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Home My WebLink AboutPB Minutes 1975-02-04 • , # TOTRTI`d OF ITHACA PLANNING BOARD REGULAR MEETING FEBRUARY - 4y 1975 The Planning Board of the Town of Ithaca met in regular session on Tuesday , February 4 , 1975 , in the Town of Ithaca Offices , 108 Eao; :: Green Street , Ithaca , New York , at 7030 p . m . PRESENT : Chairwoman Barbara Holcomb , Robert Scannell , Maurice Harris , Sam Slack , Lawrence P . Fabbrori ( Planning Engineer , Biiildii .g Inspector ) , ABSENT and EXCUSED : Robert Christianson , Daniel Baker , .john Low' , Liese Bronfenbrenner . The Meeting was opened by the Chairwoman at 7 ° 45 p . m . There was no routine business . AMENDMENTS TO SIGN ORDINANCE Mrs . Holcomb announced that the Town Board has accepted the recommendations of the Planning Board for amending the Sign Ordinance , as discussed at the January 21 , 1975 , meeting of the Planning Board , with a few minor changes . The Town Board has called a iublic Hearing on the proposed amendments for the 10th day of March , 1975 , REQUEST OF DR . JOHN E . LOT41E TO BE RELIEVED OF HIS DUTIES AS A MEMBER OF THE TOTIN OF ITHACA PLANNING BOARD Mrs . Holcomb announced with regret that , because of increasing responsibilities of his profession and increasing duties in youth pro - grams , Dr . Lowe has asked that a replacement be found to fill his unexpired term ( December 31 , 1977 ) on the Planning Board . The Board expressed regret that Dr . Lowe will no longer be able to serve on this Board . Mrs . Holcomb stated that Professor Richard D . Black , 1410 Sl. aterville Road , has been suggested as a replacement for Dr . Lowe ' s position and that Professor Black is interested in serving . She asked if the Board would agree to her asking Professor Black to serve . The Board was in full agreement . MOTION by Mr . Robert Scannell , seconded by Mr . Maurice Harris ° RESOLVED , that the Planning Board recommend the appointment of Prof :. ssor Richard D . Black to the Planning Board of the Town of Ithaca to fi :il the unexpired term of Dr . John E . Lowe , ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION LAM OF NEW YORK STATE Mrs . Holcomb presented to the Board the amendments to the New York State Environmental Conservation Law which were approved on June 15 , 1974 , and effective April 1 , 1975 . DISCUSSION OF NEW ZONING ORDINANCE WITH REFERENCE TO T[IO-FAMILY DWELLING Town of Ithaca Planning B oard - 2 - February 4 , 1975 Mrs . Holcomb presented . for the Board ' s discussion , some problem. ® that Mrs . Bronfenbrenner had expressed to her concerning the proposed 20 , 000 sq . ft . minimum lot requirement for a two- family dwelling . Mrs . Bronfenbrenner felt that in areas such as Forest Home this requirement may be a problem . In Forest Home many of the houses are very big and on small lots . They have 13 or 14 rooms and with the economy the way it is they may not be economically viable as single family residences . Mr . Scannell felt that homes such as these should not be per ® mitted to have many occupants , particularly in the Forest Home area . Mrs . Holcomb presented a suggested solution - - Is these a way that we could provide that it is our intent that new structures that intend to have two units should have 20 , 000 sq . ft . Can we at theualre, time provide that existing structures at the time of the enactment of the new ordinance by special permit of some sort can also convcrt to a two - family dwelling with a. certain set of criteria . Mr . Scannell said that he thought that the idea is good -- ® uu . in Forest Home - - NO . Mr . Harris asked -- what about tourist homes . There followed a lengthy discussion of this matter . The Planning Board discussed at length the two- family home in the Town and the intent of the new zoning ordinance . No decision was reached . DISCUSSION OF PROPOSED TOWN OF ITHACA PARK POLICY The Board discussed the recommendations made by the Park Council in 1970 to the TOwn Board which were . adopted in principle . The Board also discussed a proposed Park Policy prepared by Ms . Sandra McCullough i 1. n 1973 . Mrs . Holcomb noted that each document has three levels of parks , but they are not the same . By taking the kind of things they are each talking about and combining them we end up with four categories of parks . Mrs . Holcomb had prepared a work sheet for the members of the Planning Board indicating the four types of parks which may be delinea- ted . The Board went over these page by page and discussed each point in detail . It was decided that Mr . Fabbroni should write up a proposed Policy incorporating the two previously proposed documents and the results of the present discussion and create a new proposal for pre - sentation to the Town Board , ADJOURNMENT The Chairwoman adjourned the meeting at 109. 15 p . m . Respectfully submitted , Nancy M . Fuller , Secretary . r i 4 February 4 , 1975 Notes on Phone Conversation with Bob Boothroyd in re Town Liability coverage for parks and playgrounds . 1 . He feels that the cost of liability insurance for parks and play- grounds should not deter the Town from establishing same since the expense is minimal . 2 . Park with no playground equipment $ 8 per acre for first acre - scales down for suceeding acres 3 . Playground with equipment $ 23 . 50 plus $8 for first acre then scales down .from there 1 / 2 as much for next 4 acres 1 / 2 again for next 20 acres This amount does not include coverage for gold courses or beaches Nor does it include coverage for bleachers or grandstands . These latter are very expensive to cover . 4 . In calculating acreage for coverage by an insurance policy we may lump all the similiar parks to ether . - i . e - if we had 8 one acre parks we would not pay 8 time 8 . 00 but rather $5 . 00 for the first of eight acres and the decending scale for the remainder . PROPOSED PARK POLICY I- Neighborhood Play Lot a. Primarily for small children / ha" E _ - cre) k-;. c. Serve residents w*44 to 1/2 mile of the site i d. Accessible from at least 1 public street without crossing private land e. Land must be free of brims �larg�e rocks trash or other obstructions Trees of an substantiL size ss ould remain: - ._ .t,aL'p r ^-soil Y acceptance by "the Town. Pte • t f. r will notify Town Board if conditions have been met S, Con tions m waived or sped- al—conditions adde&-*y-the- -- Board- if unusual circumstances or site characteristi4wr-a 4x.� h. Once park is accepted by Town Town will: 1) Mow" grass, remove -dead trees as- often as is neeessa*y-40 main- tain park in a useful condition. • lia - trance 3) Pla round e' uipmen , park benches and other improvements will e c si a y " a own-ffo`aril)on - residents in Jr ea etition.prior to budget planning. - money included for following years work?) (Dollar limit?) (Flexible?) II- Area Parks (to include School Playgrounds where available) a. One acre minimum - one acT%—_ -pe-r each -200--units (approx. 900(?) peke b. Service area radius 3 mile radius) c. Accessible from public street or walkway d. Awayf-ro ._buU street,___.but if, adjacent to busy street- then shielded from traffic by shrubbery or fencing (Town Resp. ?) e. S4wae parking` (Town Resp?) • f. Multi-purpose - could contain 1) Ball fields with backstops 2) Sledding Hil l ' w 3) Skating pond • 4) Standard Playground Equipment 5) Picnic tables and possible barbecuing facilities 6) Tennis courts, backetball courts with netted hoops, volleyball courts (possible to combine latter two into one facility) g. Sites should be selected for their suitability, not merely their n ci �� availability. �- - we��ained--expanse is needed-€or-.field sr� s on -&nr - portion of site not des r�Ce s1atre--trees should- be soughfr—an*d incorporated as a si�gajfi� t alam&nt of the site. , w; Located to provide a minimum of nuisance to adjacent residents. III. Regional Parks a. Buttermilk and Treman Parks already exist - also Stewart Park Substantial growth should take place in the Town before another regional park is needed. Federal fgpds are available and should be applied for when needed. b. Serve people from entire region c. 5 acres per 1 ,000 population d,., Parking area for cars e. Sould have improved areas for picnicking, walkways or paths, areas for baseball, football or other group games, and areas preserved in their natural state. f. May include the following: 1) Picnic tables and benches , facilities for barbecueing 2) Graded and mowed areas for baseball, including backstops 3) Pathways, blacktopped or cleared, possible with handrails where terrain necessitates. 4) Parking lot 5) Open space areas to be left in their natural state 6) Admission may be charges for parking in a regional park. 7) Concession stand IV - Undeveloped Open Space, Green Areas, Buffer Zones a. Flexible size b. Open spaces are important features, but should not be the only sort of recreational area provided by the Town. Active recreational areas should not become secondary to open spaces and it is the responsibility of the Town Board to achieve a balance between the two. C. Occassional brush and dead tree removal d. Preservation of areas of natural beauty