HomeMy WebLinkAbout1999-03-08 l
•
Io Seneca Falls Ti: Auburn
1 1
CI ti� � TOWNof LANSING
n Y
`F 1` Noche of Inaestiy, Agriculture and Scenic Beauty '
• 34
41.41‘---4
4` 1 P
111
Town of Lansing; c\-- ' 1
ORDINANCE DEPT. ,� s
Box 186 `, Y.\Lansing , New York 14882 \ '1 ' 111
TO Ithaca
TOWN OF LANSING
PLANNING BOARD MEETING
3 /8 /99
7 : 30 Pitt
Lansing Town Hall — Board Room
4111
AGENDA
Approximate Time : Agenda Topics
7 : 30 PM Open Meeting, Approve Minutes of 2/8/99
Report of Committees
Privilege or the Floor — Board Members
8 : 00 PM Subdivision Request — Cherry Road — John Young
8 : 30 PM Any Other Business One Deems Important
"I 'o Bring To the Board
0
-
l
•
2• TOWn of L
3 Monday , March 8 , 1999 ; 7 : 30 PM PLANNING BOARD
4 PLANNING BOARD MEMBERS
5 (*Denotes present)
6 ' Brad Griffin, Chair " Jacoba Baker
7 " Larry Sharpstecn " Lin Davidson
8 Viola Miller ' David Lippert
9
10 Paul Butler, Town Councilman
11 George Totman, Zoning and Code Enforcement Officer
12
13 PUBLIC PRESENT
14 John Young 410 Triphammer Rd, Ithaca
15
16 GENERAL BUSINESS
• Brad Griffin called the meeting to order at 7 :30 PM.
l8 Regarding changes to the minutes , Jackie Baker wondered if they know what it means, does it really
19 matter enough to just change a letter here or there? Larry Sharpsteen replied that although they may
20 understand and know what it means, others may not, therefore the meaning should be clear. Larry stated
21 that this is a legal record . Brad Griffin agreed. Brad added that the importance of a record to a planning
22 board could be pretty substantial . Brad stated that as a result of the guest speakers they had, and die
23 questions and ideas that came up , he has a hunch the minutes of the previous meeting are going to be the
24 wellspringrin to make this happen with the trails .
25 Lin Davidson entered at 7 : 32 PM.
26 Approval of Minutes . if Febrttary 8 , 1999- Page 2, Line 13 . . . Larry Sharpsteen crrected . . .that a
27 leader of a faction of the: Common Council . . .Page 4, Line 28 . . . Brad Griffin stateh. =:that if none of the
28 members know what it means they should strike the last part of the sentence transportation funding but
29 t-he. is-a ree, do a-l-fu ing-whet3-the-trai-l-is-stet-eelchug-to-eo tee-t arr ter-te-di fer t-land
30 uses . . .Page 5, Line 39 . . . Brad Griffin corrected . . . approved at a previous meeting . . . Page 4, Line 41
31 . . . Larry Sharpsteen corrected . . .trunklines are put in, rather-than4ttiin-the-l*nd-baek-over-to-ptpei4y
32 overs-they-eoould-keep-thenand-leave the trails could be placed on top of the sewer
33 lines . . .Lin Davidson moved to accept the minutes as corrected. Jackie Baker seconded . VOTE : ALL IN
34 FAVOR. MOTION CARRIED.
35 Brad Griffin stated he thinks these minutes will serve as a useful record . Brad also thanked Jackie Baker
36 for having Jim Schug and Fernando De Aragon come to speak at the meeting.
AI/ Lin Davidson wanted to be sure it was clear that having an easement for maintenance was not the same
38 as having an easement for the public . Lin stated that it would seem to him, when they get into this kind
39 of thing, the concept of an easement is going to have to be expanded . Brad Griffin agreed . Larry
40 Sharpsteen stated that he was speaking specifically of along the rail line and along the highway on
a . -
2 Town of Lansing Planning Board, March 8, 1999
undeveloped portions . Larry Sharpsteen stated that whichever organ works on the trails , they will have
2 to have the Town Board on board.
3 Lin Davidson stated that he had received a call in reference to die County NESTS situation . Lin stated •
4 the call was from a lady that was very upset about trails. She felt it was an excuse to trespass. Lin told
5 her it might be looked at that way, but no trail is going to go through without people purchasing
6 easements or purchasing land, and at that point people have a right to do what they want with it. Lin
7 stated that the woman was referring to the South Hill trail and she bordered on the trail at one time . She
8 was upset about any new trails being built because of the experience she had on the South Hill trail .
9 Jackie Baker asked why the woman called Lin . Lin stated that before the NESTS meeting, The Ithaca
10 , Journal gave a picture of the area and then gave a map of trails . Lin stated that the proposed trails do run
I I through people ' s backyards and he thought that is probably what brought it up .
12 NEW BUSINESS
13 Report from Officers and Committees-
14 Larry Sharpsteen stated that he did not have anything to report for either Sewer or
15 Treasurer- Jackie Baker stated that she had nothing to report.
16 Transportation - Brad Griffin stated that, generally, at the public meetings there has been a large
17 contingent from Ellis Hollow and Forrest Home . Brad stated there is a member of the working group
18 who would apparently like to make the highways safe to play in . Brad stated that the people from those
19 neighborhoods would like to see traffic diminished and would like someone to come up with a way to
20 have it diminished in their neighborhood . Brad Griffin said there was one lady who stated that when the
21 freeway fell down during the earthquake in California, they never rebuilt it and the traffic did not come
22 back . Brad stated he had not been aware of that in his reading of current events . Brad stated that he
23 should try to follow up on it to see how that occurred . Brad said there were others who stated they really
24 did not need any of the studies , as far as they were concerned they had a few roads that could be closed
25 and their problems would be solved . Brad stated that is something to think about . Lin Davidson stated
26 that Brad had put it nicely when he said there are some people in the county that don 't want to go
27 anywhere . Brad Griffin stated that there was one thing he did not understand from the beginning of the
28 transportation study, and that was a separate study of freight was still to come.
29 Larry Sharpsteen stated that something Brad had said struck home about the people that seem to want to
30 make the streets safe for their kids to play in . Larry asked if the NESTS would be a vehicle whereby it
31 could be addressed to educate these people that the roads atic not for their kids to rollerblade, play
32 •;r?clues, basketball , or handball in because they seem to hav.e a hard time getting that across to people
33 .. ,,:tight here in Lansing. Lin Davidson stated Brad had to brit . it to the floor in the beginning of the
34 NESTS situation that the concept of getting from Point A t„ Point B was rapidly getting lost in the
35 discussion . Lin stated that he thought the freight study was interesting. Lin said that a lot of people
36 want to wait and do nothing until the freight study is done in two years . Lin stated his opinion is to get
37 started now, that this is just anexcuse to delay. Larry Sharpsteen asked what could be started. Lin
38 Davidson replied that they could start the root surveys, start the maximum transit, and then set up the
39 design studies for the actual roads and find right-of-ways that are workable . Lin stated that will take a
40 long time. Larry Sharpsteen asked about what they had been hearing in the news that the NESTS study
41 would not mean building any new roads . Lin Davidson stated that is not true, that was not the
42 recommendation. David Lippert stated he had heard it too. David stated that there is a group that says
43 they represent the NESTS Committee, evidently, that has been able to get their word out on the local •
44 news that the committee will not allow any new roads. Lin Davidson stated that the recommendation to
45 go to the hearing was maximum transit and looking at the concept that in 20 years we may need new
46 roads . Lin said he would not say the purpose of the study is to build new roads , but that may be a
3 Town of Lansing Planning Board, March 8, 1999_
1 solution to what has to be done . Lin stated they should be thinking about it today, rather than in 2020 .
2 Jackie Baker asked what maximum transit is . Lin Davidson replied that he heard two numbers, the first
• being $26 million worth of busses , different forms of transportation to maximize public transit and drop
4 the number of vehicles through choke points : Larry Sharpsteen asked what legislation would go with
5 that to make people drop their cars. Lin replied there would be no legislation, other than major
6 employers, i . e . Cornell making it even more expensive to park.
7 Secretary- David Lippert stated he had nothing to report.
8 Subdivision Request — John Young, Cherry Rd - Brad Griffin explained where the property was
9 located . Brad stated that three 150 ' lots would be created to the east of the Monaco property and leaving
10 a 25 ' strip on the east end of the property. Brad Griffin asked if this was in an R2 district. The Board
11 reviewed the map and determined that it was in R2 . Larry Sharpsteen stated that there is no place on the
12 subdivision application form to put the zone and added that it would be a useful addition to the
13 application .
14 John Young explained that the 25 ' strip was intended for a potential small dirt road to get into the back
15 area . Mr. Young stated that there is a tree line along the eastern border, so instead of leaving only 20 ' he
16 is leaving 25 ' to keep the dirt road away from the trees . Mr. Young stated that it would nice to be able to
17 come in from that way rather than to come all the way around the other way. Mr. Young said the
18 problem with coming in from the other way, west of the Monaco property, there are some wet areas.
19 Brad Griffin asked, out of curiosity, if Mr. Young had considered having the roadway on the east side of
20 the Monaco lot. Mr. Young replied that the terrain isn ' t as good, it is higher on the east end of the
21 property. Mr. Young added that it also starts to get wet on the back corner of the Monaco property: Mr.
• 22 Young stated it was his desire to stay away from any of the wet areas .
Brad Griffin asked how long Mr. Young has owned the property. Mr. Young replied that he bought it
24 about a month ago. Brad Griffin stated that there may be better opportunities to become more familiar
25 with the opportunities and restraints that exist on the property for drainage and other factors. Brad said
26 he would steer Mr. Young to a document called the Soils Map of Tompkins County which he could get
27 from the Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Office. Brad added that the function of drainage
28 is not solely a matter of elevation, but also of the property of the soils themselves .
29 John Young stated that they had received a call from a gentlemain interested in buying one of the lots , •
30 which, in fact, started this whole thing. The man would like the lot farthest to the east as his brother has
31 a house across the road . Mr. Young stated that he talked to George about it, and figured they would do .a
. 32 minor subdivision . Brad Griffin stated that this will create 4 lots which would be a major subdivision,
33 and would requke a hearing. Mr. Young asked if a smaller number of lots ':Jould change that. Larry
34 Sharpsteen state bthat it would not really change that . Larry stated that in theflatest revision of the
35 Subdivision Rule's & Regulations, they removed any difference between themninor and major
36 subdivisions. Larry explained that currently one lot subdivisions are handled by the Code Enforcement
37 Officer.
38 Brad Griffin asked if anyone saw any negative aspect of the proposal in terms of lot size and lay of those
39 lots when going over the checklist on the subdivision. Lin Davidson stated he did not . Larry Sharpsteen
40 stated no , the only comment he would have would be the 25 ' strip of land because 60 ' is the minimum
41 requirement for a road if any further development was anticipated . Brad Griffin agreed that would leave
42 Mr. Young or any subsequent owners with a greater variety of options in the future. Larry Sharpsteen
43 stated that he is not opposed to the subdivision as presented, but just wanted to present other options .
44 Brad Griffin asked if Cherry Road was a county or town road. Lin Davidson and David Lippert looked
45 at the map and determined Cherry Road is a town road .
4 Town of Lansing Planning Board, March 8, 1999
I Brad Griffin read the SEQR. Larry Sharpsteen moved to accept the preliminary plat, pending any
2 comments at the public hearing, and consider that they may possibly waive the requirement for a
3 drainage plan . Lin Davidson seconded. VOTE: ALL IN FAVOR. MOTION CARRIED .
4 The public hearing was set for Monday, April 12 , 1999 . Brad stated that George Totman would set the •
5 time .
6 OTHER BUSINESS
7 Brad Griffin asked if everyone received a copy of Al White ' s resignation . The other board members
8 stated they had received Al ' s resignation and a copy of Brad ' s response to his resignation . Jackie Baker
9 stated it was a nice response .
10 Brad Griffin stated there were two things he would like to communicate with the Town Board.
11 1 . IIe would like to extend a special invitation to the Town Board to read the minutes to the
12 meeting of February 8 , 1999 . Brad stated that with a lot of it coming from Jim Schug, he
13 feels it will go a long way in easing some of the concerns people have had.
14 2 . He would like to raise with the Town Board in a straight up way, that they try to collectively
15 bag problems with the Zoning Ordinance to periodically handle all at once instead of taking it
16 all piece meal.
17 Brad stated that if everyone was agreeable with those two things lie would like to raise those verbally
18 with the Town Board . They agreed .
19 Larry Sharpsteen moved to adjourn at 815 PM. Lin Davidson seconded . VOTE : ALL IN FAVOR;
20 MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
21 The next meeting is scheduled for March 8 , 1999 .
22 Submitted by Robin Cornell.
•
•
•
k
A