Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout1969-04-14 1 Minutes • LANSING PLANNING BOARD April 14 , 1969 : Town Hall Regular Meeting PRESENT : Mr . James Showacre , Chairman ; Messrs . Paul Barron , Peter H . Craig , Frederick Edmondson , H . B . Ruzicka ABSENT : Mrs . Viola Miller , Mr . James Wood The meeting was opened at 8 : 15 p .m . by the Chairman . Minutes of the Planning Board meeting of March 10 , 1969 , and MINUTES of the Joint Meeting of the Town Board and the Lansing Plan- ning Board of March 3 , 1969 , were presented . These were ap - proved , upon MOTION of Mr . Edmondson , seconded by Mr . Craig , and carried . Showacre Mr . Darwin Field of OPC has stated that the housing section CORRESPONDENCE of the 701 State specifications must meet the new criteria as set by HUD . Mr . Niederkorn has replied to Mr . Field , giving • as an example what happened in the Broome - Tioga study , where the housing study alone added $ 15 , 000 to the cost of the studies . He suggested three alternatives : (1 ) That the hous - ing study could be carried out by the local citizens committee ; ( 2 ) The funds from one of the studies could be used for the housing study ; ( 3 ) New costs could be submitted . The Chairman had not heard whether Mr . Niederkorn has received a reply to his letter . This matter must be resolved before the State will sign the contract . Showacre Wrote to the New York State Division of the Budget asking for a copy of the New York Index on Federal and State Assistance Programs . The copy arrived promptly and is available to any interested groups or persons . Edmondson In the conflict between Federal and State requirements , there may be a State agency which can temper the matter . Mr . Niederkorn is merely being very cautious in handling the mat - ter , and there should be no real trouble involved . There will undoubtedly be some sort of agreement with the State eventually . Ruzicka Nothing to report , as he has not heard any comments for or PUBLIC against planning . RELATIONS Showacre Commended Messrs . Barron and Ruzicka on the turnout for the agricultural group meeting , but Mr . Barron reported he felt • that by comparison with the number contacted , and the potential , the turnout was not what it should have been . Minutes , LANSING PLANNING BOARD , April 14 , 1969 ; Town Hall , Regular Meeting , page 2 Showacre Harris Dates had notified him that the State informed him MASTER PLAN • (Mr . Dates ) that the resolution passed by the Town Board over a year ago , which had been submitted with the proposal for 701 funds , was defective in that it specified that the Town would pay not more than a certain dollar figure . The original Scope of Services specified that the amount must be 17 percent of the total cost . The Town Board , making up and passing its own resolution , inserted the dollar value instead of the 17 percent amount . The State has rejected the Town Board ' s resolution , although the Scope of Services has since been amended and the ultimate dollar value will be less than it was originally . In a recent visit to Albany , Frank Liguori called on the appropriate people to ascertain whether the Board ' s resolution could be accepted , in view of the dollar amount being more than will be necessary , but found out that the contract must be awarded exactly as OPC has required . Before the last Town Board meeting Mr . Showacre was shown the relevant materials , but afterward Mr . Dates had called him aside and said that since there had not been a full Town Board present , he had not wanted to bring up the matter of a new resolution on 701 . Hence at this time there is no contract . Craig The typing on the Basic Studies is nearly finished , and mate - BASIC STUDIES rial is nearly ready to be arranged and duplicated . Maps are continuing to come in , and the collection is almost completed . • Showacre Subdivision regulations are still in the possession of the PLANNING CODE Town Board , being held in abeyance . There was a discussion among the members of the Planning Board as to what could be done about the matter of this sort of delaying action , which in this case has been seven months . The Planning Board does not think it wise to exert undue pressure on the Town Board nor demand action , since in such cases the Town Board has re - Craig jected whatever matter is under consideration . Mr . Craig sug- gested that , this being an election year , the Town Board mem- bers might be reluctant to get into any controversial areas . Craig Had been talking about the Mobile Homes Park Regulations to Mr . Williamson , who expressed the opinion that if there was a zon- ing ordinance it would take care of everything outside of mobile homes in parks . If zoning is reasonably close , these matters could be permitted to remain tabled . At the March 3rd joint meeting the Town Board clearly declared itself unwilling to make any regulations concerning single mobile homes . In reply to the Chairman ' s question whether there is any use in having a member of the Planning Board present at the Town Board meetings in order to try to put through any action on matters concerning planning , the consensus of the Planning Board was that eventually the Town Board will require planning , sub - division regulations , zoning , and mobile homes regulations as a • Craig package , rather than having these matters handled one at a time . Mr . Craig thought that the efforts of the Planning Board should , besides its general schedule of activities , be directed toward Minutes , LANSING PLANNING BOARD , April 14 , 1969 ; Town Hall , Regular Meeting , page 3 a coordinated study of regulations covering all aspects . The • regulations would then be ready for submission to a Town Board whenever that body might ask for them . Edmondson Agreed that such a time will eventually come , but that this sort of material cannot be forced until the Town Board is placed in a decision-making spot . This situation is typical of the general experience in Upstate New York towns , some of which turn down all Federal aid and do the work themselves . All of Mr . Niederkorn ' s work will be subject to criticism by the Planning Board , then the Town Board , and finally the Town itself . Ruzicka Has found that some of the formerly strong objectors are coming around to being more receptive to zoning than they were in the past . Craig Feels that the meetings do more toward helping people to under - stand zoning than is possible through any other method , and asked how else to reach the townspeople on the matter of planning . Edmondson By having presentation material that is interesting and can com- pete with television and other sophisticated materials . This includes both effective speaking and effective presentation . Any organization can be used for the presentations . An eye - catcher can enlist interest and attract attention ; conflict • brings the town together and encourages participation . It will be found that as Mr . Niederkorn moves along in his work for Lansing and presents his views and the supporting data , the con- cept will become more accepted and people will grasp it more readily . Showacre We can continue to present the data we have to the people ; later on , when additional data are available , they can be presented also . Barron Cited the fact that a common cause draws people together to promote the success of any progressive step or installation . Showacre The business meeting with the commercial group went off better than the agricultural meeting . The commercial people see the problem more closely than is the case with the agricultural interests . They went through the material , and twelve or thir - teen changes were made . It may be that the business group can help promote the general idea of zoning . Craig The most important aspect of the public meeting is that it in- volves people and gets them to think about the situation more objectively than would otherwise be the case . MOTION by Mr . Craig , seconded by Mr . Ruzicka , that the Planning • Board not only follow along the lines it has been following on the zoning ordinance and the comprehensive plan for the last six Minutes , LANSING PLANNING BOARD , April 14 , 1969 ; Town Hall , Regular Meeting , page 4 months , but that it also work on integrated subdivision regula - • tions and a trailer park ordinance . Any proposed regulations or plans shall not be presented to the Town Board until there has been careful consultation with and review by the Planning Consultant and the Town Attorney . Edmondson Is strongly opposed to development of a zoning ordinance and general planning by "laymen . " No one came out of the "unre - stricted " meeting really understanding what had been accomplished to date . Has heard people who have expressed this confusion . What is going to happen is that if the zoning ordinance is pro- posed from the Planning Board without approval by the Town of a comprehensive plan , there will be more confusion than the Plan- ning Board can live down . It will extend for years not only the philosophy of planning but also the question of legality of the details . Is afraid that under existing political circumstances zoning is going to be irrevocably linked to a political schism , which is disastrous . This kind of ordinance should be kept out of politics , because if there is emotional involvement it is almost impossible to reestablish a sane way of approaching zoning again . Craig The linking has already been done , about twelve years ago , so there will be no change in that . Ruzicka Two or three years later it would have made a great deal of • difference . Craig It seems desirable for us to write the ordinance and comprehensive plan first , although the work may be defective . The time to de - cide when to present or not to present is after the job is done . The first step is to do it . Edmondson This is educational to the Planning Board , but if people do not understand what it is , and that it is the final step , then greater confusion is created , followed by conflict . Showacre Had explained at one of the public meetings that the purpose of the meetings is to educate as the Planning Board goes along , and that later it may make changes as it moves closer to an ordinance . Craig The guidance given at the public meetings will bring the terminal results closer to the 701 guidelines . The discussion was followed by a roll -call vote , which resulted as follows : Barron Yes Craig Yes Edmondson Yes • Ruzicka Yes Showacre Yes Minutes , LANSING PLANNING BOARD , April 14 , 1969 ; Town Hall , Regular Meeting , page 5 1111 This was followed by a discussion of when and where the meeting should be held for the "residential " category . The consensus finally was to hold the meeting on Wednesday , April 16 , at 8 : 00 p . m . , in the Town Hall . Mr . Craig will make some slides of material for presentation to those attending the meeting , in an effort to clarify some of the details for the townspeople . Showacre Has come across a model airport zoning ordinance and will write to the Central Aviation Agency for an updated copy . Will also ask for information about land -use planning related to airports , and airport layout . The Town Board members attended a work session in New York City recently , for town boards of the State . One of the lectures was "Zoning Pending Development of a Final Land Use Plan , " given by Paul F . Brown , Town Attorney for the Town of Ballston . Mr . Brown feels that a zoning ordinance which takes into account the entire town and not just one small section of it is not justifi- able ; but that if the ordinance takes into account the specifics of the entire town , that in itself would be a type of plan , and legally it is defensible as a zoning ordinance . A zoning ordinance can be a good stopgap in times of rapid development , and can be defended in court . • On MOTION of Mr . Craig , seconded by Mr . Edmondson and carried , the meeting was adjourned at 10 : 05 p .m . •