. ZIKAKIS: If that were satisfactory - that would be fine with !i 'Ime. And that would leave my standing sign for the other products . i I; !IMR. ANGELL: Could we do that? ii jISECRETARY HOARD: That would have to be outlined somehow so that t , MR. ANGELL: How about if they are incorporated together one sig4? ,! MR. ZIKAKIS: Could they be welded together? SECRETARY HOARD: I don' t know (unintelligible) CHAIRMAN AMAN: The total area would be that big one what was 4 x . . . ? IIMR. ANGELL: The total area (unintelligible) I think it would ,, come close anyway. CHAIRMAN AMAN: 4 x 10. i ! MR. ZIKAKIS: That would be 4 x 10 and . . . � MR. AUGUSTINE: That would be 3 x 7 right? I MR. ZIKAKIS: And 4 x 10 . . . ii CHAIRMAN AMAN: Well you would come close to 150 if you only focused ion this one sign. MR. ANGELL : No, no. 4 x 10 is 40 feet and 3 x 7 is 21 i CHAIRMAN AMAN: I thought they were talking about 4 x 32? i MR. WALSH: No - these two right here. And as soon as you start �i i �itacking them together your total area is the total area outline. ilThe two signs and the connecting lines - you are not merely con- Inecting an area . . . i , MR. AUGUSTINE; if I might say so, I think that - unless I'm wrong ;- would still be within the area though. Ii MR. ANGELL: I think so. I ,SMR. WALSH; Well if you put the 4 x 10 as a matter of fact you are talking 40 - 60 . . . MR. ANGELL: You are right in it - sure, you are fine. MR. ZIKAKIS: Well if that could be done that would be great that it 'would represent every - really, would be a good compromise. iCHAIRMAN AMAN: Any, further comments or questions? Thank you. '! Is there anyone here who wishes to speak on behalf of this vax. iance? Anyone h.ere who wishes to oppose it? (no one) Okay, we will mower 1 i on to the next case. MR. AUGUSTINE: Thank you - members of the Board, I - 21 - �) i I I ' �I BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS i COMMON COUNCIL CHAMBERS i! CITY OF ITHACA NEW YORK I� FEBRUARY 2 , 1981 ii i� EXECUTIVE SESSION ii 1APPEAL NO. 1-1-81 �E ! The Board considered the appeal for a variance under Section 34 . 6B c ito permit the erection of three new signs at 381 Elmira Road in a �B- 5 use district . The requested signs would increase the number of signs to four; district regulations permit only two signs on this ;;property. A previous appeal for additional signs for this property !I !was denied by the Board in April 1980. The decision of the Board jlwas as follows : 11CHAIRMAN AMAN: I move that the Board deny the sign variance ,I requested in appeal no. 1-1-81 . �MS. HAINE: I second the motion. �IVOTE: 6 Yes , 0 No Denied. j I�FINDING OF FACT: `IThe Ordinance in the area in question permits a maximum of 150 i square feet of signage broken into not more than two units, The applicant seeks permission to mount a total of four signs . The ilapplicant indicated that its needs would be met by combining two ( of its proposed signs as a single face-mounted wall sign, If so I� done the applicant needs no variance. Therefore the variance is iidenied as unnecessary. ti i+ I� j ii i; ij 22 - f � BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS COMMON COUNCIL CHAMBERS CITY OF ITHACA NEW YORK FEBRUARY 2 , 1981 I SECRETARY HOARD: The next case is appeal number 1333 : Appeal of William Borra for an area variance under Section 30. 25 , Column 11 to permit con- version of the existing one-family dwelling at ! 316 Third Street to a two-family dwelling. The property is located in an R-3b (residential) II use district and is deficient in required front yard setback. Anybody here to represent this case? Last month he wasn' t here because he was in a car accident. �! MR. WALSH: Mr. Hoard, is that case before us for - did we have this case before? I SE CRETARY HOARD: Which? �I, MR. WALSH: 1333. SECRETARY HOARD: No , he did not appear - he was in an auto accident . IMR. WALSH: So this is only the second time it has been on the calendar then? SECRETARY HOARD: Right . MR. WALSH: Okay. Thank you. ( SECRETARY HOARD: For the next case then, appeal number 1334 : 1 Appeal of Cornell Radio Guild, Inc. for a use variance under Section 30. 25 , Columns 2 , 3 and ; 4 to permit rental of a portion of the property at 227-231 Linden Avenue for retail storage. The property is located in an R-3b use distric ` in which commercial storage is not permitted, II and the property is deficient in required off- 1 street parking. MS. KOSKI : Good evening, my name is Linda Koski, I 'm vice preside�t s of WVBR, our address is 227 Linden Avenue. I would just like to I' I� refer you to this diagram do you have a copy of it? (Exhibit A) I have some extras if you don' t have it in front of you. I CHAIRMAN AMAN: Yes . �IMS. KOSKI : Okay. Gary Wideburg of the Bike Rack would like to use our power utility room for storage space only. He has also I , expressed interest in using the small room. Now - that I hadn' t included in the material that I submitted, but in the past three weeks he has expressed interest in also using that strictly as I storage space. II 23 - ! MS. KOSKI : Deliveries will be once every two months - once every 1 i I!, three months - it would only take five or ten minutes to unload th6 i truck - there will be no parking problem created and no traffic. MR. WALSH: Ms . Koski - are the contemplated uses entirely for storage? � MS. KOSKI : Yes , just for storage space of bicycles . ,I ,I MR. WALSH: Of bicycles - then we are not speaking about pharmacals for anything of that order? , MS. KOSKI : No, strictly bicycles . j 'IMR. WALSH: And we are not speaking of any kind of repair work on 1: 'I the premises? F �fMS. KOSKI : No, we are not. 1 MR. WALSH: Okay, so it is purely dead storage? I ' ( MS. KOSKI : Right !, MR. WALSH: Is any portion of the ground or area that now exists !! which is now a garage or large room - parking area in back now? i lMS. KOSKI : The only parking area is in the front of our facilities I: - right here (pointing to Exhibit A) and also, this is a garage , ! which is parking space. ' MR. WALSH: What 's indicated as garage is parking space now? i IMS. KOSKI: Yes . fIMR. WALSH: And it is used by whom? I ';! MS. KOSKI: Staff members of WVBR. ' MR. WALSH: I see. And the area that' s denoted the "large room"? I� I MS. KOSKI : There is nothing in there right now. No one has a �1 lease agreement with us - that is empty space that we are trying to fill right now. ' MR. WALSH: This building is originally a large garage or something ii if I recall, is it not? IMS . KOSKI : Yes . MR. WEAVER: Two story concrete storage garage originally. IjMS. KOSKI: Our studios are on the second floor. ( SECRETARY HOARD: I think since the membership of this Board is 11pretty much new since the last appeal by VBR, a little bit of 11background may be in order. When VBR first moved in there they I� i I! - 24 - i l � I� they came to the Board of Zoning Appeals and the Board said that I 11they would not have to prove hardship with each successive case, e' in other words, it is clearly established that the building is not 1, , suitable for residential uses , but the Board did say that any use i ; that would come - would be proposed for this building would have i Ito come before the Board so that the Board could look at the ques ; tion of potential harmful affects on the neighborhood. So that is 1why it is before you today. �' MR. ANGELL: They don' t have to prove hardship? SECRETARY HOARD: No, the Board has established in the past with i , the first case involving this property that the hardship exists . MR. WILCOX: Somebody wanted to put in a woodworking shop , was it? 11 They were turned down I remember that. Well has that been in use i j for how long then? That area . . . ! MS. KOSKI : At least the past five years - at least. ' CHAIRMAN AMAN: I 'm sorry - five years applies to what? it IMS. KOSKI : Oh, the power utility room has not been used - I don't 'j think it has ever been rented to anyone - to my knowledge. And there has been no one in this small room either. Ii CHAIRMAN AMAN: Any further questions? �I MS. HAINE: Where is the Bike Rack located now? i ji MS. KOSKI: 128 Dryden Avenue . Gary Wideburg was at Sheldon Court, but he moved to Dryden. MS. HAINE: So he really_ he is still in business? li MS. KOSKI: Yes . MR. WILCOX: Will you explain exactly what the power utility room i s? i MS. KOSKI : Okay here is the entrance right here - you walk in I' against the wall over here (pointing to Exhibit "A") there are some i j meters . These meters are covered with metal boxes so there is no �i fire hazard created and we spoke with Gary and all of the boxes i' that would be put in this room - there would be room for a meter man to come in and walk in and take a meter reading, so he wouldn' t j be blocked, j MR. WILCOX: This is 24 x 23? MS. KOSKI : Yes . j I l I 25 - P! i CHAIRMAN AMAN: Is there anyone here who wishes to speak for the ; proposed variance? (no one) Is there anyone here who wishes to j oppose it? (no one) Thank you very much Ms . Koski. Alright , we I will call the next case. j BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS COMMON COUNCIL CHAMBERS CITY OF ITHACA NEW YORK I� FEBRUARY 2 , 1981 f EXECUTIVE SESSION i APPEAL NO. 1334 : i The Board considered the appeal for a use variance under Section j i 30. 25, Columns 2 , 3 and 4 to permit rental of a portion of the j building at 227-231 Linden Avenue for retail storage. The propert is located in an R-3b use district in which commercial storage is i not permitted, and the property is deficient in required off-streei parking. The decision of the Board was as follows : I MR. WALSH: I move that the Board grant the variance re- quested in appeal number 1334 . iCHAIRMAN AMAN: I second the motion. VOTE: 6 Yes ; 0 NO granted. FINDING OF FACT: 1) As the Board has determined in earlier appeals concerning this property, 227-229 Linden Avenue, it is a structure that is not` I according to evidence heard in this and earlier hearings , suit - able for residential use, 2) The use proposed to be made for the space is for storage of bicycles . The Board finds that this use would not be adverse i i to the interests of the surrounding residential neighborhood. I 3) The Board finds that the storage would not generate any sub- stantial additional traffic to the site. � I 4) The Board finds that the materials or goods proposed to be stored there .would not be hazardous to the neighborhood. i I iI f I� ii - 26 - ! !� BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS COMMON COUNCIL CHAMBERS j CITY OF ITHACA NEW YORK w I� February 2 , 1981 ;' SECRETARY HOARD: The next case is appeal number 1338 : It Appeal of Albert E. Smith (d/b/a Shortstop) fo !i a use and area variance under Section 30.49 an Section 30 .25, Columns 10, 11 and 14 to permit 1 the addition of a 340 square foot extension to the existing building at 204 West Seneca Street (Shortstop Convenience Store) . The property i, is located in an R-3a (residential) use district in which a retail store is not a permitted use ,' i! The property is also deficient in front yard, I side and rear yard setbacks and the maximum I, permitted lot coverage is exceeded. JIMR. SMITH: My name is Albert Smith, I own and operate the Shortstop ! at 204 W. Seneca Street. To be competitive and -remain healthy in f the 1980s we would like to add additional grocery products . To bes't i' do this we are asking for the privilege to add 340 square foot to ; our present building. This will not take away from any of our I 1, present parking spaces . We will be increasing our inside customer service areas so that we can service our customers faster. This I� should help reduce any traffic congestion. I have spoken personally , with all of our immediate neighbors and they have no problems with ! dour desired changes . i ! MR. WEAVER: Can either you or the Commissioner give me the dimen ' I !isions of the building as it exists? ii SECRETARY HOARD: The building that will result will be - with the ' �Iaddition - will be 83 x 25 or 2 ,075 square feet so . . . ! MR. SMITH: The present building is 70 x 25. It is just shy of ! 1, 700 square feet. II � s MR. WILCOX: Do you use that whole building or is there still a laundry there? I ! MR. SMITH: No. We use the entire building. The total area is 11 ,650 square foot and the average convenience store is over 2 , 500 i I square foot and we are actually quite a bit smaller than that . I MR. WALSH: Mr. Smith, the second front yard, is this a requirement h because we have two sides of a corner? �i! i ISECRETARY HOARD: Yes, I; MR. WALSH: Which direction - which side of the building would be - 27 - e I lithe one closest to the lot line on a compass? ! MR. SMITH: I don' t understand the question. j HMR. WALSH: Which wall of the building - the north, south, east or 11west would be the one currently two feet from the lot line? i1MR. SMITH: None of them- the rear lot , the shortest point will I i! be four feet from the present or from the lot line and on the east i '! side it will be the remaining area will be - the distance will b� I 11thirteen feet from the lot line. j} SECRETARY HOARD: Those are transposed, I 'm sorry. Where it says j itwo feet - that should be thirteen feet and the other should be two i (jfeet instead of thirteen feet. I `i MR. SMITH: I 'm sorry - that is a reduced . . . ii MR. WEAVER: The west edge is approximately at the sidewalk. I I MR. SMITH: Almost, almost. 1 ! MR. WEAVER: Could you explain to me the need for the 3 x S addi- i1 i � 2tion on the north side of the building? I �IMR. SMITH: Okay. We are going to be - the main two product lines j j� that we are going to be adding - we are going to be adding freshly ! E baked bakery products and we are also going to be offering hot I' !! chicken to go and what that is designed to do is we want to - and I1you'd be a good person to address this to , is we are going to be I +lcooking - or actually heating the chickens in that area so that isl I ' designed three-fold. Numbed that we can build that new area outs { of totally fire resistant materials , number 2 that I can keep it a� j £ar as possible away from customer area - customers , and number 3 Ilthat I can create a safe working area for employees in the front of hIMR. ANGELL: In other words that is a stove going in there? II MS. HAINE: Are you planning to glass in the front of that addition,? �I ' MR, SMITH: You mean - I have the plans - Bob Tallman is representing i 11these by architect - he has the plans with him now. He hasn' t jlfinalized them, he is waiting for the decision of this Board but we I A are hopeful of putting ten feet of glass that will blend with the iI ! existing glass there now, IIMS. HATNE : Are you planning to put more large signs inside the shop? 11 I I - 28 - k j MR. SMITH: No. You mean the ones that are on the back wall? i MS. HAINE: Yes. i MR. SMITH: No, the signs won't be changed - there won't be any i additional signs on the back wall . The new area - the new additiox is going to have a brick exterior and we are going to bring the j brick to tie in the addition with the existing building - bring the, I brick down in front of the existing building so the total building ] will be farther down - hopefully it will be more attractive than ndw. i CHAIRMAN AMAN: Any further questions? Thank you Mr. Smith. i MR. SMITH: - Thank you. CHAIRMAN AMAN: Is there anyone here who wishes to speak on behalf of the proposed variance? (no one) Is there anyone here who wishes Ito speak in opposition? (no one) Hearing nothing further we will ]take the next case. i 1 i i k I i k I I i i I I i i i i i 1� i; 29 - I BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS COMMON COUNCIL CHAMBERS CITY OF ITHACA NEW YORK I� FEBRUARY 2, 1981 EXECUTIVE SESSION II HAPPEAL NO. 1338 : IThe Board considered the request for a use and area variance under' ! Section 30. 49 and 30. 25, Columns 10, 11 and 14 to permit the addi- I ij 'Ition of a 340 square foot extension to the existing building at { 204 West Seneca Street. The property is located in an R-3a use district in which. a retail store is not a permitted use. The liproperty is also deficient in front yard, side and rear yard set !' backs and the maximum permitted lot coverage is exceeded. The 1idecision of the Board was as follows : i, CHAIRMAN AMAN: I move that the Board grant the variance re- I� quested in appeal number 1338 . i MR. WILCOX: I second the motion. ! VOTE: 4 Yes ; 2 No Granted 1 (' FINDINGS OF FACT: i �! 1) The proposal will not adversely affect the neighborhood. � 2) This is a use related to the business which is already estab- lished. � 3) There were no objections from the neighbors . Ij SIII �I I( !I E i I i I! II II I I ; II ii �i li I� li I� I� I j - 30 - i , SECRETARY HOARD: The next case is appeal number 1339 : I i j Appeal of Richard P. Seeley for an area �i variance under Section 30. 25 , Column 11 jf to permit conversion of the existing one- family dwelling at 510 Linn Street to a r two-family dwelling. The property is I located in an R-2b (residential) use district and is deficient in front yard li setback. I MR. SEELEY: My name is Richard Seeley, I live at 510 Linn Street . ; About twenty years ago an addition was added onto the house with hookups for stove, sink and there is a full bathroom. The house i is too big for us , our requirements, and we would like to turn it i I' into two units. Since I moved there over a year ago there was no off-street parking and now I have a two space off-street parking. ! i (; That ' s about it. i CHAIRMAN AMAN: What is the front yard deficiency in terms of feet? I y How much are we talking about? MR. SEELEY: Well the house was built I have no idea - maybe seven feet. But the house was built over 65 years and I guess that was before the Ordinance was I have a large rear lot. SECRETARY HOARD: It is deficient by three feet. It has a seven �i foot set back. - and ten feet are required. i MR. WILCOX: So you put in a ramp and now you have two spaces i where you had none? I MR. SEELEY: Right, I had to have a telephone pole moved. Gas and Electric moved that, because the ramp was right in front of the patio. i MR. WALSH: Mr. Seeley, I 'm not certain whether this is directly i I; relevant, is it your intention that you and your wife will continue Ij to occupy th-e dwelling? (+ MR. SEELEY: Yes. II MR. WALSH: Thank you. i CHAIRMAN ARAN; Any further questions? Thank you very much. Mr. j Seeley. Is there anyone here who wishes to speak for the proposed;' variance? (no one) Is there anyone here who wishes to oppose? I� no one) MRS. MILLER; I believe you have a letter up there from theeo P Plej i i i 31 - i in the neighborhood? CHAIRMAN AMAN: This one reads : I' "The Board of Zoning Appeals 108 E. Green Street ` Ithaca, New York 14850 "Re: Variance appeal for 510 Linn St . , Richard & Elain Seeley I "Dear Sirs , i "We would like to voice several concerns regarding the appeal for a variance for 510 Linn St. i 1 . PARKING AVAILABILITY - 510 Linn St. has two small off-street parking spots but it is a 3-car family. Consequently at least one is always on the street. Should they rent to a couple these people will have one or two cars and there will then be two or three cars parked on the street . i 2 . RESALE OF HOUSE WITH VARIANCE - We are also concerned about the possibility that the current owners will be granted a variance, changing the house to a 2-family house, and will then sell it. We are concerned of what will happen to the values of our homes should this become an absentee landlord situation. We have witnessed this happening in the first few hundred blocks of Linn St. 3. SNOWBALLING EFFECT OF ONE VARIANCE BEING GRANTED - Once one variance is granted, it becomes easier for others to get one . We feel the effects of costs going up, as do the Seeleys , but we bought our homes on the premise that this was and would remain single family residences . We want to discourage this area becoming an investment rental area. "Sincerely, s/s Anomta $ John DeSantis 517 Linn St. Florence R. Hranek 520 Linn St . ' Walter H. Stanton 521 Linn St . Tom F Evelyn Miller 508 Linn St. Nancy Hunter 506 Linn St. " The next letter reads : "February 2 , 1981 "The Board of Zoning Appeals Common Council Chambers 108 E. Green Street Ithaca, NY 14850 "Re: Variance appeal for 510 Linn St. , Richard & Ellamae Seeley "Since presenting our letter last week, copy enclosed, dated January 27th and attending the Planning Board meeting regarding i the request for a variance for 510 Linn Street, we have additional , comments which we would like the Zoning Board to consider at this time . I "Regarding the statement (_by Mrs . Seeley) at the planning board ( meeting, that there are two houses with absentee landlords in this , area, 518 Linn was specifically built for apartments over 40 years sago, and 525 is a house rented to two people . This has been rented as a whole house for approximately 25 years . We realize that there is nothing we can do about what has happened in the pas , but we are concerned about what may happen to this area in the future, i - 32 - `I All the persons whose signatures appear below were under the jiimpression that this area was single-family residential and that a variance would be needed in order to rent part of a home. We now j irealize we are protected by the city zoning laws to the extent ( that most of the homes in the 400 and 500 blocks of Linn do not jmeet the technical setback requirements and consequently need a ! variance in order to be convertible to rental units . Please do not iitake this minimal protection away as well, by easily granting i variances. i ! "We want to stress that our objections are not directed personally ; ; against the Seeleys. We would voice our concern regardless of who ! was requesting a variance which would promote multiple dwellings On the 400 and 500 blocks of Linn Street. 1 "We would also like to mention that notices were mailed to FORMER jiproperty owners in the 500 block (in at least 3 instances) . Con- �isequently some of the letters went out of town, and were not for- iiwarded until the evening of the Planning Board Meeting. SIGNED BY: John and Annita DeSantis 517 Linn St . if Tom & Evelyn Miller 508 Linn St. Deborah S. Taglavento 407 E. Tompkins St. I Philip & Angela Casciotti 420 Linn St. j Deane K. Duke 418 Linn St. Ij Dorla Prudence 415 Linn St. Ann Wintiss 501 Linn St. i4 Manning & Hazel Maralle 505 Linn St. Walter Stanton 521 Linn St. ( Florence R. Hranek 520 Linn St. i! Helen Mangeruga 527 Linn St. " There is also an anonymous hand written letter which - the thrust I, of which is to oppose the variance. IMR. WALSH: Mr. Chairman, just for the record I would move that j this Board not consider a matter as evidentuary where it is sub- i mitted anonymously. ! MR. WEAVER: I second it. (; CHAIRMAN AMAN: I would go along with that. The other letters are ! i signed by residents of the neighborhood. This letter we are talk- ; ling about is simply an anonymous statement. We don't know where it ffis from or - it could be someone from the other side of town, or !: whatever. That wouldn' t be suitable as evidence. Mr. Seeley? i �! MR. SEELEY: Could I answer some of those points? I' CHAIRMAN AMAN: Yes, if you could do it briefly. I, MR. SEELEY: When I moved there over a year ago I was a three car i family, then and there was no off-street parking. Since then I , have put two off-street parking spaces in. As far as sending the jlletters out I had to go over to the Assessor's office and get all i lathe names and they were the names of the people that were regis- tered there as owning the house . Since then the secretary from tho i iI i' Ii 33 - �k j Commissioner' s office called up and wanted to know if we would senjd i 'j out another letter because the person had moved. We don't know ij all of our neighbors . This is a drawing of the houses within 200 jfeet of my house (Exhibit "A") . My house is the green one . These] if (pointing) are absentee landlords and these (pointing) are more than one-family dwellings . So I didn' t want to be treated any !j better than anybody else but I didn't want to be treated any worse !� either. f MR. WILCOX: Will you leave that for the record? f MR. SEELEY: Oh, yes certainly. I went by the names on the - than I had to mail out to. T guess that is all I have to say. 'I CHAIRMAN AMAN: Fine . Thank you. I! �i SECRETARY HOARD: I would state for the record that he did follow f� the proper notice procedure as required by the Ordinance. The Assessor' s record being the record that is used as a standard. i �j CHAIRMAN AMAN: If there are no further comments on this case . Yes sir. I 'i MR. MILLER: I 'm Tom Miller and I just moved here about last June Ii !i we bought the house - 508 Linn Street, which is right next door. j My wife and I, Evelyn. Evelyn did most of the research on this and she can probably answer - if there is any more specific ques- tions . My question is - the Seeleys , I believe, have lived there 1, for two years . My question is , we bought the house because we have i I been married for a short time - it is a quiet family residential I area should the Seeleys sell that house - is there any protectioin there if they are going to stay - and they have been pretty goodi neighbors , I don't really have any complaints against the Seelesy, i if they still live in the house and rent to a family - that is I fine. I 'd like to know where our protection is , if they sell the i house and there is a possibility of it - if it ' s a two-unit situa- I t%on - of which the two families that reside in the two single i 11 units can then have two non-related people also rent from them. �I So the minimum people r number of people you are talking about in I' 4 the residence is six and I believe the maximum is ten or twelve and i' if they are all adults with cars , I don't know R just moving in to !i I - 34 - Cornell - I 'm not sure if I would have bought that house knowing j i lthat situation. I think my wife and I would probably like to see lthe houses that were supposedly declared non or absentee landlords ► My question is , is there any protection or if you move into a unit in a neighborhood like that , assuming that it is one condition and'; ( laying down a pretty good hunk of money to buy a house - to see it - I 'd hate to think that it 's going to become an apartment buill- ing right next door . Depending if the Seeleys still remain. If the Seeleys stay there I really don' t see any problem, in fact we have thought about trying to rent out our basement , but that ' s ! what my concern is and I think some of the other neighbors . i CHAIRMAN AMAN: Well I want to clarify my own understanding of thi� case , which is we are not dealing with a use variance here. The Board of Zoning Appeals does not engage in zoning per se. We have] to take an area as it is given to us in terms of what the overall zoning is . Now this is an R-2b residential use zone district . Whatever uses are appropriate in that zone are appropriate and that is not before us right now. What is before us is an area variance; for presumably an acceptable use. So, I know that is not answering your question directly, but I do want to clarify the contents in which this case is in. For example , we can' t sit here and decide i to rezone an area or decide that it ought to be tougher than an R- 2b zone . If, in fact, it is R,-2b. That is Common Council ' s job. We have to work within the constraints of that which we are given and that is - we are given - and that isr we have to a,sk. ourl- selves i.s the use permitted in an R--2b zone . My understanding i the use is permitted so we have to focus on the area deficiencies I '1 as it is in this case. i MR. MILLER: Good. Then it just becomes a matter of a technicality I but also as a technicality due to location and the closeness of th'e house to the street. You have the specific distances I think i specified to keep up the appearances just like maybe the Sign Or- dinance is set u for a specific intent and like I sa if you P P � Y� drive down the 500 block of Linn Street and the Fall Creek School is right down the way where there is a lot of kids walking past our I I 35 i house every day - as I say, I 'm not trying to get you to change so, much, the zoning , as consider the ramifications . �iCHAIRMAN AMAN: I understand that, I just wanted to make clear what t] i �Ilimits are as to what this Board can consider and what it can't con- sider. Within the limits of an area variance we can take those kinds I f of things into consideration. I , I1MR. MILLER: Okay. �JMRS. MILLER: I have one more question regarding that. My name is , j! Evelyn Miller and this is my husband. Is it not true that most i lof the houses on the four and five hundred block of Linn Street are seven feet from the street rather than ten feet as the zoning would jcall for in order to change it to a two-family. Isn't this the only ;': reason why some of these houses are not being rented out without ii even going through a variance? As far as we are concerned - looking �idown the street at least in the five hundred block, from what it ii appears to us is that all the houses are straight in line - they Ilare all about seven feet from the street, which means every house 1Iwould have to get a variance so we are protected to a certain extent 'Iby the zoning, by it being zoned R-2b instead of 2a or 2b instead lof 3a, so we feel like, you know that ' s the basis . . . H CHAIRMAN AMAN: That' s right and what that means is that anyone who wants to do something like this has to come and ask for an area Invariance and to get an area variance the law says the standard to jibe applied is practical difficulties - the primary standard requir6d. ll But you are correct and that is not an automatic . . . !! MRS. MILLER:Yes , Well that is what I wanted to just get out - that jiwe are still protected to a certain extent by the seven foot rathei I� than - you know - the fact there is seven feet - that ' s all I have, I' to say. SECRETARY HOARD: I thought maybe I would read the test for an area � I variance that the Board is faced with on deciding on a case like this. The Zoning Ordinance says that where there are practical i difficulties or special conditions which make regulations governing lot sizes, yard size, building height , off-street parking and all i' other regulations except use of land unreasonable or impossible to I, , Ii i 36 j' i comply with. The Board of Appeals shall have the power pursuant to J subdivision 4 of Section 81 of the General City Law to grant a vary fI l iance modifying these regulations as long as the spirit of the i' ii regulation shall be altered and as the chapter is observed. That is why it is difficult for the Board to protect neighborhoods who Ii have very small area deficiencies . I� MR. WILCOX: How far away are they fromthe - what they consider the southern end of Linn Street that is R-3? II SECRETARY HOARD: They are quite a ways away. i� MR. WILCOX: Oh, they are up by the school? CHAIRMAN AMAN: With that clarification we will call the next case. I i �r i' �i Ii I� I I it I i I i ii i - 37 - I BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS COMMON COUNCIL CHAMBERS CITY OF ITHACA NEW YORK I FEBRUARY 2 , 1981 EXECUTIVE SESSION i APPEAL NO. 1339: The Board considered the appeal for an area variance under Section'', 30. 25 , Column 11 to permit conversion of the existing one-family dwelling at 510 Linn Street to a two-family dwelling . The property is located in an R-2b use district and is deficient in front yard i setback. The decision of the Board was as follows : MR. WALSH: I move that the Board grant the area variance re- quested in appeal number 1339. ` CHAIRMAN AMAN: I second the motion. VOTE: 6 Yes ; 0 No Granted j i FINDINGS OF FACT: I 1) The descrepancy on minimum front yard required is a shortage of 31 . I 2) There is no showing here that the change would otherwise have a significant adverse affect on the density or character of the neighborhood. 3) The difficulty with front yard set back is one caused by the i location of the house on the lot and cannot be reasonably addressed by the owner. 4) The owner has shown that he has added to the property, two (2) i { off-street parking spaces where previously there were none . I I f I i { I i i I � I I 1 i� I � i 1i 38 j� BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS �i COMMON COUNCIL CHAMBERS CITY OF ITHACA NEW YORK (i FEBRUARY 2, 1981 i ., SECRETARY HOARD: The next appeal is appeal number 1340: Appeal of J. David Olds , Leon A. Olds , ands I Eris 0. Kimble for an area variance under Section 30. 25 , Columns 4 , 6, 11 , 13 and 141 to permit the conversion of the one-family ; dwelling at 207 East Court Street to office use. The property is located in a B-la use district where offices are permitted; however the property is non-conforming in that it is deficient in required lot size, , front, side and rear yard setbacks , and !� will be deficient in off-street parking for the proposed use. An earlier request (Ap- �� peal No. 1335) for this property and use i was heard by the Board and denied in Janu- ary; the appellants are requesting a reconsideration based on new information ii submitted with this appeal. i 11MR. SOVOCOOL: Mr. Chairman and members of the Board, I 'm Roger , I Sovocool and I represent the Olds family in seeking this variance. ; ! On the previous application it appears that the Board was concerned f , mostly about the problem of parking in the area. Following that i; j hearing, more detailed information was supplied, measurements were s taken of the building, the interior, the exterior - those are all ( demonstrated to Mr. Hoard. Also the use of the building was furthr I t gone over with Mr. Hoard and it is my understanding now that the size of the building under the present ordinance allows five parking spaces - would allow up to five parking spaces and that is the space 'falso has been worked out so there are five parking spaces available. ! I am bringing this to your attention because it is my feeling that ; this Board no longer need be really concerned with the parking aspects , so that part of the appeal we are withdrawing at this time . ii So that at this time we are more concerned with the appeal for the : area variance rather than the parking because that has now been - appears from my conversation with Mr. Hoard - that that ' s now been; �i ' complied with. I might mention one other thing or two matters concerning the parking although it is not a matter of appeal . OneP I hope that your fears are partially allied by the Motor Vehicle 11Office moving out of the area which will lighten the load. The i l third thing is - Mr. Walsh knows as an attorney - there - most i ii �I f4� - 39 - law offices are not a heavy turnover with parking - they are not (j like medical offices where people come in, are examined and they ij leave and then someone else comes in. The person might very well �i come into the law office, bring in a matter - which you would work on it for half a day or day, or more before another client came inl So it is not the same situation as some type of business office. Let me address myself then to the area variance and Mr. Olds is hete 11 to give you some of the history of the house but I would like to � oint out several things to associate and acquaint j P you with the g q iisituation. This house is between Tioga and Aurora Street - if you 111 + are not familiar with the house itself - it is right about in the , middle of the block - it 's on the south side of the street - it' s i �jwhat I would call a bungalow type of construction - it has on the i corner of Tioga and Court is a ,large brick building occupied by thl LoPinto Law Offices . As you then move east, there is a parking i '! area for the LoPinto office, then there is this white house , for- imerly occupied by the Olds family and there is a driveway along tho east side of that house and then the next house - it is owned by Victor and Elaine Lazar - it ' s a two apartment house. Downstairs i lis one apartment and upstairs is another apartment. And then the I house on the corner of Aurora and Court is also used for professional i i, office space. There are a number of legal offices right in that ; block and there is Williamson, Mazza Clune firm - there is the IIThaler law firm and around on Aurora Street, Richard Thaler has a llaw office - so there area number of law offices which attempt to 1, ( settle around this area. Now I am not sure cause I think Tom jprobably has exact measurements but I believe that this does not �i 11icomply in area variance in three respects. First is the distance back. from the street. Now the main part of the house I believe li I does comply but there is off set along one part of the house - sort Ilof a sun porch foyer arrangement and that is the entrance to the i ,;house it is more of a - what I call sun porch foyer it is not j� Ian active use as part of the living quarters of the house and that , puts the house closer to the street than is probably allowed .under '(the area requirements. In the rear of the house that would compli� i� I j i - 40 - except attached to the rear of the house is a small one story shed ) iarrangement and that one-story shed I am assuming will be used by i the new occupant for a lawn mower, the garbage cans and other too14 I ( which you might keep around the property. It is not suitable for ( much else but it would serve I think as a shield to the neighbors at least for keeping any of those things out of sight and under 6 icover. The house on the east side would comply, I believe, with t e requirements . And the west side of the house, the line is probably) only just a few inches from the house so that certainly is deficient Ston that side. Nov this house was built - I 'm not sure exactly when but I 'm sure it was built some time in the 1920s - it was certainlyC +1in compliance at that time - that was before zoning and it ' s a non-i ; conforming use. The requirements for its use as a business office ,' of course, are less restrictive under the zoning then it would be even iif it was a residential so, in a way, you might say it is upgrading lit as far as area variance. But probably under either use - wheth r ii it is used as a residence or whether it is used as a business offi e it would need a variance to comply with the present rules . Of course , it doesn' t need it as a non-conforming rule . I 'd like to !'then have Mr. Olds - David Olds , give you a little back ground and the would be glad to answer any questions , or I would be glad to answer any that you might have about this property. David. i iMR. OLDS: Thank you. I am David Olds, I live at 15 Kimberly Drive i jin Dryden. I 'm the son of the owner of the house. The house � I Factually is now in the name of the two sons and the daughter of thei 3owner, Leon Olds, because many months ago he was gravely ill and I at that time, to expedite circumstances it was the title was give Ito the children and happily dad pulled out of that and is now In � relatively fine shape although he is at the Oak Hill Nursing Home `where he will undoubtedly remain. We are forced to sell the house `because of the expenses he incurs there - he has no type of public lassistance in this respect. As a long time resident of Ithaca actually my father was in the house when I was born so I grew up ink that neighborhood - I think I probably have more feelings for that i� area, possibly, than anyone else in this room. And I find myself - i �I !I I, 41 - i I was very pleased that these lawyers who are interested in the �fproperty, as was my dad - because obviously he had feelings for the ljhouse - it is a very stately, gracious one and we were very please. �Ithat with lawyers moving in we knew that they would maintain the j ., property and preserve, I think, its architectural integrity and on i that score, we were quite delighted. The neighborhood itself, of course, has changed completely. It is no longer a residential Iineighborhood, in fact, there is only one private residence on the block or on the four blocks facing it . Along Aurora Street you �1have all the businesses and public service office. On Court Street lis a large church and Tioga Street, of course , is the court house I jwhich, to my mind, makes this such a natural use for a lawyer' s oft Ifice and then on the fourth block is the post office and all of �ithis is just a little over a block from the Seneca Street parking J, garage and two blocks from the heart of downtown It haca. So I I 11think the area is obviously a commercial one - it is being used for that purpose these are houses there now being used as office j� - that actually have no parking places at all as opposed to the I� l; four or five or six that you can get with- our property. So, for i those reasons I feel that my family should be entitled to enjoy the benefits of the growth of downtown Ithaca _, if it is refused ' then somebody could come in - possibly from out of town and buy lit as a residence and I think it is going to be a short time at j best - where just the economics of the situation would dictate i that that be used as office space and in that event they would en- fl joy the windfall . My father served the community for thirty years it as a school superintendent and I think he contributed a lot to thej j community and he certainly kept his house up - he was a very good neighbor and I just feel that he should be entitled to get the full !I jj value of it the other properties in that area have already j! e n- jo ed. So for that reason I certainly hope that you will pass (I favorably on it. MS. YANOFF: Mr. Chairman and members of the Board of Zoning Appeal I� I ji my name is Elizabeht Yanoff and I am one of the potential occupants of that building and I want to make myself available to answer ,i �I 1` - 42 lquestions if there are any about the proposed use . My partner, ;Richard Stumbar, who appeared before you last month, and I , and lone clerk would be operating out of the building as a law office �land I can assure you that we wouldn' t each need our own separate Ii �Isign. I think Roger brought up an important point when he said the volume in a law office is not like a doctor' s office. , that Maximum I think my partner and I see three clients a day. Today, Y, , for example , neither of us saw any clients but spent the time in Ilthe office working. I also just want to say that we have no plans whatsoever to change the outside appearance of that building ex- j i !'cept to build a ramp to make the building accessible to the handi- ' i 'capped and that ramp will not be visible from Court Street as you i? i�face the house because it will run along the east side of the �1building along the part of the house which is adjacent to the ;driveway. 1�MR. SOVOCOOL: Are there any questions from any member of the Board!? I1MR. WEAVER: There is one area requirement in the Zoning Ordinance �lon minimum lot size which you didn' t address in your comments. i j�MR. SOVOCOOL: No - T'm not sure , Mr. Weaver, how this even -- how ,this stacks up. I 'd have to turn to Mr. Hoard, really and rely on 1i him. I don' t - I 'm not even sure whether we meet that requirement or not . We probably do not. That is the lot size - that is the jjsize of the building in relation to the lot? +MR. WEAVER: As I read the Ordinance in bold type, I see that in !that zone apparently for residential use the minimum lot size would jbe 3, 000 square feet and for business use it would be five. I am li(not speaking to the wisdom of the Ordinance but . . . I� MR. SOVOCOOL: Well I am sure -that there is not 5 ,000 square feet i ;here . There, of course , would be no opportunity to even measure up' the 5, 000 square feet. As you know, the character of this neighbor- Ihood is very well developed. This isn't as if it was a new area 1,where we could pick up otherspace . Most affected would be the Lazar 1house - T don' t believe has any parking so they have no space . Of course, the LoPinto building, there is only two offices or perhaps ' er might occupy the second three, T am not sure whether one lawy i 43 - ! i floor, but that building, of course, was for many years a Ithaca College dormitory and their parking is probably adequate for the present use but if the building is ever filled with offices they wouldn' t measure up at all . Other than that I really have no other information to give you on it. I think the only other thing I might say is - the setting of the building is very pleasant in i relationship to the size of the building. This is not a as you view the area - you don' t get the feeling that this is shoe horned! or squeezed in among a lot of other buildings - fortunately with a parking lot of the LoPinto building on one side - the driveway on I the other side - the hedges , etc. it gives you the appearance of being adequately spaced but as you have indicated, it probably does not comply with. the lot requirements as such.. Thatwouldbe the � � only information that I would have on it. ! MR. OLDS: I£ I might also just mention in passing that for the lf � I thirty years that my dad lived there serving as a county school superintendent - one of three - he also had an office in the house; i and used it for that purpose all during his tenure and people woul� come in and conduct business there at the house - so, effectively l it has been used as office space for a good many years - until he retired which was about twenty years ago, CHAIRMAN AMAN. Any questions? Excuse me, we have one question. MS . HAINE: Are you planning to rent out space to other lawyers in that building? MS. YANOFF: We would only rent out an office upstairs if it becam� necessary to - or adviseable financially. It would not be to othe lawyers . The one potential occupant of that office is someone who i I works. in an Insurance business but sees no clients in her office -I would just use it for a place to keep files . CHAIRMAN AMAN: Is there anyone here who wishes to speak on behalf of the requested variance? Cno one) Is there anyone here who wish--s to oppose it? (no one) Hearing nothing further we will go to thel 11 !I next case . i i a jl I! - 44 - BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS COMMON COUNCIL CHAMBERS CITY OF ITHACA NEW YORK FEBRUARY 2, 1981 I EXECUTIVE SESSION ?APPEAL NO. 1340 : 1 I j; The Board considered the request for an area variance under Section i' 1130. 25, Columns 4, 6, 11 , 13 and 14 to permit the conversion of the I! Bone-family dwelling at 207 East Court Street to office use. The i property is located in a B-la use district where offices are per- emitted; howeve,r the property is non-conforming in that it is de- ! Ificient in required lot size, front, side and rear yard setbacks , and will be deficient in off-street parking for the proposed use . i I 11Th.e decision of the Board was as follows : 1CHAIRMAN AMAN: I move that the .Board grant the variance re- quested in appeal number 1340. i +MR. ANGELL: I second the motion. i VOTE : 2 Yes ; 3 No ; 1 Abstention Denied FINDINGS OF FACT: i 11) The appellants presented evidence that the computations made 1 of off-street parking requirements during their first appeal were erroneous , justifying the Board in reconsidering the ! i appeal . 12) The appellants presented evidence from which it might be shown jthat the number of parking spaces on the site may more nearly I I approach the requirements of the Ordinance. ! I3) The concerns of the Board previously expressed, as to lot ! coverage and set back, remain and indeed cannot be changed. ' i 4) The appellants have not shown a compelling reason to depart from �I (; the requirements of the Ordinance. f! ! I I ! j I i 1' I l i i i - 45 - I� I BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS COMMON COUNCIL CHAMBERS �j CITY OF ITHACA NEW YORK FEBRUARY 2 , 1981 j(SECRETARY HOARD: The next appeal is appeal number 1341 : iI I� Appeal of Gadabout Transportation Program for a use and area variance under Section 30. 25, Columns 2 , 10, 11 , 13 and 14 to permit the operation of a non-profit volunteer transportation program for the i elderly and handicapped at 210 Center Street. The proposed use is not a permitted I use in the R-2b use district in which the f property is located, and the property is �I non-conforming in that it does not comply with district requirements for maximum per i mitted lot coverage , and front , side, and rear yard setbacks . ;!MR. O'NEIL : My name is Larry O'Neil , I represent the Gadabout Pro-1 : gram and I am chairman of their Board. The Gadabout program is �irequesting permission to use the building on Center Street because ' Iwe have reached a point where we can no longer efficiently operate, out of the Red Cross building on Clinton Street . The program has , ' i 'Ifor 'all practical purposes , reached its maximum size so that what we are talking about in terms of useage is four vans and a potential for a fifth, which may or may not be housed at that building. We 11do have a lease - we do have arrangements with the Special Childre�'s ii ii Center for use of their garage on Elmira Road - and for three staff i members and four volunteers . It is well to point out that the J� Gadabout program, because of its unique nature , and I ' ll just read ' - it has a peculiar nature - it is not explicitly permitted anywhere ' �iin the city and what we are trying to do is find a home for the 'i program that will enable us to function efficiently we are not al; 11program that generates a great deal of traffic , the buses basically are on the road during the morning, they come back in to the Gadabout li center around the noon hour and then are redispatched on the road '! in the afternoon. So that there is little traffic during the day around the building. We do not have - in the building on Center I' Street, we do not have sufficient space to have conferences , what i ther kinds of meetings that affect have you, so Board meetings and o ii Gadabout would be held in other quarters throughout the city so that it ' that need not be a factor. I would like to present to the Board ii �i I, I - 46 - lj I , two letters that we have received from our proposed immediate neigh�- kbors . One is a - just very simply a note attached to our letter i I� which was sent out to the neighbor - it is Mrs . Ossie Smith who ;lives at 210 Center Street and we also have a letter from Mr. & Mrsl. it I Marshall Drake who own the properties at 205 and 207 Center Street , (directly across the street. I 'd like to point out that it is not lour intention to have vehicles using on-street parking. The benefit i �to us - in this property is that it would enable us to do all of your business off of the street, by using the parking lot that is j `attached to the property. Therefore, we would not be causing any 4major disruption in the neighborhood. With me tonight is Judy Willis �,who is the coordinator of the program - Judy do you have any comments ! ou would like to make? !Y l (�MS. WILLIS: Only one thing - one of those letters is from the lIneighbor at 206 Center Street. j SMR. O'NEIL: I 'm sorry - 206 Center Street . !I �!MS. WILLIS: That is the neighbor that is directly next door to the; llbuilding. II MR. O'NEIL: I 'm sorry - excuse me, im, WILLIS: It shares the driveway with the building. l i +ICHAIRMAN AVIAN: I may have missed a sentence some place, so forgive' I 1me if this sounds off the wall but are you - have you acquired this; building is this some: , . I,MR. O'NEIL: No, The building is owned by Mr. Lucente and our pro; jposal is to lease approximately a third if you are familiar with ; the major building there on the corner is the ICC warehouse - there! !lis a, small building next door to it - our Porposed offices would bel i 'lin approximately a third of the building and he rents the other twc�- I; I jjth.irds of the building out to two other tenants , But we will not �� be acquiring anything - we would be leasing, jCHAIRMAN AMAN: Alright you indicated in the first part of your 1 �Istatement that this is the kind of business that doesn't fit any- ,, where - I 'm not sure I understand what you meant about that, This is an RR2b zone, presumably this would not perhaps be a problem in :, 'Ia business district . i I I � it I I i I - 47 - i i , MR. O'NEIL: My understanding is because of the peculiar nature of Gadabout in its particular composition as a not for profit trans- ;; j!portation program for the elderly and the handicapped, it does not 'Mr. Hoard maybe can be a little helpful to me here but it does not explicitly fit any zoning subdivision with in the city. jCHAIRMAN AMAN: Would it - I mean, even though its not for profit -' wouldn' t it be a not for profit business use? SECRETARY HOARD: But it' s a transportation - a bus service does not appear anywhere in the Zoning Ordinance - whether it 's for profit or it ' s not for profit . The Zoning Ordinance does not address small bus , services - it doesn't say where they may be they are not listed i , anywhere . Whether you are talking about profit - for profit bus service or not for profit - it ' s just not in there. �MR. WALSH: Mr. O'Neil - this use that you are proposing is basically ',for office space? �I ' MR. O'NEIL: No. What we would like to do is rent one-third of the! .I I small building next to the ICC warehouse as office space . In therei fwe would house the coordinator, the a person who doubles as a ispatcher —bookkeeper, we have a person to the green thumb progra� lcvho also works in the office and those would be the three employees , rho would be stationed there, The other people who use the building I�vould be the volunteers who come in, pick up the vans they are to ute 1�nd then take them out on the road. We would then - we are also sking - there is a parking lot space of more than sufficient size �Ito accommodate our program and we would like to be able to house the buses during the evening hours and on weekends in that space as well Jas to have parking space for the three employees . , �R. WALSH: Does your arrangement with Mr. Lucente contemplate a , pecific allocation of parking spaces within that area? R. O'NEIL: WE have not reached the point yet where we have drawn i' � p a lease with. Mr. Lucente. We would, in the course of a lease, ask to have sufficient spaces for four and perhaps five buses three arking spaces for staff and then two to three additional parking spaces. I think we are talking about ten to twelve parking spaces �� hat we would need and want specifically set aside for the Gadabout ' �rogram would have to be built into the lease. Ii � li - - � 48 'JMS. WILLIS : Well, except we really - what happens is when the buses i 11go out and the volunteers come in and the buses go out so you get a i 'itrade off there. We wouldn' t always need a total of twelve spaces iat any one time. E� MR. O'NEIL: No - this is true. �MR. WALSH: Mr. O'Neil, the package of materials furnished to the fl Zoning Board included a diagram of property - could you indicate where on the property diagram the parking area which you are speak- ling of is? SMS. WILLIS: There is a small space that sort of a cut out of this 'building - it' s not really shown on this map very well but it ' s sort jof set into the building here and that would be sufficient for the i ,�vehicles - right there across the back, IMR. ANGELL: Where is the building? , SMS . WILLIS: The building is 210 Center Street - faces Center Street . SMR. WALSH: So this is - on the map that is to the ,Board of Zoning Appeals - what I am speaking about . . . iiMR. WILCOX: Do you have it on slides - the parking - can she show i lithe parking on the slides? i! I SMR. O'NETL: No. IIMR. WILCOX: Oh, I thought you were going to show slides . MR. WALSH: You are speaking about an area denominated as number 210 - the Ernest Towner, Sr. house, Ms, Willis has indicated that �Iin the northeast corner of that lot , there is a cut out in the building embracing a portion of that and apparently a portion of the blot behind it? �i IMS, WILLIS: des SMR. WALSH: Which would be used for parking, IMS. WILLIS : There is also parking along here which is available. ;We have just spoken with Mr. Lucente about this briefly but also some , �lof this space would be available . He didn't allow me all of it but i'lI T would think for the three staff members he indicated there would , j probably be space here and then back here would be . . . �i 1111MR. WALSH: When you say here you are indicating the eastern edge ! of the Towner Sr' s lot line, Is the plot immediately to the east lof that which is marked on this map Manuel Consu&la owner, ! ii j - 49 - i j is that occupied by any kind of structure? I � S. WILLIS : Well there is a house that is over here further but this driveway is very wide - this is Smiths , who is the lady who sent the letter indicating that she had no objections - lives in i I' (the house here at 206 Center Street and then there is a very wide driveway here and, in fact, now they are parking cars sideways against the building. There were a couple of cars there this afternoon whe# I I went past it . R. WALSH: So the lot that would be number 208 does not have a I am on it, is that correct? OR ANY other structure? S. WILLIS: I would assume not . There really isn't - it' s not i that big a piece of land though I can' t imagine how there could I have ever been a building there. It ' s big enough to put - you know - i to park but it really wouldn' t be big enough to build any kind of a building. But anyway, the plan is to be able to park along this si4e of the building and also back in here - this whole thing is an empty of in back of the building so I would think between being able t� i ark here and right back in here there would be more than enough space. Does that . . , ? i R. WALSH: I think so. i R. WEAVER: A matter of clarification. This rather big form of i Ouse - has that been used for a residence in recent years or the last twenty years - fifty years? R. O'NEIL: Not to the best of my knowledge. R. WEAVER: Has it been commercial use , what is it? I S . WILLIS: That has been commercial use , that was Harbeck's . . . j i R. O'NEIL: It was Harbecks paper and it also was offices for a chemical company and electrical contractor in previous years . R. WEAVER: There ' s not a change in use then? It was commercial I �and we propose to continue commercial use? SECRETARY HOARD: That' s the question. That 's why it' s before this ! oard. 1R. WEAVER: That' s why I ask it . HAIRMAN AMAN: Is it presently occupied or is it vacant? I R, O'NEIL: The last time I was - there are two . . . S. WILLIS: Well it was just about to be rented to someone who is M f I i 50 - a designer - an industrial designer but he has not actually moved 11 I ! {in. He is in the process of fixing it up when we were there but it ',,was pretty much vacant. I :MR. O'NEIL: Yes, the front portion is used by the industrial desi i! } gner and then we would use the center portion of the building and then ;there is a man who builds stilts who uses the back end of the buildj- ing. j i HSECRETARY HOARD: Stilts? I'MR. O'NEIL: Stilts . Mine is not to question. I was very impressed. i; ;!CHAIRMAN AMAN: This is confusing me too . Once you get into use s, 11variances that 's a different ball game int(krms of the legal standings . I, 11 HWhat you are saying is that this has not been used as a residence -� fHit has been commercially used for a long period of time. i SMR. O'NEIL: Right . 1MR. WALSH: Just as to the uses that are intended to be made of thi ,1property, where is maintenance on your vehicles now performed? li I SMR. O'NEIL: Maintenance on our vehicles is performed at the Specia lChildren' s Centex Garage on the Elmira Street Ext, right across from what was the Firestone Store down there. No maintenance or �lanything like that is performed on the vehicles , either at the Red , !Cross building now or would be proposed to be performed thexe . The, ilprupose is office space for the staff and a place for volunteers to! 11come in, pick up the vehicles and leave. Anything else is done at ,1the Special Children' s Center garage. I SMR. WALSH: We are not talking about gasing vehicles when you say Itha;t . . . I IMR, O'NEIL: No. There would be no service, Maintenance , pxeparatibn for anything like that of the vehicles on the site . I j ( MR. WILCOX In your opinion is this suitable for residential use? MR. O'NEiL The building itself? There ain't no way I ' d consider i 'fit suitable. i, '�MR. WALSH: Mr. O'Neil , I confess I 'm still very confused about the': Plot and the parking arrangements. This is the building that in the; is a two story (unintelligible) That, ,does not occupy the whole rest of that lot? that driveway is over inhere? And then the lot next to the drive - what is the number? i! j (This conversation between Mr. Walsh and Ms. Willis was not i picked up by the recorder. ) ;!MR. WALSH: Does the lot number 208 have any kind of construction oh 'it? Any building? I' MS. WILLIS: No , not to my knowledge. i 11MR. WALSH: So 206 over would be the next building? iII MR. O'NEIL: Yes , that is right. I�MR. WILCOX: What kind of schedule do you operate on - mostly day- light - buses coming and going or do they all go at once or what? i IIs there some kind of a pattern? 1MR. O'NEIL: Essentially the buses are picked up at approximately i� 18: 30 in the morning between 8 and 9. They are then on the road !until approximately the noon hour. Then the buses come in off the �i broad and the second shift of volunteer drivers takes them out in thle I1afternoon. We do make arrangements with other human service agencies i !lin the community, such as Meadow House, the Youth Bureau, etc. who Ido use the vehicles in the evening but they just come in, pick up !the vehicle and go and then bring it back. kMS. WILLIS: And I would say that ' s on the average of no more than i`about twice a week. I ,I !!MR. WILCOX: Is the location convenient to clients? 'IMR. O'NEI'L: The location for our purposes over the years has been j "Ii.deal - we are located within a couple of blocks now and one of the', !factors that is extremely important to us is access to volunteers . IiAnd many of the volunteers who drive our buses walk from places where ;they reside on State Street or other immediate areas . For us to I i I;be - you know, anything we have looked at has had to have been ';within the center city area, if you would, for the convenience. I i ! would also point out that it is convenient for us because of the 1fact that many people who live at Titus Towers , for example, or e !McGraw House or the Community Residents operated by the Mental i Health Assn. - our buses are right there immediately in that neigh-i' ( borhood. jIMR. WILCOX: You own the buses? � 1MR. O'NEIL: The buses right now are owned by� the Tompkins County 'I i i fj - 52 - !� I ( Chapter of the Red Cross . We are in the process of incorporating 'Jourselves as Gadabout so that the buses in the near future will be ,,owned by Gadabout. { I� *R. ANGELL: Who is Gadabout? R. O'NEIL: Gadabout right now is a program of the Tompkins County, Chapter of the American Red Cross . We are - we purchase our buses through a state D.O.T. program and the buses must be owned by a note i (for profit corporation. The buses could never, for example, we could not set up a shuttle service for anybody. We must restrict 1 our services to the elderly and the handicapped. So that there nee not be fear that we would suddenly use it for something else. If we cease functioning as a transportation service for the elderly and the handicapped, then we don' t own the buses anymore. They go Pack to the state D.O.T. I MR. WILCOX: Okay, could we run over the parking - get the exact j dimensions of the parking area, and how many vehicles you will park automobiles , buses could we have that information? CHAIRMAN AMAN: How many vehicles did you say you could handle ther + on the premises? SMS. WILLIS: We figured the four vehicles can easily go directly behind the building at 210 and the three staff members can park j along side. There is room in back of the building, actually to put the volunteers - say two or three volunteers came in, in the mornin�, they would take the spaces that the buses are leaving. That is one . way of doing it but even if that doesn' t happen there is plenty of room for volunteers to park behind the building. ( CHAIRMAN AMAN: Anyhow, how many buses are there? SMS. WILLIS : Four. MR. O'NEIL: There are four buses . MR. WILCOX: So foreseeably you have four buses , four cars and ! I drivers that came and anybody else in the office? MR. O'NEIL: No . And as I said, we area program that we would note i be able to use the space - we do have a volunteer board, etc. and we do have committees of that Board but that building is in no way i , sufficient for that purpose so we would continue to make use of I 1 - 53 - �� i i' space at the Red Cross or the Snior Citizens Center or my own agenc� developmental disabilities - or some other agency for Board meetingt, �jor committee meetings, etc. , - we could not hold them on that premise ii- we would not want to. H I�IMS. WILLIS : It might also be helpful - these are standard size van li �- we have been referring to them as buses - they are really - R. WILCOX: Oh, vans. S. WILLIS: They are really standard vans. R. O'NEIL: They are mini-vans - little yellow vans with the red I( utterflies that move around town. They are not buses in that sense f the term and we have no plans to acquire anything larger than hat we have. R. WILCOX: Do we still get some square footage here or did I miss omething? I R. WALSH: We don' t have it exactly but what we 've got here E1 unintelligible 0AIRMAN AMAN: Are there any further questions from the Board? R. WALSH: Mr. O'Neil , if the Board were to grant the variance you l! re seeking, I assume you wouldn' t have any particular objection to ! aking that grant contingent on your lease having a definite number ! If parking spaces specifically applied to you? i �R. O'NEIL: That meets our purposes as well. I would not want to �ee us move in to something that was not concretely tied down to :hat sort of thing . R. WALSH: Thank you, E HAIRMAN AMAN: Thank. you very much. R. O'NEIL: Do you want the letters we received? HAIRMAN -AMAN: Yes. Thank you very much, Anyone here who wishes t10 peak on behalf of the requested variance? R. WEAVER: I have one more technical question, If this building �s used for commercial purposes - on the basis of the size, what ould be the parking requirements? ECRETARY HOARD: Well, let 's see, it would be - the building is ii �he building is not shown on this diagram okay, the building is Hpproximately 2, 005 square feet that's gross square feet - you need II - 54 - i i o divide that by 250 to get the number of spaces that would be re- ', i uired. �JIR. ANGELL: I get it closer to 10, 000 square feet, Tom. lPECRETARY HOARD: The building? R. ANGELL : The building on the corner - which building . . . I don' i. . . SECRETARY HOARD: No , no, we are talking about the building i R. O'NEIL: We are not talking about the I .C.C. Warehouse on the i corner. R. WALSH: We are talking about this building (.pointing to diagram - - ) R. WEAVER: If it is a 2, 000 square foot building by 250 - that' s bout eight. Agree? (more conversation which wasn't picked up by he recorder) . R. ANGELL: That' s the little building we are talking about? I R. WEAVER: How many parking spaces on the lot that that building ets on? S. WILLIS: If you want to talk about just the space directly around he building, I would say there would be at least five along the side I f the building facing Center Street - it' s the lot that is sort ofl etween 210 and 206, okay? And then there is at least space for nother five directly in back of the building. Not so much in the ack but the whole back lot is vacant. And he indicated a wrillingn�ss I o allow us to use part of that. HAIRMAN AMAN: Any further questions? Thank you. R. O'NEIL: Thank you very much.. HAIRMAN AMAN: Anyone wishing to speak for the requested variance? , no one) Anyone wishing to speak against the variance? R. MORO: I have some slides that I would lake to show. It would to ind of difficult for me to stand up there and try to run the projec� Ii or. Would it be okay if I sat at this mike? CHAIRMAN AMAN: Can you get that? ECRETARY HOARD: Why don't you pick up one of those microphones an alk into it. R. MORO: Right here? ECRETARY HOARD: Yes . HAIRMAN AMAN: Will someone get the lights? I don't know where they re. l i ! I - 55 - MR. WALSH: Are you for or against? iMR. WILCOX: Against, I guess. You're with INHS, are you? IMR. MORO: Opposed to it . (MR. WILCOX: Well, who are you? MR. MORO: My name is Joseph Moro , I live at 214 Fayette Street . i What this is is a quick overview of the area and the building in particular. Some recent history on it and some that are more taken, i just last fall - late last fall . If you walk out of my front door and turn right this is what you see. It is a neighborhood - it is In I R-2 zone or R- 2b. Granted on the left of me is the Reconstruction Home but that was there when I bought the house, and it was a pretty 'jstable area. If you walk down the end of this sidewalk and turn tothe Fright - down to the end of that block is the ICC Varehouse and 210 Center Street. Kiddie-korner from the TCC warehouse is the 500 bloItk �;of Plain Street. This is Harbeck Paper Company three years ago - �,this is the larger building of the two - this is 212 Center Street.! !Okay, if you walk down - let me back up this is the opposite view from Plain Street or brown and green houses I � that you have just seen and turned around and looked back, this is ii ; i what you would see. These are the two buildings owned now by ICC ,i Warehouse Mr. Lucente. The smaller building is x,210 Center Street. This is directly across from 210 Center Street. i 'These drawings arise from a recent zoning request of three years Dago and which Ralph Marvin of the Harbeck Paper Company wanted to ,'construct a large metal warehouse at this site and we just tried to,, make it known then to the BZA what that building meant to the neighi�- !� borhood. Here is the back of the building where I guess we are call- iing it a parking lot. It is unpaved and usually fairly unkempt, dupe to the commercial nature of the buildings . This is what it would have appeared like fairly unneighborhly - I will back up a couple j1l1of slides here and you will notice that even though there is this j it warehouse on the corner the rest of this you know - the skyline, sort of the elevation of this area is very neighborly, This is not, iivery neighbor ly, this is what was proposed. At the time th-e Plan-i !ming Board had suggested shrubbery down and I had even put that in i i' li i Ii 56 - lithe drawings to see just what it would look like and it wouldn' t �elp too much. And this is the kind of impact that that corner hasl �n the entire neighborhood - it faces everyone' s back yards . Right #how, at least it isn't a parking lot - it 's just empty. There isnl1 Ia lot of traffic going through there. R. WILCOX: What are those buildings used for now? R. MORO: That' s the other thing - the buildings are basically war4- F ouse - they are zoned as warehouse only - now that' s what they were ��hen. And they always have been. i R. WILCOX: Now what are they? Are they being used now? i R. MORO: Yes they are. Well in that zoning appeal fortunately - `; I he scare was , at the time to the BZA from Mr. Marvin was that if hq idn' t get his appeal in this building that his business would go way and Harbeck would have to leave the site and we would be stuck I� with a vacant building that would probably in no time deteriorate i and be another eyesore. Well Harbeck Paper Company wasn't really i wned by Mr. Marvin anymore and went elsewhere and to a place whero i I i� t really belonged, an industrial-commercial area - that probably I j�erved itself and its area much better and the building was almost j i immediately bought by Mr. Lucente and it became the ICC Warehouse. �nd as I said, it is basically - or it is zoned commercial - and of open for public sale , which "the sign says , And there are - first I � f all , the signage on this building is much. more than it should be llotted - it is allowed and it seems to grow all the time. This is �` I rom directly across the street - a lot of the parking that takes lace in front - sometimes neighbors can' t even get out of their own �i riveways . Here is another sign that happens to come down in the evening or when the building inspector is coming over to see if there ��s really retail sales ,going on here. Another thing is - this is j I I ommon commercial property - that truck is allowed to park there in I hat city right-of=way, If I take my Honda, which will fit in my riveway - in that city right-of-way area and park it there - I gets I ticket immediately, This person is never bothered basically I *ecause they area commercial concern. And right to your left is i here most of the shipping and receiving takes place. Some goes on If i i 57 - 'i I in back but most of it still happens in front, almost right in the fiddle of an intersection. And again, more of the parking seems to; ,flow out from everywhere. This is the front of the small 210 build ing that is in question. It ' s advertised as a store for rent. It should not be a store - it should only be a warehouse in there. This i is where the industrial designer who is in model making and has wood working machinery and will do some painting and so on. To the left'', of this - this is approximately three years ago - this is one of the earlier slides . To the left of that jutting out piece is where some parking space is and just behind it is where the appellant says that five vans are going to fit. Five of the large size vans , not the I small size vans . This is the area where the vans are supposed to i fit. Unfortunately it is already taken up by some of what usually i takes place behind this building in as much as drop use. It is happening now and it happened three years ago in a slightly different form. It seems to always commercial concerns seem to sort of breed this kind of stuff and the Ithaca Housing Authority apartments are right across the street. Again this is the area where five vans ar� going to fit. MR. O'NEIL: Four. MR. MORO: Four, possibly five. i MS . WILLIS: Four. i MR. WALSH: May I suggest that we let Mr. Moro finish his presentation, forwhat its worth and you can question him about that later. MR. MORO: This is the sort of thing we are dealing with with com- mercial situations and that - we are not saying anything about I jGadabout - we are saying we know what exists now. We just - a 1itt,�e while ago - had a sign variance - this sign is larger than is allowIed I on the Elmira Road, yet this has been here for practically a year. This is around back of the building. I will admit that the thing has moved once from about 90 degrees away. This is not in opposition to Gadabout - it is a valuable transportation service it is in op�- ( position to a site on which Gadabout wishes to locate . We really against the expansion in R-2 neighborhoods and that the ills that we i have shown come with them. i CHAIRMAN AMAN: Can we have the lights? Does that complete this i I� - 58 - 'i ' i �Ithis presentation? Thank you. ' NIR. WALSH: Mr. Moro, are you appearing on your own behalf or for some other organization? I1IR. MORO: I am appearing as a neighbor that lives in the area. Myj i! i, ,back yard is right along side of that parking lot. I live at 214. ��R. WALSH: I missed that before the lights went out . Most of what ) our slide presentation shows , if I recall correctly, related to Conditions on the lot adjoining that for which the variance is sought. J�m I correct? R. MORO: Pardon? Oh, no alongside of it , behind it, in front of it. OR. WALSH: Well, along side this - adjoining are you suggesting the conditions under the proposed use will be better or worse than {chat you just now , . . ? i R. MORO: I don' t know - I 've shown two different owners and two (fiery much the same kind of conditions and the same man will be owni4g t - Mr. Lucente owns both. properties . i MR. WALSH: Does that suggest that things won't get any better or at � east not any worse? R. MORO: Probably. I ' d say yes.. I haven't seen them get any �etter . R. WALSH: Thank you. R. WEAVER: Question. Are these two buildings connected in any ways? I I R. MORO: No. �HAIRMAN AMAN: Anyone else wishing to speak in opposition? RS.WATSON: My name is Shawn Watson, I live at 307 Center Street, :. 4 am speaking as a neighbor. To the members of the Board: We, that 'Is y husband and I , ask that you deny the variance sought by Gadabout ' i us Service to allow the operation of that service from 210- 212 Cen-, �i er Street. That variance would add no fewer than seven and I guessi, its more than seven now, vehicles to the traffic pattern on a narrow) i;residential street ; the coming and going of volunteer bus drivers ilay add more and I 'm still not certain whether those bus drivers arse oing to drive or going to walk - I hear two different things . The usiness of stocking and selling furniture that is now conducted at I CC Furniture "Warehouse" already draws traffic; the addition of Gada^ out' s vehicles will result in a density of use far higher than is I 59 — a G i, I Zsual in or good for a residential neighborhood. As homeowners in �I i neighborhood that has seen neglect in the past and is watching re+ !vitalization in the present, we aremore than a little concerned with but future. We and many of our neighbors have restored dilapidated ' ouses to fine condition, but we cannot extend the impact of urban revitalization much further than our own homes and yards and street$ i Without your help. We can restore buildings , but we must rely on tae I ity of Ithaca and its rules and regulations to restore our neighbolT- i ood. Commercialization is a major and constant concern for us. Al- eady we must tolerate an inappropriate business , ICC Furniture War$- �ouse, under the conditions of a long-standing variance; many of us wonder whether or not that inappropriate business is not also condu�t- 'ng illegal retail sales . Gadabout wishes to move onto a premises That lready sports a plethora of signs welcoming the public to buy, a Iscraggly back lot that collects refuse and an old car or two, and the It railer from a semi that advertises an apparently eternal sale . Mei- handise is displayed on the sidewalk in the front of this building rucks park there, sometimes on the sidewalk, sometimes on the lawn I sometimes they are loading or they are unloading. What you have is !, omething that is not proper - not appropriate for a residential eighborhood especially a residential neighborhood that is trying to v ick itself up and start over again. Every advantage, in short, seems o have been taken by the building' s owners under the current variance; I it is small wonder that we are leery of any new tenant when such a j recedent has been set. Idon' t care if it is Gadabout - T don' t care (1I,Who it is - we are simply looking at a situation in which the problems ave gotten worse and worse and continue to get worse and worse 14nd eventually we want to know where it is going to stop, We feel ++` I Ijthat the real issue behind the question of this variance is the radual but growing intrusion of non-residential uses into a resi- i ential neighborhood. Though the service it provides is admirable, �th.e variance Gadabout requests is inappropriate; granting it would be � I F disservice to our neighborhood, �HAZRMAN AMAN: Let me interrupt you - if this variance request were �enied and that building were to continue to be used as some kind 16f business . . . �I I i 60 C i MRS. WATSON: I don' t believe that it is zoned for business - I j i believe it is zoned for warehouse. CHAIRMAN AMAN: Okay, for a warehouse - would continue as it is . . .ii I i MRS. WATSON: Yes we consider that an inappropriate but obviously nbt ian illegal use because there is a long standing lease on the properi ty. II MR. WILCOX: You mean you would prefer a warehouse to the Gadabout?j i Do you want to go on record as making a distinction? You would prei�er a warehous with so many tractor trailer trucks to Gadabout? j I MRS. WATSON: I 'm not certain exactly what the zoning allows . MR. WILCOX: Well it allows a warehouse and warehouses are filled j i by trucks . RS. WATSON: Can I ask for clarification from Tom Hoard on that? SECRETARY HOARD: The property Harbeck Paper was a warehouse busi ness and those are the grandfathered rights established for that i property - as a warehouse business - so what Mr. Wilcox is saying is true that if they warehouse almost anything except a high hazard - I'm not even sure if paper products can be a high hazard - � that trailer trucks could go through there and we wouldn't be able to do anything about it under the zoning. RS. WATSON: I guess my answer to that question then I would pre£e I � a use under a grandfather clause even if it includes that kind of 1usage as longus I can see an end to continued and expanded commer- cialization - I 'm using that term loosely I realize - Gadabout is not a commercial enterprise I 'm not sure what ICC furniture ware, house is they retail furniture out of that. What I'm trying to suggest is that we have a building that is unfortunately in a resi- dential neighborhood � the question is what to do with it, Do you continue to allow more and more non-residential use of any kind whatsoever? There is an appropriate use that is in there and will continue. There may be an illegal use in that building which some f the neighbors would like to do something about. To rent space to Gadabout or to an industrial designer or to anybody simply more bus ` - ness in the area more usage that is not of a residential neighbor not of residential quality, Okay? i i - 61 - i IMS . CUMMINGS: My name is Suan Cummings and I live at 214 Fayette ' I I� jIStreet and I have a prepared statement here for you. J would like I i jIto speak to you in my role as Presidnet of Ithaca Neighborhood Hous- ding Services , a private non-profit corporation which has been, sine 11976 , involved in a multi-million dollar neighborhood conservation iprogram in our Northside and Southside neighborhoods. REsidents , in artnership with local lenders and with the City of Ithaca, have inL �vested heavily inrehabilitating their homes. As a part of its comm�t- i ent to their effort, the City has allocated a substantial share of, it; Community Development dollars to INHS. It has also upgraded the zoninj 1in a large portion of the southside from R-3 to R-2 , including the ii ,area in question tonight with appeal #1341. We would like to ask the l I �lBoard of Zoning Appeals to uphold the city's commitment to our downy l town residential neighborhoods by denying this appeal for the follo� - ling reasons : 1) The parcel at 210-212 Center and 413-417 South I Plain Streets is a commercial enterprise in the middle of an R-2b district. I lump all of those numbers together because I believe it I Us my understand that this is the way it was first - the first varix w jance was granted on the entire parcel and this entire parcel has aft any times been occupied by one business . It seems to present that', sort of monlithic appearance to the neighborhood. It is a non-con-1. forming use already in violation on several accounts : use violations retail furniture sales , the variance specifically allows only wholeL i sale and warehousing. Cake baking business ; industrial design mode shop; now we just heard of a stilt making business also, Exterior I ;storage of building materials on the rear lot. This was exterior i� ''storage for the - for construction by the INA. The materials had lbeen stored for several months on that lot, This is the sort of thing (whichhappens without having to go through a legal process apparently lif you are a warehouse. Alright, so I would suggest that there arel existing use violations. Signage violations - 10 times the allowed! footage plus trailer sign health violations , accumulated rubbish and I � IIderelict autos . It would seem legally contradictory to grant an ad4i- i tional variance to a parcel which- is currently in violation of its i existing variances, 2) The owner of the parcel does not have a i record of compliance and has already flagrantly disregarded citations , �I II - - ii 62 by the building inspector. I 'm sure in your executive sessions the IJBuilding Commissioner will go over the record with you. He has H 11notified the property owner of the retailing violations and of the j signage violations and they have been simply ignored. The (3) pro 'i posed use for 210 Center Street would bring additional traffic into, an already congested street and create parking and traffic hazards . 11 {i ilLet me digress for a moment. We have had the rear lot at that I!) (property defined as parking lot - I would ask you to bear in mind I they are unimproved lots - they are mud lots - there is never winter maintenance on those parcels - I would suggest that at times! Hit would be very difficult to bring vans in there let alone volun- teers to park their cars. You saw a slide which showed you the only existing piece of improved parking and that was the piece on the site which we are calling 208 - between 210 and 206 - that is the only improved parking existing there that parking is usually filled by! 'staff of the ICC furniture warehouses . There is little improved , ( parking beyond that . Parking does not happen behind the building. I And I would suggest that there are legal standards for parking spaces and that the space behind 210 which also latches over onto . the South Plain Street lot does not provide the legal space for !those four actual vans and this is the first time we've heard about II� I'a fifth proposed van. When the Planning Board asked the question Iof expansion we were not told of a fifth van. So additional traffic 11 and parking and traffic hazards . 4) The exterior storage of four I� brightly decorated vans is a highly visible intrusion of non-resi � dential nature into the backyard of every home around the block, IYou saw the diagram which indicated the positioning of the site and, �jhow that back lot opens into every yard. The residents in the South i ! Plain/Center Street neighborhood have invested heavily in recent home improvements. Within a one,blQck radius of the ICC Furniture Warehouse INHS has made eleven loans for a total of $139,621 . 50, orl Ian average homeowner investment of $12 ,692 . 86. We have also ser-- I viced three mini-repair properties within this area and, in addition, jthere are five building permits out for non-NHS projects. At leas f 11nineteen homeowners within a one-block radius are trusting the City i i - 63 - ,� i i Df Ithaca to make good its promise to protect residential neighbor- i oods from commercial speculation and intrusion. The Board of �Loning Appeals must resist commercial expansion in inappropriate �ocations . In 1955 the BZA granted a variance to operate a whole- 6ale paper business and warehouse in this complex of buildings . Th� rariance was granted with this reminder: "no non-conforming use ma e extended in area or intensity. " Nevertheless, additional area and sign variances have unfortunately been granted to this property' In 1978 the BZA had the wisdom to draw the line and refused to allo� !Construction of a 2500 square foot warehouse on the site. I would like to ask this BZA to remember the admonition of the earlier Boar: ,no non-conforming use may be extended in area or intensity. " I I must ask you to deny the appeal before you, #1341. I would also � ike to ask for immediate prosecution of the existing violations at ! 210-212 Center and 413-417 South Plain streets. And I believe that " �ou also do have a stack of four or five letters from neighborhood I organizations and individuals commenting on commercial intrusions , j additional parking problems - I think that has been submitted to he chairman already. I would like to add that I find it difficult ' l ,to ask you to deny a variance to Gadabout but we must separate the i service from the impact which it produces on the neighborhood. I understand that Gadabout is essential to our elderly and handicappe citizens . I also understand that it is essential for the City of i!Ithaca - it is indeed helping the City of Ithaca to fulfill its j handicapped transportation requirements . I think it is clear that the City of Ithaca owes something to Gadabout Transportation - they owe them a great deal of help in finding an appropriate location. ; However it is not proper to do that by forcing a residential neigh- ', borhood to accept a concern which will have a heavy,.eav non-,residentia impact . The City should help Gadabout by finding a different loca- tion and I would also like to see the City prosecute the existing violations. Thank you very much, CHAIRMAN AMAN: Is there anyone else wishing to speak against the Ivarl'ance? RS. WHITAKER: My name is Firs. Whitaker - I really don't think, I i - 64 - geed to come up there do I? I just want to know, can you separate j 1�their request from all this that has been brought to light because I `bf their request? 1 jPHAIRMAN AMAN: Well , it is the funciton of the Board to deliberates !4nd mull over the evidence in executive session so that is what we {gill be doing. If there is no one else to speak in this case we ' ll ; 'j �all the next case. i I�ECRETARY HOARD: We should do something about these letters . � I HAIRMAN AMAN: Alright. We ' ll read these letters or at least men- , 1 ion them for purposes of the record. (SECRETARY HOARD: This one is from Mr. & Mrs. Jack Whittaker and Mr ��nd Mrs. Nick Bellisario . This refers to they feel badly about Senior Citizens Gadabout Service that has gotten out of hand, they j �re concerned about the increase in traffic, difficulty for people (oto cross the street, get out of driveways, Property in question in-+ I Teasingly more commercial and generates traffic exceeding what �Ohould be in a residential zone . They are opposed to the variance. ii I rs. Margaret McCasland, 212 Fayette Street expresses support for I J�adabout as an organization and as a neighbor but she is not pleased with the rather ambiguous status of the furniture sales business ofl 1CC warehouse, Aside from this apparent violation of zoning regu tions I have found the business at TCC Warehouse specifically a �uisance in regards to the frequency with_ which. vehicles are parked ';, �cross the sidewalk, at their Center Street entrance, She is mostly ��omplaining about ICC warehouse, But it adds up - I again want to emphasize that I support Gadabout and would welcome them as a f ��eighbor but I also appreciate this opportunity to share my exper, I 1�ences with- ICC warehouse as a neighbor', This one is Michael J. � ierschensohn of 334 S, Geneva Street, seven houses south of the resent location of Gadabout Transportation Service, I would hope ' hat the Board of Zoning Appeals will be able, in its wisdom to iseparate the marvelous service provided by the Gadabout .from its armful impact on the neighborhood. The appeal for a variance should e denied for the following reasons : 111 , The bright colors and design �n the Gadabout vans as attractive as they are, have a generally com- ercial quality. Four of these vehicles lined up in the evenings aid I i - 65 - I; lion weekends detract from the residential quality of the neighborhood I ' and give it a commercial character; this is especially true during � I those hours when residents are at home and attempting to retreat jifrom the intensity of jobs and commercial environments . The larger! I pen lot proposed for parking these vehicles on S. Plain Street where They will be even more visible than at the present site, will in- Tease their impact on the neighborhood. 2) In the time the Gada out has been on our street, I have become increasingly concerned bout the safety of my children as they bicycle around the block orl �ven go on short neighborhood walks . The Gadabout Service uses its ! 4� Ilriveway on weekends and holidays , those times when traffic is light i nd commercial activity in a driveway least expected. The presence ! �f this service on my block has generated a significant level of ��nxiety about the safety of our youngsters at times when this worry [ ��hould not and need not be there. For these reasons , I would en- ourage the Board of ZoningAppeals to deny the Gadabout Service' s equest for a zoning variance. Thank you." Another letter from eth Prentice, Executive Director of Ithaca Neighborhood Housing �ervices : "I am writing at the request of several southside neigh- 1 i borhood residents who are concerned about the proposed variance for Donald Lucente to rent space to Gadabout. While residents are highly i supportive of Gadabout and its services they do not wish to see further on-residential use of the property. It is the residents' feeling hat the original variance given to Mr. Lucente to operate the ware; ouse has already been encroached upon: the business is advertised end does not appear to be merely a warehouse; the sign on the premis',es is too large; the land has been used for storage by other organizations ; 4ace is already rented to an outside concern. Furthermore, Mr. j I� ;ucente did not notifynearbyresidents of the proposed variance, asl equired. " i SECRETARY HOARD, I believe Gadabout did that . Another letter from hirley Cooper : "The members of the community government relations �oardfor sometime have discussed and been concerned regarding the , �ncreased use ofthe property currently occupied by the ICC warehous;e n the corner of Plain and Center Street, both in terms of increas-0 Ili ff' i i - 66 - i i arking and the retail sale of furniture. We have expressed our �i � oncerns to the neighborhood housing board. This has generated increased traffic in what was once a quiet residential area. There- i More, we are expressing our opposition to any increased usage of tho �roperty for a parking zone for the Gadabout Buses. I feel very I trongly that any increase in activity from this property can only eventually become a serious problem to the reconstruction home and he necessity of maintaining a quiet hospital like atmosphere around. it. I guess that is all . HAIRMAN AMAN: We' ll call the next case. i i I I I I I II I i I I i I I I i I I I f' 1 i I i 1 I li I I i I I i � i 67 - BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS COMMON COUNCIL CHAMBERS �I CITY OF ITHACA NEW YORK FEBRUARY 2 , 1981 EXECUTIVE SESSION PPEAL NO. 1341 the Board considered the appeal for a use and area variance under ection 30. 25, Columns 2 , 10, 11 , 13 and 14 to permit the operation ! f a nonprofit volunteer transportation program for the elderly and � .andicapped at 210 Center Street. The proposed use is not a per- i � itted use in the R-2b use district in which the property is locate., 1�nd the property is non-conforming in that it does not comply with i district requirements for maximum permitted lot coverage, and front ; ide, and rear yard setbacks , �R. ANGELL: I move that the Board deny the variances requested in i� appeal nimber 1341 . �S. HAINE: I second the motion. OTE: S Yes ; 0 No; 1 Abstention, Denied. j i INDI'NGS OF FACT: j (1) The basis of denial for use - that no hardship was developed bye I � the testimony. I �2) Allowance of the variance would not preserve the spirit of the Ordinance in this residential zone, �3) The proposed use would adversely affect the neighborhood by further increasing the traffic in that area, i j 1 OTE: Because of the potential appearance of impropriety arising out of certain legal: representations , Peter Walsh absented himself !from the executive session during the discussion and voting on lappea;l number 1341, i i �I j� I i jj L � - 68 - I i BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS CITY OF ITHACA NEW YORK COMMON COUNCIL CHAMBERS ' I i` FEBRUARY 2, 1981 IISECRETARY HOARD: The next case is appeal number 1342 : Appeal of Paul S. Hansen for an area vari- ance under Section 30. 25 , Columns 12 and 13 �I (minimum side yards) to permit conversion of the one-family house at 111 South Plain 1 I, Street to a two-family dwelling. The propefty is located in a B-2a (business) use district i' in which two-family dwellings are permitted the property is non-conforming in that the side yard setbacks are deficient. R. HANSEN: My name is Paul Hansen and I live at 111 South Plain j treet. Should I explain what I am going to do here? HAIRMAN AMAN: Yes , please. MR. HANSEN: The property right now is a one-family dwelling and I m going to change it into a one-bedroom apartment for myself and three bedroom apartment to rent . From what I understand the side properties are short of the needed requirements. i HAIRMAN AMAN: Is there any change in the exterior of the building I i R. HANSEN: No. I R. WALSH: Mr. Hansen, do you happen to know if, of the properties djacent to yours are similarly situated? Would you say that they I re closer to the lot line than they might be according to the pro- !: I visions of our ordinances? R. HANSEN: Probably because I think on the left hand side of my i ouse , as you are sitting in it, there is approximately 61 . Do youj .ave a copy of the survey? I 'm not sure that they show the next wilding over . . . 'IR. WEAVER: Shows 5. 9. I HANSEN: To the house next door? R. WEAVER: From the carport. i R. HANSEN: Oh, okay - well that 's where the building is . The edg i f the carport, I think is almost on the line- I think it is a oot and one-half from the line. I 'm not really certain. �ySECR.ETARY HOARD: Two and one-half feet on one side and one and one- � alf feet on the other side. R. HANSEN: Okay. So that means that this building is approximate. y j j i !f - 69 - � j ;three feet so it is also short, I would assume . Is that correct? �� nd on the other side of the building I have one and one-half feet �' o I!the line - there is a fire escape that starts right there and that ! is Hubble' s building. Am I being clear now? R. WALSH: I understand, what you are saying. R. HANSON: You went out and took pictures? j R. WALSH: Yes . Mr. Hanson, is the property on the south side whi�h you refer to as the Hubble residence, which has the fire escape? Ifi that a multiple residence? i R. HANSEN: Yes , I think it - -it ' s a duplex to start with I thin i as been subdivided about for a total of about six apartments it 1 there. You see, it is only hearsay I know there are at least two, and I get a feeling that there is a number of people that are in there. . . I WALSH: Well , it is not a one-family in any case? I R. HANSEN: And on the other side, Angela Ceracche - the reason I now these names is that I had to send out the list and that ' s again, at least two - just looking - it looks like there is possibly six in there or let' s say four, R. WEAVER: Four apartments or four people? R. HANSEN: Four apartments with a much . „ The Ceracche 'buildin is kept up very nicely, The Hubble isn't . i R. WALSH: Tom, am I correct in looking at this diagram that, but for the carport on the north side of the property, that the only j eficiency would be on the south. side? SECRETARY HOARD: Yes. R. WALSH: And that ' s really the only, deficiency - those two then are the only problems that we are talking about with this use. SECRETARY HOARD: Yes , and it is in a business zone, R, WALSH: It' s a business zone? Okay, CHAIRMAN AMAN: Any further questions? Thank you six, Is there anyone here who wishes to speak for the requested variance? (no on�) Anyone who wishes to oppose it? (no one) , if not, we will call the last case. I i! ii - 70 - BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS COMMON COUNCIL CHAMBERS CITY OF ITHACA NEW YORK FEBRUARY 2 , 1981 EXECUTIVE SESSION f PPEAL NO. 1342 : he Board considered the request for an area variance under Section 130. 25 , Columns 12 and 13 to permit conversion of the one-family mouse at 111 South Plain Street to a two-family dwelling. The I � property is located in a B-2a use district in which two-family dwell- lings are permitted, but the property is non-conforming in that the (side yard setbacks are deficient. i�R- WILCOX: I move that the Board grant the area variance requested in appeal 1342 . 'FHAIRMAN AMAN: I second the motion. VOTE : 5 Yes ; 1 No Granted BINDING OF FACT: �I The request is a permitted use. it �) It will not unfavorably affect the neighborhood, i Practical difficulties have been shown. J` jI4) The proposed change will not exacerbate the present area defi- ciencies , Ii If ! { i i 71 - BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS COMMON COUNCIL CHAMBERS �i CITY OF ITHACA NEW YORK I FEBRUARY 2 , 1981 j SECRETARY HOARD: The last appeal is appeal number 1343 : I ei Appeal of John W. Gibson for an area variance) under Section 30 . 25 , Column 12 to permit an addition to the existing building at 501-505 North Cayuga Street and conversion of the buil4- �� ing to a dental office. The use is permitted6 but the property is deficient in one side yard! I� under the requirements for the B-2a (business) ! use district in which the property is located. I� The property had received a variance for this addition in 1978 , but work had not begun withii I4 the twelve month period required by the zoning ordinance . �R. FREEMAN: I 'm Norman Freeman, I 'm speaking for Dr. Gibson with i regard to this application. As Mr. Hoard indicated, prior approval I as granted by the BZA on a very similar plan back in November of I 978 . However no construction or a building permit was ever obtained i within the year - Dr. Gibson is interested in proceeding again at i this time , made an application for a building permit and found out that the variance had to be reapplied for. I ' d like to point out that the front, rear and one side are well within the B-2 limits . here is thirty feet more or less in the front , on Cayuga Street, lithe southside, which. is one of the sides has to be at least ten fee I� there is 2118" on that side - the rear has to be somewhere betweeA � I �ourteen and fifteen feet - there is nineteen feet on that - on the , ear which is the east side. However the 'building which is a mason-ry building that was built to within approximately a foot of the north! oundary which is the other side - it complies as Mr. Hoard said, i 1� ith all of the requirements for the area. The construction that j�ill be done is to have a basic cinder block facing on the building ) II i nd an extension to the south toward Farm Street which. would be a Legal direction in which to extend it . In other words , the extension I .s not toward the north where the deficiency is , I have some q,ues� j Bion as to whether or not a variance is needed since the Code provides khat one side has to be at least the ten feet if the building is t 'altered or erected , the other column 13 provides that the other side ust be at least a certain number of feet if there is a new building I � i I 72 - I erected. Obviously this is not being a new building erected althou�h ( there will be a very substantial addition. However in order to I i ►clear up any problems, the variance has been requested. I think !! ► I there will be a great improvement in the area if this variance is fi ! ` granted - this used to be a gas station as you may know and its in somewhat a run down condition. There will be a new professional office, obviously, going in there with adequate parking - there will i be ten patient parking spaces , together with room for four or five other cars of the staff. It will be a modern building - the gas tanks in the - now buried in the ground will be removed as part of i the approximately 12 ,000. 00 site improvement program which includes) landscaping and black topping the parking area. I might point out that there are presently four large curb cuts for access to this property so there will not have to be any additional curb cuts made . I think the rest of the facts are pretty well indicated in the appeal - I ' ll be happy to answer any questions if anyone has any. i MR. WEAVER: Question on that last item. This Board will not be ruling on the acceptability or not of those existing curb cuts . SECRETARY HOARD: No. i MR. FREEMAN: No , I don't believe so , I think they area. . �MR. WEAVER: I think you go to see the Engineer on that. MR. FREEMAN: It would - I assume that they would remain there i although I am not - I don' t think the Board is going to rule on I that. MR. WALSH: This is the old gas station opposite Mickeyts? MR. FREEMAN: Yes, I MR. WEAVER: Nest to the Northside Pharmacy, (CHAIRMAN AMAN: Any further questions? Thank you very much sir. i Is there anyone here who wishes to speak for or against the proposed variance? (_no one) Hearing nothing further, we will a,djorn to executive session. i i I f fi i - 73 I I BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS COMMON COUNCIL CHAMBERS CITY OF ITHACA NEW YORK i jl FEBRUARY 2, 1981 EXECUTIVE SESSION APPEAL NO. 1343: I IThe Board considered the appeal for an area variance under Section ) !130. 25 , Column 12 to permit an addition to the existing building at 1501-505 North Cayuga Street and conversion of the building to a i dental office, The use is permitted, bu t the property is deficienti in one side yard under the requirements for the B-2a use district Hin which the property is located. The property had received a I�variance for this addition in 1978 , but work had not begun within I 'the twelve month period required by the zoning ordinance. I iMR. WEAVER: I move that the Board grant the area variance Ij I� requested in appeal number 1343. i !CHAIRMAN AMAN: I second the motion, VOTE: 6 Yes ; 0 No Granted. FINDINGS OF FACT: ill) Practical difficulties. have been shown by the appellant. 12) The proposed addition extends ina direction which will not ij exacerbate the area deficiencies that exist. j,3) The proposed use of the property will improve its condition. �j i i I I I f 1► , J 1 — — 74 I( I I f li I I , Barbara Ruane, Do Certify That I took the minutes of the Board I of Zoning Appeals , City of Ithaca, in the matters of Appeals i 'Inumbered 1331, 1-1-81 , 1334, 1338 , 1339, 1340 , 1341, 1342 , and 1343, on February 2 , 1981 at the Common Council Chambers of the City of Ithaca, New York.; that I have transcribed same , and the foregoing is a true copy of the transcript of the minutes of the meeting and the Executive Session of the Board of Zoning Appeals , i jCity of Ithaca, on the above date, and the whole thereof to the best of my ability, M Barbara Ruane I� Recording Secretary I, I� i I jiSworn to before me this j I day of r 19.81 . i i Notary Public i) .I JEAN J. HANKINSON NOTARY PUBLIC, STATE OF NEW YORK No. 55.1070300 j QUALIFI=D IN TOM"!'S COUNT - MY COMMISSION EXPIRE.; '�.?'CH 30,19 J i I I II II I f�II ;I I I, I I� II I