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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPB Minutes 2001-01-16FILE .lam DATE Town of Ithaca Planninq Board Tuesday, January 16, 2001 The Town of Ithaca Planning Board met in regular session on Tuesday, January 16, 2001, in Town Hall, 215 North Tioga, Ithaca, New York, at 7:30 p.m. PRESENT: Fred Wilcox, Chairperson; Eva Hoffmann, Board Member; George Conneman, Board Member; Larry Thayer, Board Member; Rod Howe, Board Member; John Barney, Attorney for the Town; Dan Walker, Director of Engineering; Susan Ritter, Interim Town Planner; Mike Smith, Environmental Planner. EXCUSED: Tracy Mitrano, Board Member. ALSO PRESENT: Merry Jo Bauer, 921 Coddington Road; Richard and Ruth Walker, 929 Coddington Road; Kristi & Tom Sullivan, 952 Coddington Road; Mary Russell, 951 Coddington Road. Chairperson Wilcox declared the meeting duly opened at 7:34 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 January 8, 2001, and January 10, 2001, 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 January 10, 2001. (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 7:34 p.m. With no persons present to be heard, Chairperson Wilcox closed this segment of the meeting at 7:35 p.m. AGENDA ITEM: SEOR Determination, Walker Subdivision, Coddington Road. Chairperson Wilcox opened this segment of the meeting at 7:35 p.m. Richard Walker, 929 Coddington Road — My wife and I have a purchase offer for Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel Number 47 -2 -6.5 and a portion of Tax Parcel Number 47- 2 -6.2. We are seeking Planning Board Subdivision approval for these properties. Chairperson Wilcox — Are there any environmental issues? Mr. R. Walker — I am not aware of any environmental issues. Board Member Hoffmann —What is the reason Mr. R. Walker is interested in doing a subdivision? PLANNING BOARD PAGE 2 JANUARY 16, 2001 APPROVED - APPROVED - APPROVED - APRIL 3, 2001 - APPROVED - APPROVED - APPROVED Mr. R. Walker — This property has been agricultural land. Attorney Barney — There has been some work done on the property in terms of moving soil around. Can you explain to the board what is occurring on the property? Mr. R. Walker — The moving of soil is being done by the prospective purchaser. The prospective purchaser has indicated to us that he wants to use the land for recreational purposes. Attorney Barney — Do you know why the purchaser is moving the soil? Mr. R. Walker — The purchaser is digging a pond. Attorney Barney — Has the purchaser obtained a permit? Mr. R. Walker — No. I was not aware a permit was required until this morning. Chairperson Wilcox — This afternoon Mr. Smith, Ms, Ritter, Mr. Walker, and myself did walk the site. Two bulldozers are working to the east side of the former railroad bed. Significant amounts of dirt/fill have been moved. A pond has been dug. Mr. Walker — I received a call from the purchaser, Mr. Van Valen. Mr. Van Valen is building a pond. I explained our earth fill requirements to him. He was not aware that he was in violation of Town requirements. Mr. Van Valen is meeting with Ms. Ritter and myself tomorrow morning to discuss the pond. His intention is to use the land as recreational land. He would like to let the property revert back to brush and forest land. There would be one or two ponds on the site with a possible small cabin. I explained the property was in a conservation zone. He was somewhat aware of the conservation zone requirements. Mr. Van Valen is considering a conservation easement on the property to prevent large scale development in that area. He is now aware of the requirements for moving volumes of earth on properties. Chairperson Wilcox — We discussed the possibility of a DEC permit while we were on the site visit. Mr. Walker — Mr. Van Valen is aware of the size requirements for DEC permits. The foreman on the site is trying to keep the pond at a ten foot dike height. It probably would not require a special permit from DEC for the size of the pond and the height of the dike. I am aware that Mr. Van Valen is a qualified contractor. He has done work around the Town. He is very oriented towards erosion and sediment control issues. Chairperson Wilcox — There is a possibility that there will be two ponds and a cabin on the consolidated parcel. It might have been possible to put five or six houses on the other side of the railroad bed. There is a potential for a positive environmental resolve from the subdivision. Board Member Hoffmann —The excavation on site may have had a negative environmental impact on the property. The continuation of the excavation might have more impact on the property if it is not done in the right way. The digging is occurring next to a stream. PLANNING BOARD PAGE 3 JANUARY 16, 2001 APPROVED - APPROVED - APPROVED - APRIL 3, 2001 - APPROVED - APPROVED - APPROVED Chairperson Wilcox — The property is in a conservation zone. It is also near the County Unique Natural Area. Board Member Hoffmann — Is the excavation occurring in the UNA? Mr. Smith — I do not believe the excavation is within the UNA. Board Member Hoffmann — The excavation is very close to the creek. Ms. Ritter — It does not appear that the work is being done in a DEC protected creek. DEC permits are not required. It is taking a smaller creek where the drainage area begins on the property. The pond is being made from the water flowing in from the smaller creek. Board Member Hoffmann — How is the runoff from this area being taken care of to protect the Six Mile Creek area? Ms. Ritter — I did not see sediment and erosion control measures on site. Board Member Hoffmann —The Board would have asked for sediment and erosion control measures if we had had a chance to review the project before it was started. I am concerned that there may be some negative impacts. Mr. Van Valen is a contractor that has worked in the Town before. Mr. Walker — Mr. Van Valen is an excavating contractor. He has done a lot of water and sewer connections within the Town. He has also dug many foundations and septic systems. Mr. Van Valen put in a monitoring station in for the Town at one of our monitoring systems. The Town found him to be a very responsible contractor. Board Member Hoffmann — How is it possible that he does not know about the Town's regulations? Mr. Walker — The work he has done in the Town has never required a fill permit. The projects have been in conjunction with a building permit that was already issued. Other projects have been water and sewer connections that do not require a separate fill permit. Attorney Barney — There is a short EAF for the subdivision. The EAF was accurate at the time it was written. The EAF does not mention the pond or any work being done in respect to it. I do not know how the board could make any kind of determination on the environmental aspects of the projects without doing a completed EAF that would encompass the pond. Board Member Thayer — Subdivision approval would have been passed quickly if there had not been excavation before it was approved. Attorney Barney — The board looks at what is going to happen to the property being subdivided. The board reviews the impact on the environment. The application has not been completed in terms of not indicating what is going to happen on this property. We have a known activity that is going to occur on the property. PLANNING BOARD PAGE 4 JANUARY 16, 2001 APPROVED - APPROVED - APPROVED - APRIL 3, 2001 - APPROVED - APPROVED - APPROVED Board Member Thayer — Mr. R. Walker, were you aware of the activity on the property? Mr. R. Walker — Yes. I was not aware of the regulations for excavation. Chairperson Wilcox — Mr. R. Walker, were you aware on December 2nd of the purchaser's plans to put in a pond? Mr. R. Walker — I was aware of his plans for a pond. Chairperson Wilcox — Mr. Walker, do you know how many cubic yards of dirt have been moved? Mr. Walker — It is about 1500 -2000 yards of dirt that have been moved. I based the calculation on the height of the dike and approximate length. Section 70 allows the Town Engineer to issue a permit for fill /excavation between 50 and 250 cubic yards. The Zoning Board reviews applications for fill and excavation between 250 and 2500 cubic yards. The Planning Board reviews applications for over 2500 cubic yards. Board Member Hoffmann —The situation is not the situation that we have been told about. I do not feel I could act on the application. I would like to adjourn the application until we receive an application that reflects the true situation. Chairperson Wilcox — The board is interested what might potentially happen to the land after subdivision. The board normally does not know what will occur after subdivision: The board does know what will happen to the land in this application. Attorney Barney — The board does review what is proposed for the subdivided lots. Many times conditions have been imposed as part of subdivision approval. In this situation, Mr. R. Walker was probably aware on December 2nd that something was going to be happening. The Town was given an application that indicated there was no construction planned. It is difficult for the board to make a decision with respect to the environment not knowing what is being planned for the property. Chairperson Wilcox — I have not seen any measures taken to deal with runoff. Board Member Thayer — I am mystified as to why Mr. Van Valen would invest money and time into a property he does not own. Mr. Walker — Mr. Van Valen is a contractor. He owns his equipment. He likes to keep his employees busy. Mr. Van Valen does not like to lay people off when he does not have to. The equipment was available and he did not have other work for the men. Mr. Van Valen has a close relationship with Mr. R. Walker. He did not have any doubts about buying the property. Chairperson Wilcox — It appears that the board is going to adjourn this evening's proceedings until we have more information to deal with SEAR. As a result, the public hearing would also be post - poned. I would like to give the members of the public an opportunity to speak. PLANNING BOARD PAGE 5 JANUARY 16, 2001 APPROVED - APPROVED - APPROVED - APRIL 3, 2001 - APPROVED - APPROVED - APPROVED Merry Jo Bauer, 921 Coddington Road — I received a notice in the mail. I do not have an objection to the consolidation of parcels. I am concerned about the possible development of the two pieces of land on the other side of the railroad bed. This area is adjacent to City owned lands along the Six Mile Creek watershed. I assume there are protections set up to protect the watershed. My family and I have lived on Coddington Road for 27 years. We have hiked, biked, ridden horses, and skied along the railroad bed. Mr. R. Walker has graciously allowed the neighbors to use the property to get back to the railroad bed. The future homeowners might not be as amenable to having people walking along his property. What kind of development is going to take place on the northeast side of the railroad bed? How will the new owners respond to use by the neighborhood? Tim Sullivan, 952 Coddington Road — I would urge the Town to look at the speed limit in the area if there is any proposed housing. There is a transition from 55 mph to 45 mph in the area. I would also like the Town to look at methods to protect water quality. Chairperson Wilcox — Does the Town have an agreement with NYSEG regarding the right -of -way? Attorney Barney — The Town has agreements with NYSEG regarding ownership. The Town retains ownership of the portion closest to the City. Chairperson Wilcox — The new owner has the intention of building one or more ponds and a seasonal residence. Mr. Walker — The cabin would not have utilities. Board Member Hoffmann — Would this be for the owner's personal use or for use by the public? Mr. Walker — I had the impression it was for his family's use. Chairperson Wilcox — The speed limit in the area changes from 45 mph to 55 mph. The house become very close to the road in the area near German Cross Roads. This area of concern is in the Town of Danby. The issue of sediment and erosion control measure will be enforced. Chairperson Wilcox closed this segment of the meeting at 8:12 p.m. RESOLUTION NO. 2001 =1 - SEQR Preliminary & Final Subdivision Approval, Walker Subdivision Coddington Road, Tax Parcel No.'s 47 -2 -6.5 and 47- 2 -6.2. MOTION made by Fred Wilcox, seconded by Larry Thayer. RESOLVED, that the Planning Board post -pones consideration of SEQR determination for the proposed Walker subdivision until such time as the Town has sufficient materials in order to evaluate the construction and excavation that has already occurred on the site and the construction and excavation proposed for the site. A vote on the motion resulted as follows: PLANNING BOARD PAGE 6 JANUARY 16, 2001 APPROVED - APPROVED - APPROVED - APRIL 3, 2001 - APPROVED - APPROVED - APPROVED AYES: Wilcox, Hoffmann, Conneman, Thayer, Howe. NAYS: None. The motion was declared to be carried unanimously. PUBLIC HEARING: Consideration of Preliminary and Final Subdivision Approval for the proposed subdivision of 13.4 +/- acres from Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No. 47- 2 -6.2, to be consolidated with Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No. 47- 2 -6.5, and subdivision of a triangular piece in the Southern Cayuga Lake Intermunicipal Water Commission portion of Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No. 47 -2 -6.5 to be retained as part of the parcel that lies in the Town of Danby; both parcels are located on the north side of Coddington Road, Tax Parcel No. 47 -2 -6.2 being approximately 1200 feet east of Updike Road, and Tax Parcel No. 47 -2 -6.5 being approximately 2500 feet east of Updike Road; Residence District R -30 and Conservation District. Richard & Ruth Walker, Owner /Applicant. Chairperson Wilcox — We are post - poning the public hearing on this matter until such time to be determined by the Town of Ithaca Planning Department. We will work with Mr. and Mrs. Walker to set a new date to review the proposed subdivision. AGENDA ITEM: Consideration of nomination and election of Vice Chairperson of the Planning Board for 2001. RESOLUTION NO. 2001=2 - Nomination and Election of Planning Board Vice Chairperson 2001. MOTION made by Rod Howe, seconded by George Conneman. RESOLVED, that the Town of Ithaca Planning Board does hereby nominate and elect Eva Hoffmann as Vice Chairperson of the Planning Board for the year 2001. FURTHER RESOLVED, that said election shall be reported to the Town Board. AYES: Wilcox, Thayer, Conneman, Howe. NAYS: None. ABSTAIN: Hoffmann. The MOTION was declared to be carried. AGENDA ITEM: OTHER BUSINESS: Chairperson Wilcox — Susan Ritter has been appointed Interim Director of Planning. The Town has started a nationwide search for a new Director of Planning. Mr. Smith — We have Cayuga West Professional' Campus coming in for Preliminary Site Plan February 6'h. The Cornell University Human Resources Department is coming before the board for Preliminary and Final Site Plan. They are moving into the vacated Warehouse Carpet space. PLANNING BOARD PAGE 7 JANUARY 16, 2001 APPROVED - APPROVED - APPROVED - APRIL 3, 2001 - APPROVED - APPROVED - APPROVED Board Member Hoffmann — There is a large pile of snow at East Hill Plaza. We received a letter from Cornell University last year stating that this would not happen again. Chairperson Wilcox — Snow removal was part of the Burger King approval. We were concerned about where they were going to put the snow. We received a letter indicating that the snow would be removed from site. This was a problem last winter. Mr. Kanter sent a letter last year. East Hill Plaza and Cornell University is coming for this board in two weeks. We have an opportunity to discuss this with them. The board might be able to get something more definitive from them. Attorney Barney — The Town should take photographs of the snow. This is an enforcement matter that the Town might need to look at. Chairperson Wilcox — Attorney Barney previously gave this board the advice that it is not our job to "gang -up" on Cornell University. We should not take advantage when they come before the board. We need to find the letter that they sent the Town. Cornell might be living up to the letter, but not the spirit of the letter or what we were told. Board Member Hoffmann — We may have received two letters. The first was indicating how they were going to remove the snow. There was another letter in response to Mr. Kanter's letter. AGENDA ITEM: ADJOURNMENT: Upon MOTION, Chairperson Wilcox declared the January 16, 2001 meeting of Town of Ithaca Planning Board duly adjourned at 8:22 p.m. Respectfully submitted: �t ON(k � �i G'n Ae Carrie L. Whitmore, Deputy Town Clerk.