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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1969-03-10 r )1 / i Minutes LANSING PLANNING BOARD • March 10 , 1969 : Town Hall Regular Meeting PRESENT : Mr . James Showacre , Chairman ; Messrs . Paul Barron , Peter H . Craig , Frederick Edmondson , H . B . Ruzicka Also : Messrs . Frederick Bent , Jerry Cayward , John Ettinger , C . Delmar Kearl , Lyle Wadell (residents of the Town of Lansing and members of the Planning Council ) , and Mr . Thomas Niederkorn , Planning Consultant ABSENT : Mrs . Viola Miller , Mr . James Wood The meeting was called to order by the Chairman at 8 : 15 p .m . The minutes of the regular meeting of February 24 , 1969 , were MINUTES presented . Upon MOTION of Mr . Craig , seconded by Mr . Edmond - son , the minutes were approved , Mr . Edmondson to make some changes in the remarks attributed to him on page 2 . Showacre Nothing to report in this category , as no correspondence CORRESPONDENCE has been received since the last meeting . • Barron No formal report was presented . Mr . Barron will keep track FINANCIAL of the expenditures of the Planning Board in order not to exceed the budget for 1969 . REPORT Ruzicka Some political activity is being generated . At a meeting of PUBLIC the Republican caucus to be held on Friday , March 14 , the sub - jects of zoning and planning may be brought up . RELATIONS Craig There will be a meeting of the Planning Council on Wednesday , March 12 , for the people who are interested in receiving in- formation regarding the unrestricted zoning category . Written notification of this , along with a note of explanation , has been given to the two radio stations in Ithaca and to the Ithaca Journal . Messrs . Baughman and Wadell will be in charge and have been asked to contact the people who are in favor of additional zoning to find out whether it is actually the popu- lar opinion that this area should be unrestricted . The Plan- ning Board should be well represented at the meeting , but there should be no argumentation . Information can be supplied , but without verbal conflict . Craig Editing of this material is almost completed , except for the BASIC STUDIES studies on natural features and soils . The maps which have been completed were on display for the present Planning Board meeting . • Minutes , LANSING PLANNING BOARD , March 10 , 1969 ; Town Hall , Regular Meeting , page 2 Edmondson The material should be reviewed by the Planning Board and then • the Consultant before it is printed for any sort of wide dis - tribution even to members of the Town Board . Craig The Planning Council will present the material to the Planning Board before there is any distribution , and the Planning Board can then decide its disposition . Showacre Mentioned the inequity in apportionment of the sales tax SALES TAX FUNDS monies on the basis of assessment and population . This APPORTIONMENT method discriminates against the Town of Lansing . Super - METHOD visor Dates has broached the subject with the County , but apparently has not been able to have the matter remedied . At this point in the meeting Mr . Edmondson introduced Mr . Niederkorn , who had just entered the room , to those pre - viously unacquainted with him , and he joined the meeting dis - cussion . Showacre The Chairman gave a brief history of the Zoning Commission and ZONING its work to date . He mentioned that he and Mr . Craig have worked on the zoning ordinance . A graduate student from Cornell suggested the Oakland ordinance , with some few changes , as providing a useful approach for Lansing . Abstracts of this ordinance have been given to the various committees of the • Planning Council so that they can work on the material in relation to Lansing . The Chairman then explained the maps which were on display . Among the subjects covered by them were school districts , slopes , average full assessed property value , an example of zoning , public utilities , public lands and recreation facilities , land use . Booklets entitled "Zoning for Lansing " were handed out to those present . The maps on display are illustrations of what is set forth in this booklet . There is a copy of the "Example of Zon- ing " map for each of the committees , as well as some maps which are blank except for roads . The meeting was then turned over to Mr . Niederkorn , who dis - cussed his work as it might dovetail with the work which has been done by the committees . The question now is what is desired from here on , in view of the fact that so much work has already been done . It is necessary to maintain the involvement of Lansing citizens . When the Planning Consultant ' s contracts are drawn up and sent to Lansing they must be returned signed to the State , and after • that there will be a four - to six-week period before the State officials review the contracts and the Controller ' s number is Minutes , LANSING PLANNING BOARD , March 10 , 1969 ; Town Hall , Regular Meeting , page 3 placed thereon . The Consultant should have copies of all per - • tinent documents and of the maps . Any additional information which might be desired would be worked on with the groups in- volved in the Basic Studies . Initially some land -use policies would be established , based on population , and sewer and water extension , as well as analyses , etc . Conclusions would then be drawn from all of the material . Basic Studies will be completed in about a year , after which zoning can be seriously discussed ; the plan must precede the zoning . It will be necessary to know the population trends and the economic conditions in order to determine how much growth there will be . After that , the rela - tionship between the community facilities and the population and economic growth can be determined both for the present and the future . Traffic patterns and potential new roads will have more general bearing on the land use . The Zoning Ordinance will be a matter for which the Town Board must be educated . The final decisions will have to be as logical as possible , and everyone should be kept as interested as pos - sible in the meantime . The Planning Board should be prepared for the time at which sending that ordinance to the Town Board will be appropriate . Therefore in the meantime it will be necessary to build a very strong case for the presentation of the ordinance to the Town Board , and members of the community should be kept active . At present it seems as if there will be a long delay be - tween now and the time when the ordinance can finally be adopted . • The plan for the Town will probably be completed ahead of the comp pletion of the Bell Station . An alert town board would at this point acquire a great deal of public land for recreation and other purposes . To let the lowering of taxes be the basis of its actions is extremely short - sighted , and the worst possible basis of action . Each item named in the contract must be covered to some degree in the final report . It is possible to work within an area , but not to change the contract . In the matter of solid waste disposal , it should not be left to Mr . Liguori and the County to decide on an appropriate site , but the Planning Board and the Consultant should check all areas to find one suitable for this purpose . To an increasing degree zoning is becoming taking for granted in general planning ; hence a plan must be presented to the Town Board . Edmondson The Planning Board cannot successfully accomplish with basic studies the lengthy process of planning . Craig The process can be lengthy or it can be simple , with all grada - tions in between . • Edmondson The simplest plans are the most refined . There is no such thing as a simple process ; it is very complicated . Minutes , LANSING PLANNING BOARD , March 10 , 1969 ; Town Hall , Regular Meeting , page 4 Kearl One of the principal considerations would be the politics of the situation , whether we could move fast and not get the plans ac - cepted , or move slowly and get them accepted . With a change in the Board , and the acquisition of a professional planner , it might be wise not to proceed too fast . Craig What we do in the interim period is going to be very important . After the November election , conditions will be changed for the better or perhaps for the worse . The Planning Board should in the interim think it is going : to be a much better and more pro - gressive Board . By being active in this interim period the Planning Board would have ready a plan for presentation to a progressive board . Even if the plan were not as good as it might be , it would nevertheless be a step in the right direction . Niederkorn The experience in Dryden illustrates how vulnerable this Board might be , and how carefully it must proceed . A real battle now might set zoning back five years . Mr . Niederkorn asked whether the Basic Studies committees could be reactivated , and was assured that they could be . He will get together with the committees and the Council and make a proposal for the future . He should have copies of all that has been done , and will then meet with the Planning Board at a later date . Official work cannot start until the State Controller ' s number is received . iMr . Niederkorn left at 10 : 10 p .m . Showacre Announced that the Mobile Homes Ordinance will be worked on MOBILE HOMES after the adjournment of this meeting . ORDINANCE Upon MOTION by Mr . Edmondson , seconded by Mr . Craig and car - ried , the meeting was adjourned at 10 : 15 p . m . •