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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1996-04-22 TOWN OF LANSING Planning Board ® Monday , April 22 , 1996 ; 7 : 30 p . m . PLANNING BOARD MEMBERS (* Denotes present) * Jackie Baker * Cheryl Nickel * Lin Davidson * Larry Sharpsteen , Chair Brad Griffin * Robert Todd * Viola Miller Al White Larry Tvaroha , Town Councilman * George Totman, Zoning and Code Enforcement Officer • GENERAL BUSINESS Street Trees - Lin Davidson indicated that he had spoken to Kathy Valentine about the Street Trees Project, to which she expressed no interest in continuing to be involved any longer , nor did she suggest anyone else that might be interested . Jackie Baker stated that Katrina Greely was also a member of that committee and might be interested . Viola Miller commented that if conifers are planted or left to grow on the north side of a street, there will inevitably be problems with snow and ice on the roads . Taxes - Brad Griffin distributed a copy of an editorial from the March 25 , 1996 , edition of the Ithaca ® Journal . A point raised in the article is that residential neighborhoods receive $ 1 . 09 worth of services while agricultural areas receive 27 cents in services . He felt that what could be drawn from this is that a town could not realistically build a tax base solely on residential properties and expect to get ahead of the game . Robert Todd added that most commercial businesses pay more in taxes that they receive back in services . Rather than reducing the taxes , Robert and George agreed that the initial costs and expenses should be reduced . Town Survey Responses - Brad stated that he has reviewed a summary of the responses to this survey . Surprisingly there was only an 11 percent response rate . He recommended that all the board members also review the responses . He stated that he now has a better feel of where the Planning Board is with the town . Sewer Committee Meeting - On Thursday , May 16 , at 7 : 30 p . m . in the first floor of the Community Center , there will be a public meeting of the Sewer Committee . Larry encouraged everyone to attend . The Sewer Committee would appreciate the Town Board and Planning Board members to know what is going on rather than hearing it second hand . It was noted that there is supposed to be a Town Board representative at each of the meetings of the Sewer Committee , to which there has not been to date . Town Board members are strongly encouraged to attend this upcoming meeting . Ron Parks - George explained that Mr . Parks has asked to be placed on the agenda for the first May meeting in order to obtain a response to a letter he had written about a month ago . Larry stated that on the advice of the town attorney , the Planning Board is not to communicate with Mr . Parks . George indicated that he will contact the town attorney before he responds to Mr . Parks . Cliff Edge - Cheryl Nickel mentioned that a huge chunk of the cliff at East Lake fell down onto the railroad tracks last week . East Lake requires setbacks for houses near the cliff edge . Cheryl felt the Planning Board should considered this during the development of the Site Plan Review process . She suggested that some type of setback requirement from steep slopes would not necessarily be for the sake of personal protection, but for the sake of the runoff areas , etc . Larry questioned how, they would Town of Lansing Planning Board Page 2 Monday, April 22, 1996 110 deal with a home that has been properly engineered to be built on a steep slope , for example , on Esty Hill . Robert and Larry didn ' t agree with Cheryl ' s suggestion ; they felt that this would be legislating personal choice . Cheryl suggested talking to the town engineer about erosion problems and protecting certain areas of land . Robert felt that subjective decisions would be made if erosion were the factor . Larry stated that the only way he could see this working would be to have standards defined to prevent erosion which are handled by the DEC . Larry stated that the Health Department regulations require . . 100-foot setback from a stream for a septic tank . The DEC has standards for construction on fragile slopes for erosion control . Larry asked Cheryl to invite the town engineer in to answer the question so everyone can know uniformly what is in place . Review of Minutes from Meeting held April 8 , 1996 Page One, First Paragraph, 6th Line - Brad corrected the man ' s name to be Horvath , and then changed the word " were " to " where . " Page Two, Private Roads - Brad corrected " sited " to " cited . " Brad made a motion to approve the minutes as corrected ; Lin seconded .. VOTE: ALL IN FAVOR, MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY Continued Review of Proposed Zoning Ordinance Larry commented on behalf of Al White who felt that it might simplify things if there was a more limited Site Plan Approval (SPA) to be applied to the rural agriculture area . Larry stated that the only time that SPA is applied to the rural agricultural area is in the case of a commercial or industrial use . Al had wanted to discuss the option of developing a different level of the SPA for the rural agricultural 110 area . Larry asked everyone to think about this suggestion . - Section 701 . 4 - It was questioned whether the town board should be involved in this process . Viola F suggested that it be stated that the request would be sent to the town board for their recommendation rather than for their approval . Section 701 . 6 . 2 - It was suggested that the Planning Board conduct the hearing , not the town board . ;r Section 702 . 2 . 4 = Brad suggested the following to clarify this section : " Approvals or disapprovals must be in conformance with the National Flood Insurance Program . " p Section 704 . 0 Private Roads -- 704 . 2 - 704 . 4 were previously removed . Cheryl felt that 704 . 2 is what the town attorney requires . George stated that since the roads are private , there is nothing required . They are not private if they are regulated . Each property has to have its own right-of-way or own the property in the 10-foot strip along the road . Lin felt that this issue has already been dealt with; the town board has its own criteria for dealing with private roads . George stated that he can ' t issue a building permit unless the property has 15 feet of access to a public road or a road accepted by the. town. If the town board were to accept a private road , up to four houses could be built off of that road . The town attorney prepares an agreement that all the property owners sign . Rather than just - eliminating these items , Cheryl suggested that a statement refer the reader to the town attorney or town board . George recommended adding to 701 . 4 that the town board decides whether or not to give permission for a private road . Brad questioned why a private landowner would need to get permission to put a private road on their land . George stated that they wouldn ' t need permission because the property is all owned by one person . This item relates to a subdivision in which building permits were needed . Brad ' s example is of a private driveway . Brad responded on behalf of Al ' s previous comments that the only time this item should come into place is when there are multiple owners ; but the way this is currently written r , 1 Town of Lansing Planning Board Page 3 Monday, April 22, 1996 does not state that clearly . Lin felt that subdivision was the key not multiple owners . The reader is referred to Section 300 . 89 , which defines a private road as " A vehicular way used to provide access to two or more lots in an approved subdivision and meeting the provisions of 704 . " With this reference , it was agreed that the previous discussion could be set aside as this clearly explained the concerns expressed . It was also agreed to carry the description of a private road forward to Section 704 . Section 705 . 0 Airport Hazard Area - Brad questioned whether there is any legal authority for this area . Jackie suggested getting Al ' s feedback on this item before continuing its review . Cheryl suggested requesting that Tom get and refer to the Federal standards and recommendations . Viola recalled that Al ' s comments were in relation to limiting development from the end of the runway . Lin agreed that it was important to delineate the area included . Section 707 Planned Development Area -- George stated that this component has already been discussed in Section 300 . 10 . It was agreed to use the existing piece , but will question Tom to point out the differences . Lin also suggested that everyone individually compare the two pieces . Town Square Meeting Cheryl distributed flyers announcing the May 1 town meeting to discuss the design plan for the town square . She asked that each of the board members distribute or post the flyers around the town . She also encouraged each of the board members to try to attend this meeting . This meeting will be to ® propose to people that this be a project that be done by the community . She would like to find out what people think of this proposal . It is proposed that it be done with a very minimal amount of public funding , no tax raises , and that it be done with community donations of trees and labor . This is not a final design, but one that can be evaluated . She will run the meeting to evaluation if this proposal can go ahead . Committees can then be set up for plants , landscaping , infrastructure , and playground . Lin Davidson made a motion to adjourn this meeting ; Brad Griffin Miller seconded . VOTE: ALL IN FAVOR; MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY This meeting was closed at 9 : 45 p . m . Submitted by Michelle Eastman The next meeting is scheduled for Monday, May 13, 1996, at 7:30 p . m .