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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPB Minutes 2000-12-19TOWN OF ITHACA PLANNING BOARD TUESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2000 The Town of Ithaca Planning Board met in regular session on Tuesday, December 19, 2000, in Town Hall, 215 North Tioga Street, Ithaca, New York, at 7:30 p.m. PRESENT: Fred Wilcox, Chairperson; Eva Hoffmann, Board Member; Tracy Mitrano, Board Member; Larry Thayer, Board Member; Jonathan Kanter, Director of Planning; John Barney, Attorney for the Town; Mike Smith, Environmental Planner. EXCUSED: George Conneman, Board Member; Rod Howe, Board Member; Dan Walker, Director of Engineering. OTHERS: Phillip Albrecht, Egner Architectural Associates; Rich Doloe, TCTC; Jim Giordano, TCTC; Andrea Riddle, Montessori School. Chairperson Wilcox declared the meeting duly opened at 7:43 p.m., and accepted for the record the Secretary's Affidavit of Posting and Publication of the Notice of Public Hearings in Town Hall and the Ithaca Journal on December 11, 2000, and December 13, 2000, together with the properties under discussion, as appropriate, upon the Clerks of the City of Ithaca and the Town of Danby, upon the Tompkins County Commissioner of Planning, upon the Tompkins County Commissioner of Public Works, and upon the applicants and /or agents, as appropriate, on December 13, 2000. (Affidavit of Posting and Publication is hereto attached as Exhibit #1.) Chairperson Wilcox read the Fire Exit Regulations to those assembled, as required by the New York State Department of State, Office of Fire Prevention and Control. AGENDA ITEM: PERSONS TO BE HEARD. Chairperson Wilcox opened this segment of the meeting at 7:44 p.m., and asked if any members of the public wished to be heard. With no persons present to be heard, Chairperson Wilcox closed this segment of the meeting at 7:45 p.m. PUBLIC HEARING: Consideration of Modification of Condition "2.c" of the Planning Board's Resolution of Site Plan Approval for the Montessori Middle School, granted on May 4, 1999, 122 East King Road, Tax Parcel No. 43- 1 -3.6, Residence District R -15. Said condition required the obtaining of an easement to construct a path and provide access across a 25 foot wide strip of land located between the Montessori School Main Building and the new Middle School Building. Montessori School, Owner /Applicant. Chairperson Wilcox opened the public hearing at 7:45 p.m., and asked if any member of the public wished to be heard. With no persons present to be heard, Chairperson Wilcox closed the public hearing at 7:46 p.m. Chairperson Wilcox stated that condition "2.c" should be eliminated from the resolution. PLANNING BOARD PAGE 2 DECEMBER 19, 2000 APPROVED -APPROVED -APPROVED -APRIL 3, 2001 -APPROVED -APPROVED -APPROVED Attorney Barney stated it is really modification of the site plan by the deletion of condition "2.c ". RESOLUTION NO. 2000 -106 - Modification of Condition 2.c. of Site Plan Approval for Montessori Middle School. 122 East Kina Road. Tax Parcel No. 43- 1 -3.6. MOTION made by Larry Thayer, seconded by Tracy Mitrano. WHEREAS: 1. This action is consideration of Modification of Condition "2.c." of the Planning Board's Resolution of Site Plan Approval for the Montessori Middle School, granted on May 4, 1999, 122 East King Road, Tax Parcel No. 43- 1 -3.6, Residence District R -15. Said condition required the obtaining of an easement to construct a path and provide access across a 25 foot wide strip of land located between the Montessori School Main Building and the new Middle School Building. Montessori School, Owner /Applicant. 2. The Planning Board, in granting Preliminary and Final Site Plan Approval for the Montessori Middle School on May 4, 1999, imposed certain conditions of approval, including Condition '2.c." that ..."submission of documentation showing that the applicant has obtained an easement to construct a path and provide access across the 25 foot strip of land, owned by Evan Monkemeyer, located between the existing Montessori Main Building and the proposed Montessori Middle School property, " and 3. The applicant has not been able to met this condition, by no fault of their own, and 4. This is a Type II Action, pursuant to 6 NYCRR Part 617, State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA), requiring no further environmental review. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED: 1. That the Planning Board hereby grants the modification of the previously approved site plan by elimination of Condition "2. c." of Site Plan Approval for the Montessori Middle School, granted on May 4, 1999, to delete the requirement of obtaining an easement to construct a path and provide access across a 25 foot wide strip of land located between the Montessori Main Building and the new Montessori Middle School, located at 122 East King Road, Residence District R -15. Montessori School, Owner /Applicant. A vote on the motion resulted as follows: AYES: Wilcox, Hoffmann, Mitrano, Thayer. NAYS: None. The motion was declared to be carried unanimously. PUBLIC HEARING: Consideration of Preliminary and Final Site Plan Approval for the proposed changes to Tompkins County Trust Co. at East Hill Plaza located off Ellis Hollow Road, Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No. 62 -2 -1.21, Business District "C ". The proposal includes modifications PLANNING BOARD PAGE 3 DECEMBER 19, 2000 APPROVED -APPROVED -APPROVED -APRIL 3, 2001 -APPROVED -APPROVED -APPROVED to the driveways and parking areas including adding five parking spaces, replace existing exterior lighting, install a sign at the Ellis Hollow Road side of the building, add a sloped shingle roof, and add a 333 +/- square foot addition. Also includes a Recommendation to the Zoning Board of Appeals regarding a sign variance for the proposed sign. Tompkins County Trust Co., Owner /Applicant; Phillip Albrecht, Egner Architectural Associates, LLC, Agent. Chairperson Wilcox stated there is no SEQR review. It is exempt under State Law. Phillip Albrecht, Egner Architectural Associates, stated theY will provide the items outlined in the proposed resolution to the Town. A variance is needed for the sign. The sign is a three -faced sign. The other variance is for parking. Their current parking is outside the setback limit. The planting plan was given to the board this evening. They will also be providing construction details. Mr. Albrecht stated the lighter gray plants shown on the planting plan are existing plants on the site. Serviceberry would be at the exit. They will grow to about 12 feet. The plants are multi -stem with a canopy top. The maples will be scattered through the site. One maple is located along the service drive. The other three maples are on the north side of the site clumped together. The low evergreens will be planted on the east side of the site. The hedge plants will be located to the west of the main entrance to the bank. The Green Spiral Indies will be planted at 12 feet and will grow to about 30 feet. These are located at the very north of the site. The building needs to meet the requirements by the bank for lighting. Lights are mounted on the fascia of the building shining out. These lights will be removed and will be replaced with site pole lighting. The roof is shingled peak roof. They wanted to move away from a commercial looking building. They wanted to give the building a more residential look. He did see some concern from the Town about the increase of pavement area. It is an increase of a few parking spaces. Mr. Smith stated Mr. Walker looked at the plans. He did not have a problem with the plans. The additional parking spaces should not impact drainage. Board Member Hoffmann asked why is the maple being removed that is located near one of the signs and being replaced with serviceberry. Mr. Albrecht stated it is moved because it would be hard to protect during construction. The other reason is that they would like smaller, shrubbier plants in that location. They have planted many more trees to make up for the one tree they lost. Mr. Smith stated the sign would have been going through the tree. Chairperson Wilcox stated it is hard to tell from the site plan. Mr. Albrecht stated he was not sure what was the front yard and what was the back yard for this lot. Once it was described, the sign was two feet over on the back lot. It moved north about two feet. PLANNING BOARD PAGE 4 DECEMBER 19, 2000 APPROVED -APPROVED -APPROVED -APRIL 3, 2001 -APPROVED -APPROVED -APPROVED Chairperson Wilcox stated when he first saw the proposal he was concerned because the Planning Department did not have the drawing necessary to make final determination. He thought the proposal was pushing the limits of the zoning. It was good to see that items were voluntarily moved. Board Member Hoffmann stated the planting plan is very nice. The existing plantings on the site are very nice. It has been very nice all along. She is very happy to see that the lights are being changed. All banks should do something similar. Mr. Albrecht stated he was confused when he first submitted the application. He thought that the bank wanted time and temperature in with the sign. The sign will not include the time and temperature, but will be three sided. Chairperson Wilcox asked why was the change made to remove the time and temperature. Mr. Albrecht stated it was never intended to be part of the sign. It was his mistake. Board Member Hoffmann stated there is a problem with the sign because it is three -faced instead of two - faced. Is there a problem with the total square footage? Mr. Smith responded no. The sign is in the rear yard. Free standing signs are allowed in the front yard. A variance is needed for the sign to be in the rear yard. Board Member Thayer asked if the sign is below the maximum square footage. Mr. Smith stated the applicant is allowed up to 50 square feet per face of the sign. Chairperson Wilcox stated the proposed sign with three sides is about 105 square feet. Each side of the sign is about 35 square feet. Mr. Albrecht stated he would make sure that the sign is not more than 100 square feet for all three sides. Chairperson Wilcox stated Burger King's front yard is on the opposite side. They had to get a variance to put their sign in the back. The Zoning Officer has made the determination as to which is the front yard and which is the back yard. Mr. Kanter stated Burger King is on Ellis Hollow Road. The bank does not have frontage on Ellis Hollow Road. Mr. Albrecht stated there is another Tompkins County sign located in the front and east side between the existing clump of trees. The other signs are low, directional signs. Board Member Hoffmann asked if they are planning to retain the sign that is in the northeastern corner by the three maple trees. Mr. Albrecht stated they would like the sign to remain. PLANNING BOARD PAGE 5 DECEMBER 19, 2000 APPROVED -APPROVED -APPROVED -APRIL 3, 2001 -APPROVED -APPROVED -APPROVED Board Member Hoffmann stated she wants to be sure that there are no problems with Town Laws regarding the number of signs and the number of faces on the sign. Chairperson Wilcox stated there are signs that are not technically considered signs because they are directional or similar signs. Chairperson Wilcox opened the public hearing at 8:05 p.m., and asked if any members of the public wished to be heard. With no persons present to be heard, Chairperson Wilcox closed the public hearing at 8:06 p.m. Attorney Barney stated that directional, traffic, other governmental signs and control devices are exempt from the law. "Thank You" is not a directional sign. The sign would need to be counted. Board Member Hoffmann stated there are discrepancies between some of the plans. The plan 0058 -E1 indicates that the sign in the northeast corner would be removed. Mr. Albrecht stated that sign is not to be removed. The electrical engineer had it wrong on the drawing. He included the plan to demonstrate that the large lights on the building are being removed. Chairperson Wilcox stated the drawings need to be correct because they are part of the record and approval process. There will be a condition in the resolution that the change be made to the drawing. Board Member Hoffmann stated there is another area on the electrical site plan located on the western side of the existing building where there are two signs shown. Mr. Albrecht stated this is a reduction from a very large print. It is shown as dashed indicating the original location of the sign. It also shows it being removed to the new location. Board Member Hoffmann stated it looks as if there are two signs. Mr. Albrecht stated one of the areas is the existing sign in its existing location. It is being removed and placed into the new planting bed. Chairperson Wilcox asked if the new light poles would be consistent with the existing light poles Mr. Albrecht stated the pole would be consistent with the poles on the Trust Company property. It is the standard shoe box lamp. Chairperson Wilcox asked if there is one of the TCTC light poles on the neighboring property. Mr. Albrecht responded the lights are supposed to be on the TCTC property. The light is owned by the bank. PLANNING BOARD PAGE 6 DECEMBER 19, 2000 APPROVED -APPROVED -APPROVED -APRIL 3, 2001 -APPROVED -APPROVED -APPROVED Chairperson Wilcox stated the neighboring property is Burger King. Mr. Albrecht stated Cornell University owns the plaza. Chairperson Wilcox stated it mitigates the issue that the one light pole is not on the TCTC lot. It is located on the Burger King lot. It is a Cornell University issue. They own both the lots. The remodeling will be an improvement. Mr. Walker indicated in a memo to the board that there would be no adverse drainage impacts from the project. Mr. Walker also noted that there was a significant amount of drainage done in that area. There are many trenches to handle the drainage. Chairperson Wilcox stated he would like to reference the landscaping plan and the second site plan in the resolution. The applicant has met the requirement of providing the Town with a planting schedule. RESOLUTION NO. 2000 -107 - Preliminary and Final Site Plan Approval and a Recommendation to the Zoning Board of Appeals Regarding a Sign Variance, Tompkins County Trust Company, 1012 Ellis Hollow Road, Tax Parcel No. 62 -2 -1.21. MOTION made by Tracy Mitrano, seconded by Eva Hoffmann. WHEREAS: 1. This action is consideration of Preliminary and Final Site Plan Approval for the proposed changes to Tompkins County Trust Company at East Hill Plaza located off Ellis Hollow Road, Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No. 62 -2 -1.21, Business District "C." The proposal includes modifications to the driveways and parking areas including adding five parking spaces, replace existing exterior lighting, install a sign at the Ellis Hollow Road side of the building, add a sloped shingle roof, and add a 333 +/- square foot addition. Also includes a Recommendation to the Zoning Board of Appeals regarding a sign variance for the proposed sign. Tompkins County Trust Co., Owner/ Applicant; Phillip Albrecht, Egner Architectural Associates, LLC, Agent. 2. This is a Type ll Action, pursuant to 6 NYCRR Part 617, State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA), requiring no further environmental review, and 3. The Planning Board, at a Public Hearing held on December 19, 2000, has reviewed and accepted as adequate, plans entitled "Survey," dated 712712000, prepared by T. G. Miller, P.C., "Site Plan," "Plan," "Exterior Elevations Sheet 1," "Exterior Elevations Sheet 2," and "Electrical Site," dated 11/10/00, all prepared by Egner Architectural Associates, and other application material. NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED: PLANNING BOARD PAGE 7 DECEMBER 19, 2000 APPROVED -APPROVED -APPROVED -APRIL 3, 2001 -APPROVED -APPROVED -APPROVED 1. That the Town of Ithaca Planning Board hereby waives certain requirements for Preliminary and Final Site Plan Approval, as shown on the Preliminary and Final Site Plan Checklists, having determined from the materials presented that such waiver will result in neither a significant alteration of the purpose of site plan control nor the policies enunciated or implied by the Town Board, and 2. That the Town of Ithaca Planning Board hereby grants Preliminary and Final Site Plan Approval for the proposed changes to Tompkins County Trust Co. at East Hill Plaza located off Ellis Hollow Road, Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No. 62 -2 -1.21, as shown on plans entitled "Survey," dated 712712000, prepared by T.G. Miller, P.C., "Site Plan," "Plan," "Exterior Elevations Sheet I," "Exterior Elevations Sheet 2," and "Electrical Site," dated 11/10/00, Planting Plan dated 12119100, and Site Plan showing open area dated 12113100, prepared by Egner Architectural Associates, subject to the following conditions, prior to the issuance of any building permits: a. submission of an original or mylar copy of the final site plan, revised to include the correct scale, and revised to show the correct information on the sign, to be retained by the Town of Ithaca, and b. submission of details of the proposed exterior lighting fixtures and poles, subject to the approval of the Director of Planning, and C. submission of sheet no. 0058 -010, "Survey," to include the name and seal of the registered land surveyor or engineer who prepared the topographic and boundary survey, and d. obtaining of any necessary variances or approvals from the Zoning Board of Appeals, and e. submission of construction details of all proposed structures, including curbs, new driveways, parking areas, walkways, etc., and f. revision of Drawing 0058 -E1, Electrical Site to delete labeling, "remove existing sign," next to the sign at the Northeast corner of the site. AND BE I T FURTHER RESOL VED: 1. That the Planning Board, acting as the Sign Review Board, does hereby recommend that the Zoning Board of Appeals approve the sign variance for the Tompkins County Trust Co. at East Hill Plaza for installation of a three panel freestanding sign, where only two faces are permitted, located in the rear yard, where freestanding signs are allowed in front yards only, as proposed by the applicant. A vote on the motion resulted as follows: AYES: Wilcox, Hoffmann, Mitrano, Thayer. PLANNING BOARD PAGE 8 DECEMBER 19, 2000 APPROVED -APPROVED -APPROVED -APRIL 3, 2001 -APPROVED -APPROVED -APPROVED NAYS: None. The motion was declared to be carried unanimously. AGENDA ITEM: Approval of 2001 Planning Board Meeting Schedule. Chairperson Wilcox stated he would like to remove the January 2, 2001 meeting from the schedule. There are no agenda items for that meeting. Board Member Hoffmann stated that the board is scheduled to meet on Election Day. Board Member Thayer stated it is not a problem to meet on Election Day. The board is meeting July 3rd. Should the day be removed? Chairperson Wilcox stated the board might have a problem getting a quorum on July 3rd. The board could decide when the date is closer. Mr. Kanter stated the summer months are usually slower. RESOLUTION NO. 2000 -108 - Town of Ithaca Planning Board 2001 Schedule of Meetings. MOTION made by Fred Wilcox, seconded by Larry Thayer. RESOLVED, that the Town of Ithaca Planning Board adopt and hereby does adopt the following as its schedule of Regular Meetings for the Year 2001. Unless otherwise notified, all meetings will be held on the first and third Tuesday, commencing at 7:30 p.m. FIRST MEETING OF THE MONTH NONE. February 6, 2001 March 6, 2001 April 3, 2001 May 1, 2001 June 5, 2001 July 3, 2001 August 7, 2001 September 4, 2001 October 2, 2001 SECOND MEETING OF THE MONTH January 16, 2001 February 20, 2001 March 20, 2001 April 17, 2001 May 15, 2001 June 19, 2001 July 17, 2001 August 21, 2001 September 18, 2001 October 16, 2001 PLANNING BOARD PAGE 9 DECEMBER 19, 2000 APPROVED -APPROVED -APPROVED -APRIL 3, 2001 -APPROVED -APPROVED -APPROVED November 6, 2001 December 4, 2001 A vote on the motion resulted as follows: AYES: Wilcox, Hoffmann, Mitrano, Thayer. NAYS: None. The motion was declared to be carried unanimously. AGENDA ITEM: OTHER BUSINESS. November 20, 2001 December 18, 2001 Chairperson Wilcox stated he would like to remind the board the year end dinner is Friday, December 29t" Chairperson Wilcox stated that he would like to thank Mr. Kanter for his service to the Town and to the Planning Board. Mr. Kanter stated he would like to thank everyone for being a good group to work with. Mr. Ainslie stated that he had the pleasure of meeting with the Town Board when the Town employed Mr. Kanter. AGENDA ITEM: ADJOURNMENT: Upon MOTION, Chairperson Wilcox declared the December 19, 2000 meeting of Town of Ithaca Planning Board duly adjourned at 8:28 p.m. Respectfully submitted: Carrie L. Whitmore, Deputy Town Clerk.