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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPB 2025-01-23 PB 1-23-25 APPROVED 1 Town of Dryden Planning Board Meeting Thursday January 23, 2025 Hybrid – Zoom Approved 2-27-25 Planning Board - 2025 Current Members I.P. Z Ex Ab Tony Salerno, Chair (2029) X John Kiefer (2027) X Frank Parish (2028) X Chris Morrissey (2030) X Craig Anderson (2025) X Bill Griffin (2031) X Brad Will (2026) X Alternate, vacant Alternate, vacant Other Staff or Board Members I.P. or on Zoom Ray Burger, Director of Planning (IP) Gina Cassidy, Planner (IP) Joy Foster - Recording Secretary (Z) Dan Lamb (TB) Christina Dravis (TB) (Z) Marie McRae (Z) Other attendees Brian Crandall (Z) David Durett (Z) Luke Kerr (Z) PB 1-23-25 APPROVED 2 AGENDA 6:01 pm Call to Order Welcome – Quorum Check 1. Welcome – Quorum Check 2. Public Comment Period 3. Planning to Promote an Age-Friendly Community 4. Planning Department Update and Future Projects 5. Gamefarm Rd Cornell Fields in Town of Ithaca 6. Zoning Rewrite Prioritization and Scope 7. Recommendation to dissolve the North St. Task Force 8. Liasson to the Workforce Housing Committee 9. Discussion of Section 270-6.7 – is it accomplishing our goals? 10. Town Board Update 11. Minutes Approval – December 17, 2024 8:00 Adjourn Next Meeting: Thursday, February 27, 2025 6:00pm Agenda subject to amendment. Public Comment Period – None #3) A presentation on Age-Friendly communities which was discussed at a previous meeting, presented by Luke Kerr, a City and Regional Planning Student, Cornell University and Planning Technician for Community Planning Strategies based in Colorado. This training is in partnership with Tompkins County Office for The Aging, hoping to bring awareness to the local level and municipalities to incorporate some ideas into their work to bring awareness to what the elder population needs are for housing, transportation, accessibility, services etc.… PB 1-23-25 APPROVED 3 #4) Planning Department Update and Future Projects – Ray Burger • A Resolution was just passed from the Town Board this month supporting Deconstruction instead of demolition • Future Projects coming back for review: Varna Auto, shop expansion. Another project is The Orchid Place at 1274 Dryden Rd. it was an introduction of a concept plan a few years ago, to be 12 townhomes this will be back with a similar plan. • The PUD at the end of Cardinal Dr. and Hanshaw Rd, they are working to put together an application which will go to the TB first and if the concept plan is approved it will come to the PB. • Also, there will be a couple of smaller subdivisions. #5) Gamefarm Rd. Cornell Fields in the Town of Ithaca, the Board feels it is an appropriate place to develop athletic facilities. #6) Zoning Rewrite Prioritization and Scope, John Kiefer - this is a work in progress, phase 1, I tried to outline a communication plan and also a schedule. This is how we started off with the Comp. Plan on how to engage the community. I noted that the TB needs to look at before we take it to the public. And for the scope I went to the consultants’ work and highlighted sections in her recommendations. It’s about housing, increasing diversity and types of buildings. Then if comfortable with this scope take it back to the consultant and ask for it to be tightened up that’s closer to zoning language. And in addition to Nan’s recommendations, I added my thoughts on data centers and battery energy storage. T. Salerno to the Board, are there other things to add or change to this 1st Scope Update. The Board has a discussion. 1. Article 2 Purpose 2. Article 3 Definitions 3. Alignment with NYS law: 1st update is primarily mobile homes and includes the review process. 4. Housing Part 1 (included some but not all of CPEA’s recommendations). 5. Data Centers/Crypto Mining 6. Battery Energy Storage Enforcement, fees, fines need to be looked at. Presentation gets created then schedule the outreach for the public. 1. Establish a detailed scope of 1st update Jan-Mar 2025 (need TB approval) 2. Add 3 or more months to the following if we advertise for a consultant. 3. Prepare communication plan presentation Jan-Mar 2025 4. Outreach meetings Apr-Jun 2025, see above communications plan 5. Revise scope of 1st update: as needed based on communication plan meeting Jun-2025 6. Draft 1st update Jul-Aug 20205 7. Public hearings Sept-Oct 2025 8. Draft final 1st update and enact Nov-Dec 2025 Repeat cycle for 2nd update PB 1-23-25 APPROVED 4 The Board suggests working on the data storage issue as the Board seems split on a decision. There should be a separate meeting just for this. The special meeting will be scheduled for 2-6-25 at 6PM. #7) Recommendation to dissolve the North Street Task Force C. Anderson - the committee, has completed all the tasks they were assigned to do. This is a sub-committee to the Planning Board, so the Planning Board needs to dissolve it. Town Of Dryden Planning Board January 23, 2025 Resolution #1 of 2025 to Dissolve the North Street Task Force Whereas, North Street Task Force was created to promote and facilitate the Cornell Design Connect, North Street Development Plan. Whereas, the main goal was pedestrian conductivity and safety. Whereas, this main goal will soon be accomplished with a grant awarded by New York State Transportation Alternatives Program, (TAP) to the Town of Dryden and Village of Dryden to install sidewalks and pedestrian crossings in the targeted area. Be it Resolved, Town of Dryden Planning Board discharges the Task Force of its appointed task and dissolves the North Street Task force. Motion: C. Anderson, moves to dissolve the Task Force Second: J. Kiefer All in favor – Yes, unanimous J. Kiefer would like to thank Craig Anderson for his work on this. It was his idea originally to task Design-Connect with working on circulation on the North End of the Village and then from there has been the major force pushing this whole thing forward and have done a wonderful job. It was a collaboration between the Town and the Village, a marvelous job, thank you. #8) Liasson to the Workforce Housing Committee – C. Anderson is stepping down from being the Liasson next month, so this position is open for someone to join. The group meets on the 1st Wednesday of the month and the time is 2 to 3:30 PM This will be a topic for next month’s meeting, be thinking about joining a Board as an Liasson. PB 1-23-25 APPROVED 5 #9) Discussion of section 270-6.7 – is it accomplishing our goals? Ray Burger- this was a statute we put on the books in 2016 to address cases where a person had a large lot and wanted to construct multiple dwellings on the lot without having to subdivide; where if it could be determined that it was subdividable. If there are 2 to 4 dwellings it was just Site Plan Review with this Board. If there's more than that, it is a Special Use Permit for the Town Board. Don't think we've done any that’s gone to the Town Board, but we have done a few of them here where it's been two or three single-family homes on the lot without requiring subdivision. The board reviewed a case last month on Lower Creek Road, a 2.78-acre lot that needed a variance since there was only 252 feet of frontage. So, it would require a variance to create a second lot. So that went before the ZBA and they had a difficult hearing because the word in the statute is the number of “conforming” lots that could be created and there's a distinction between conforming and legal. So, a lot with an area variance is legal lot, but it's not conforming. The only way to be conforming is if you meet everything in the zoning law without a variance. The ZBA worked their way through and granted a variance in this case. Do we want to look at this in the zoning rewrite. See if this process is working for us or do we want to improve it. One of Nan’s recommendations was that she thought that in some of our districts that the frontage requirement was too large. That was the issue in this case. Last month we did a Sketch Plan approval without SEQR. I also want to make the Board aware that there were two different tax parcel numbers, and two different acreages referenced throughout the discussion and throughout the application materials. So, one was the tax parcel 39.9, which was 4-acres, and one was 39.92 which was 2.78-acres. So, I just wanted to see if that had any bearing on the decision made by this board. And if it didn't, to make an affirmation of that tonight after you do the SEQR and maybe just reaffirm the Sketch Plan because the Sketch Plan is on the 2.78-acre lot. The Board looked it over and concluded that it would not have changed their decision. The Board did SEQR Parts 2 and 3 Motion: T. Salerno to move the SEQR be a negative declaration Second: J. Kiefer All in favor – Yes, unanimous Resolution #2 of 2025 - We reaffirm the sketch plan was approved for lot 39.92, which is 2.78- acres. Motion: T. Salerno to approve that resolution Second: C. Anderson All in favor – Yes, unanimous R. Burger – so would you agree that this lot, regardless of placement of the buildings, is able to be subdivided in two because it meets the frontage requirements and the one-acre minimum vs PB 1-23-25 APPROVED 6 having it so that the division line between the two lots also meets all the setbacks. So would you agree in my interpretation that what I'm asked to determine here is that the second lot could be created, not necessarily that it's conforming with all the potential yard setbacks. I just wanted to see if you agree with the way I've been making these determinations. The statute talks about a determination for how many conforming lots could be made. The way I've been doing it is if two conforming lots can be made. I just wanted to make sure I was doing consistent interpretation, not worrying about where the division line exactly goes. The board agreed with this. And in the future, if this person were ever wanting to subdivide, they would have to comply with the current subdivision rules. #10) Town Board Update – Dan Lamb • Made good progress on both long-awaited bridge projects, the Rail Trail pedestrian bridge over Rt. 13 and the Freece Rd. bridge. We expect to be able to put both out to bid in the next 4-6 weeks. • I also wanted to mention that we've had some really good progress with Dryden Fiber and I think this is an issue for our, quality of life and development in the town and in fact seeing all of our work on the PB, where people want to live, and we can extend high speed low cost internet throughout the town that means people want to live throughout the town and particularly people that live out in my area where there isn't high speed Internet. It makes it easier to do business from home or work from. • Another thing I just want to mention is I had a really great meeting with the Council government and some members of the county legislature today to address this issue of Dryden ambulance a service overall in Tompkins County and I brought this up before but. I’m getting a positive response from the county legislators about adopting a ambulance tax countywide. It’s not just a Dryden ambulance tax, all of us pay an ambulance tax. But if you live in town of Caroline or Town of Groton? You don't. • But you might get served by Dryden Ambulance and that’s a pretty nice opportunity for you. And in the County Legislatures and my colleagues in other towns we are seeing this as an unfair burden on Dryden taxpayers. • And lastly, we have another Dog Control Officer that we're pretty excited about for the Town of Dryden. Little happy note for the animals, I think she is very competent. #11) Minutes approval for December 17, 2024 Motion: T. Salerno motion to approve the minutes. Second: J. Kiefer All in favor – T. Salerno, J. Kiefer, C. Anderson, Yes F. Parish and C. Morrissey abstained because they were not at the meeting. Our next regular meeting is February 27th at 6:00PM Meeting adjourned: 7:55 PM