Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutPB Minutes 2001-08-21FILE TOWN OF ITHACA PLANNING BOARD DATE D TUESDAY, AUGUST 21, 2001 The Town of Ithaca Planning Board met in regular session on Tuesday, August 21, 2001, in Town Hall, 215 North Tioga, Ithaca, New York, at 7:30 p.m. PRESENT: Fred Wilcox, Chairperson (left room from 8:31 p.m. to 8:32 p.m.); Eva Hoffmann, Board Member; George Conneman, Board Member; Tracy Mitrano, Board Member (left room from 8:15 p.m. to 8:17 p.m.; excused at 9:54 p.m.); Larry Thayer, Board Member; Rod Howe, Board Member; Kevin Talty, Board Member; Jonathan Kanter, Director of Planning; John Barney, Attorney for the Town; Dan Walker, Director of Engineering; Susan Ritter, Assistant Director of Planning; Mike Smith, Environmental Planner; Christine Lehman, Planner. ALSO PRESENT: Bruce Hatch, Ithaca College; Tom Salm, Ithaca College; Jessica Keltz, Ithaca Times; Liz Smith, Pearsall Place; Jeff White, Town of Ithaca; Lauren Bishop, Ithaca Journal; John Gutenberger, Cornell University; Sue Poelvoorde, 221 Taughannock Park Rd; Robert O'Brien, HOLT; Peter Trowbridge, Trowbridge & Wolf; David Herrick, TG Miller; Bob Holt, Ithaca College; Kathryn Wolf, Trowbridge & Wolf; Don Rakow, Cornell University; Shirley Egan, Cornell University; Kimberly Martinson, Cornell University. Chairperson Wilcox declared the meeting duly opened at 7:35 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 August 13 2001, and August 15, 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 August 15, 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 7:35 p.m. With no persons present to be heard, Chairperson Wilcox closed this segment of the meeting at 7:36 p.m. AGENDA ITEM: SEOR Determination, Turback - 2 -Lot Subdivision, NYS Route's 13, 34, and 96. Chairperson Wilcox opened this segment of the meeting at 7:36 p.m. Sue Poelvoorde, 221 Taughannock Park Rd - The proposal is for NYS Parks to acquire a little over 20 acres of Mr. Turback's property. It is located off NYS Route's 13, 34 and 96. The proposal is to acquire this property for the proposed Black Diamond Trail, which is the project that will connect the four State Parks in Tompkins County. This parcel has been acquired to link that trail up to Robert H. Treman State Park. There are no negative environmental impacts. There is some trail construction. APPROVED - APPROVED - SEPTEMBER 18, 2001 - APPROVED - APPROVED This is a sensitive area and is listed as a Unique Natural Area in Tompkins County. Through our discussions with Mr. Turback, we had only proposed to acquire a portion of land to the north of the parcel that is already owned by NYS DOT. Mr. Turback proposed that we buy the section south of Enfield Creek to add to Robert H. Treman State Park. We were able to work that out as part of the acquisition. We felt it was important because it is a nice area. It is also adjacent to the Finger Lakes Trail. We felt it would contribute to the green belt that is beginning to develop through the Cayuga Inlet Valley. It will be parkland forever. Chairperson Wilcox - The beneficial environmental impact is that houses will not be built on the property. Board Member Hoffmann - There was fill on this site. Ms. Balestra- Lehman - The fill was within tax parcel 35. -1 -9. That was when Chef Yeppi presents occupied the site. Ms. Poelvoorde - Mr. Turback will retain ownership of that property. Chairperson Wilcox closed this segment of the meeting at 7:40 p.m. RESOLUTION NO. 2001- 69 = SEOR- Preliminary and Final Subdivision Approval, Turback Subdivision, NYS Route 13, 34, 96, Tax Parcel No.'s 35 =1 -8.1 & 35442. MOTION made by George Conneman, seconded by Larry Thayer. WHEREAS. 1. This action is consideration of Preliminary and Final Subdivision Approval for the proposed subdivision of Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No.'s 35 -1 -8.1 & 35- 1 -8.2, located on NYS Route 13, 34, and 96, Residence District R -30. The subdivision will create a 6.976 +/- acre parcel which will be retained by Turback, and a 20.116 +/- acre parcel which will be acquired by NYS Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation for the future Black Diamond Trail. Michael Turback, Owner; NYS Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation, Applicant, and 2. This is an Unlisted Action for which the Town of Ithaca Planning Board is legislatively determined to act as Lead Agency in environmental review with respect to Subdivision Approval, and 3. The Planning Board, on August 21, 2001, has reviewed and accepted as adequate a Short Environmental Assessment Form Part 1, submitted by the applicant, and Part ll prepared by the Town Planning staff; a plat entitled, "Subdivision Map Showing Lands of Michael S. Turback Located on NYS Route 13, 34, and 96, Town of Ithaca, County of Tompkins, State of New York," prepared by T. G. Miller P.C., dated July 13, 2000; and other application materials, and 2 APPROVED - APPROVED - SEPTEMBER 18, 2001 - APPROVED - APPROVED 4. The Town Planning staff has recommended a negative determination of environmental significance with respect to the proposed Subdivision Approval; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED. That the Town of Ithaca Planning Board hereby makes a negative determination of environmental significance in accordance with the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act for the above referenced action as proposed and, therefore, neither a Full Environmental Assessment Form nor an Environmental Impact Statement will be required. The vote on the motion as follows: AYES: Wilcox, Hoffmann, Conneman, Mitrano, Thayer, Howe, Tally. NAYS: None. The motion was declared to be carried unanimously. PUBLIC HEARING: Consideration of Preliminary and Final Subdivision Approval for the proposed subdivision of Town of Ithaca Parcel No's. 35. -1 -8.1 and 35. -1 -8.2 located on NYS Route's 13, 34 and 96, Residence District R -30. The subdivision will create a 6.976 ± acre parcel, which will be retained by Turback, and 20.116 ± acres, which will be acquired by NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation for the future Black Diamond Trail. Michael S. Turback, Owners NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, Applicant, Chairperson Wilcox opened the public hearing at 7:42 p.m. With no persons present to be heard, Chairperson Wilcox closed the public hearing at 7:44 p.m. Chairperson Wilcox - Ms. Balestra- Lehman and I were talking before the meeting. The potential complicating factor is that there is an approved subdivision that has been filed with the County. It has not yet been reflected on the assessment rolls, therefore, there we are not sure what parcel number it is. Ms. Balestra- Lehman - Condition "a" of the resolution might not be necessary. Tax parcel 35. -1 -8.2 was an illegal subdivision that was legalized in April of 2000. It was consolidated with 35.- 1 -8.1. The Assessment Department does not show that in their tax maps. There is not a tax map number. It was filed with the County Clerk. Condition "a" states that is should be consolidated. Attorney Barney - Do we have a subdivision map showing it as being consolidated? Ms. Balestra- Lehman - Yes. The subdivision map shows one parcel. Attorney Barney - Condition "a" could be left in. The language could be changed to address it. 3 APPROVED - APPROVED - SEPTEMBER 18, 2001 - APPROVED - APPROVED Mr. Kanter - The new map that the board is approving does away with the previous parcels and creates an entirely new subdivision. It further cleans up the situation. I do not think the condition is necessary. Attorney Barney - We could make clear that this approval supercedes the approval of the prior subdivision map. It would make condition "a" clearer. Chairperson Wilcox - What is the status of the Cortright property? Ms. Poelvoorde - Mr. Cortright has passed away. His family has a lot of issues to deal with. We are hoping everything will get resolved. RESOLUTION NO. 2001 -70 = Preliminary and Final Subdivision Approval, Turback Subdivision, NYS Route 13, 34, 96, Tax Parcel No.'s 35 =1 -8.1 & 35- 14.2. MOTION made by Tracy Mitrano, seconded by Rod Howe. WHEREAS. 1. This action is consideration of Preliminary and Final Subdivision Approval for the proposed subdivision of Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No.'s 35 -1 -8.1 & 35- 1 -8.2, located on NYS Route 13, 34, and 96, Residence District R -30. The subdivision will create a 6.976 +/- acre parcel which will be retained by Turback, and a 20.116 +/- acre parcel which will be acquired by NYS Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation for the future Black Diamond Trail. Michael Turback, Owner; NYS Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation, Applicant, and 2. This is an Unlisted Action for which the Town of Ithaca Planning Board, acting as lead agency in environmental review with respect to Subdivision Approval, has, on August 21, 2001, made a negative determination of environmental significance, after having reviewed and accepted as adequate a Short Environmental Assessment Form Part 1, submitted by the applicant, and Part ll prepared by the Town Planning staff, and 3. The Planning Board, at a public hearing held on August 21, 2001, has reviewed and accepted as adequate a plat entitled, "Subdivision Map Showing Lands of Michael S. Turback Located on NYS Route 13, 34, and 96, Town of Ithaca, County of Tompkins, State of New York," prepared by T. G. Miller P.C., dated July 13, 2000; and other application materials. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED. 1. That the Town of Ithaca Planning Board hereby waives certain requirements for Preliminary and Final Subdivision Approval, as shown on the Preliminary and Final Subdivision Checklists, having determined from the materials presented that the such waiver will result in neither a significant alteration of the purpose of subdivision control nor the policies enunciated or implied by the Town Board, and 2. That the Planning Board hereby grants Preliminary and Final Subdivision Approval for the proposed subdivision of Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No.'s 35 -1 -8.1 & 35- 1 -8.2, as shown on a plat rd APPROVED - APPROVED - SEPTEMBER 18, 2001 - APPROVED - APPROVED entitled, "Subdivision Map Showing Lands of Michael S. Turback Located on NYS Route 13, 34, and 96, Town of Ithaca, County of Tompkins, State of New York," prepared by T. G. Miller P.C., dated July 13, 2000, subject to the following conditions and /or statements: a. This subdivision supersedes all prior subdivisions previously approved for these properties, and b. Within 6 months of this approval, consolidation of those portions of Tax Parcel No.'s 354-8.1 and 35 -1 -82 (Parcels "C" and 'D') to be conveyed to NYS Parks with the parcel designated "State of New York (R.0) 747112 ", and submission to the Town of Ithaca Planning Department a copy of the request to the Tompkins County Assessment Department for consolidation of said parcel, and c. Submission for signing by the Chairman of the Planning Board of an original or mylar copy of the approved plat and three dark -lined prints, prior to filing with the Tompkins County Clerk's Office. The vote on the motion as follows: AYES: Wilcox, Hoffmann, Conneman, Mitrano, Thayer, Howe, Tally. NAYS: None. The motion was declared to be carried unanimously. PUBLIC HEARING: Consideration of Final Site Plan Approval for the proposed two -story building with a 13,365 ± square foot footprint located on Campus Services Road, Ithaca College, Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No. 41. -1 -11, Residence District R -15. The proposed building will be sited where the old composting building currently is and will house offices for campus safety on the upper level and the college's mail, duplicating, and printing facilities on the lower level. The proposal also includes 54 ± parking spaces and associated sidewalks and landscaping. Ithaca College, Owner /Applicant; HOLT Architects, P.C., Agent. Robert O'Brien, HOLT Architects - We are before the board responding to some of the issues that were raised during the preliminary hearing. The building is on the site of the existing old compost building. The old compost building will be demolished. The new compost building has been in operation for a while. We looked at the exterior of the building. It was decided that making the entire building out of masonry would be the better way to go. This was in direct response to concerns expressed by the board. Peter Trowbridge, Trowbridge & Wolf - Since the last review, we began looking at the parking on the north side of the service building. The parking was at two different levels. Stairs connected the two parking lots. The stairs created unnecessary separation between the two parking levels. It made the parking lot in general less accessible. Consolidating the parking on one level made it much more 5 APPROVED - APPROVED - SEPTEMBER 18, 2001 - APPROVED - APPROVED efficient and effective. We have moved the parking program into one parking lot. The planting scheme has remained the same. There was a request to look at water quality issues. We worked with TG Miller to regrade the parking lot. David Herrick, TG Miller - We have added on the upper parking lot our typical dry swale detail that we use for water quality improvement. It is a dry swale as we typically call it. It will collect the half -inch of run -off from the new parking service. It will allow for slow filtration through our sand bed before it is released into the balance of the storm sewer. It is the most significant change. We have made some other piping modifications on the site in the hopes of reducing the overall cost of the utility infrastructure. It is nothing that affects the hydraulics of the balance of the neighborhood. Bruce Hatch, Ithaca College - We have had a good recycling operation up to Ithaca College for many years including our compost facility. I encourage our guys to save a lot of good stuff. When we built the new HSHP building they saved the left over bricks. Those items do accumulate over the years. We constantly evaluate what we have in the storage area and recycling it into the community through various means. When some ductwork comes out of a building for whatever reason we stockpile it. We reuse it if we can and if not it goes to the salvage yard and gets recycled. The board saw an ongoing operation of recycling. I wish we had a large garage to put the stuff in. Unfortunately that is not the case. It is constantly changing as we go through the construction cycles and periods that we have. We have made an effort to spruce it up. It has fallen by the wayside during the busy summer that we have had. We are working on it and going to have it picked up. This building will enhance our area and enable us to keep a better handle on that project. Chairperson Wilcox - What about the items that are located under the over utility right -of -way? Mr. Hatch - It is part of the recycling operation. It is constantly turning over. There are some tires and springs that are on site. They are recycled. There are two dumpsters that will be relocated as part of this project that is hauled out a couple times a week. We have metal recycling and every aspect of recycling that takes place. Some of our pallets are ground up and recycled into our compost. It is part of the program. The Town and the City have their little glitches as well. Anyone that has been involved with physical plant has those corners of the building or corners of the lot that have the materials that are too good to throw away and are available for use. Board Member Hoffmann I have questions about the new parking layout. It looks to me as if the space between the two rows of parking spaces is much wider than on the other side of the building and I wondered why. Mr. Trowbridge - That is a good observation. On one side of the building there are loading docks. We need to get 18- wheelers and service vehicles on the north side of the building. The south side of the building is just car traffic. It has a wider travel lane for turning on the north side. Board Member Hoffmann - In drawing L101, there is an area in the upper left -hand corner that is identified as a new 20 -foot wide gravel drive. It looks as if it is not connected to anything. lei APPROVED - APPROVED - SEPTEMBER 18, 2001 - APPROVED - APPROVED Mr. Trowbridge - It actually is.. There is a gravel parking lot just below that. It is allows an alternative to get out of the parking lot if the main entranceway is blocked. There is a piece of asphalt that exists in this location and shows up on the survey. A fragment of asphalt is being shown. Board Member Hoffmann - Drawing L104 shows five lights. They are all on the southern side of the building. I do not see any lights on the northern side. Mr. Trowbridge - The lights are building mounted on the northern side. They are not freestanding lights in the parking lot. We felt that on the south side there are more infrequent users, people that were coming to public safety. The north side is strictly for service. The light would be building mounted Board Member Hoffmann - Are the lights indicated in the drawings? Mr. Trowbridge - They are probably not indicated at this point. As the building becomes further developed, they will begin to show up in the construction documents. Chairperson Wilcox - We like to see them in these documents. Board Member Hoffmann - Drawings A201 and A202 show the elevations of the buildings. There is a structure on the top of the roof. Is the extension of the roof for a special purpose? Mr. O'Brien - The main lobby is directly below the windows of the structures. It brings lights down into the lobby. The right side of the structure has louvers for the HVAC system. Chairperson Wilcox opened the public hearing at 8:09 p.m. With no persons present to be heard, Chairperson Wilcox closed the public hearing at 8:10 p.m. Board Member Thayer - It looks better with the siding the same all the way down through. Chairperson Wilcox - There was a condition in Preliminary Approval that Ithaca College submits a plan for the removal of debris. Is this board satisfied that that has been address? The board indicated it was satisfied. Chairperson Wilcox - Mr. Walker, have you had a chance to review the drainage? Mr. Walker - My staff and I reviewed the drainage and everything looks fine as noted in Ms. Balestra- Lehman's letter. Board Member Hoffmann - There is different language in the resolution than usual. It refers to reproducible copies. Ms. Balestra- Lehman - Yes. It is updated language. We have received other types of reproducible materials. 7 APPROVED - APPROVED - SEPTEMBER 18, 2001 - APPROVED - APPROVED Mr. Kanter - At the current point in time we prefer mylar because it is more durable than some of the other reproducible materials. Mr. Walker - This requirement is about 30 years behind the times. We can reproduce with a XEROX. It. is something that we can look at and make a recommendation. RESOLUTION NO. 2001 -71- Final Site Plan Approval, Ithaca College Campus Safety /General Services Building, Campus Service Road, Tax Parcel No. 414=11. MOTION made by Eva Hoffmann, seconded by Kevin Tally. WHEREAS: 1. This action is Consideration of Final Site Plan Approval for the proposed two -story building with a 13,365 +/- square foot footprint located on Campus Services Road, Ithaca College, Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No. 41 -1 -11, Residence District R -15. The proposed building will be sited where the old composting building currently is and will house offices for campus safety on the upper level and the college's mail, duplicating, and printing facilities on the lower level. The proposal also includes 54 +1- parking spaces and associated sidewalks and landscaping. Ithaca College, Owner /Applicant; HOLT Architects, P.C., Agent. 2. This is an Unlisted Action for which the Town of Ithaca Planning Board, acting as lead agency in environmental review with respect to Site Plan Approval, did, on July 17, 2001, make a negative determination of environmental significance, and 3. The Planning Board, on July 17, 2001, did grant Preliminary Site Plan Approval, with conditions, for the proposed project, and 4. The Zoning Board of Appeals, on August 20, 2001, did consider and grant the necessary variances and the Special Approval for the proposed project, and 5. The Planning Board, at a public hearing held on August 21, 2001, has reviewed and. accepted as adequate, plans entitled, "Campus Safety /General Services Building, Ithaca College, Campus Services Road, Ithaca, New York," including Sheet C101 entitled "Site Utility Plan," Sheet L101 entitled "Site Plan," Sheet L102 entitled "Site Layout Plan," Sheet L103 entitled "Site Grading Plan," Sheet L104 entitled "Planting and Site Lighting Plan," Sheet L105 entitled "Site Details," Sheet A101 entitled "Lower Floor Plan," and Sheet A102 entitled "Upper Floor Plan," all prepared by HOLT Architects, P.C. and dated August 13, 2001; and other application materials. NO W THEREFORE BE IT RESOL VED. 1. That the Town of Ithaca Planning Board hereby grants Final Site Plan Approval for the proposed Campus Safety /General Services Building located on Campus Services Road, Ithaca College, Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No. 41 -1 -11, as shown on plans entitled, "Campus Safety /General Services Building, Ithaca College, Campus Services Road, Ithaca, New York," prepared by HOLT Architects, P.C. and dated August 13, 2001, subject to the following conditions: APPROVED - APPROVED - SEPTEMBER 18, 2001 - APPROVED - APPROVED a. the name and seal of the registered land surveyor or engineer who prepared the topographic and boundary survey and date of the survey on Sheet L 103 -Site Grading Plan, prior to the issuance of any building permit, and b, revision of all applicable drawings to show any and all wall mounted outdoor lighting fixtures, the location and style of same to be approved by the Director of Planning before issuance of a building permit, and C, submission of an original or reproducible copy of the final site plan (Sheet L 102- Site Layout Plan) as modified, to be retained by the Town of Ithaca, prior to the issuance of a building permit. The vote on the motion as follows: AYES: Wilcox, Hoffmann, Conneman, Mitrano, Thayer, Howe, Talty. NAYS: None. The motion was declared to be carried unanimously. AGENDA ITEM: SEAR Determination, Ithaca College 213 Space Parking Lot, Main Campus Road. Chairperson Wilcox opened this segment of the meeting at 8:16 p.m. Mr. Trowbridge - There is supplemental material in the packet provided to the board regarding the environmental review for this parcel. There would be clearing of roughly 2.5 acres. The college did survey the boundaries of the cleared area. They did clear a perimeter so that people could walk around the site. The vegetation at the western edge is larger. That vegetation approximated the property boundary between the former Rapponi parcel and the Ithaca College property. This area was pasture and agricultural land 25 years ago. We are seeing a very short period of time of vegetative regrowth. To get to the site we do cross a wetland. Many of you know that since last year a Supreme Court decision on Army Corps designated wetlands that there is some question about what constitutes a designated wetland. We did have our consultants give their current opinion on Army Corps designated wetlands. While we do cross a wetland, there is some question whether it is currently under their jurisdiction. Given the ambiguity of the definition, we have only modified the wetland to cross from the M -Lot to the new parking lot in a very small area. The nationwide permitting currently for buy -right modification of wetlands is roughly one third of an acre. We are modifying 1400 or 1500 square feet. We have interpreted the current restrictions on wetland in the most restrictive manner. We have not chosen a liberal view. We have only modified wetlands well below nationwide permitting currently for wetlands regulated by Army Corps of Engineers. There is a certain amount of infiltration and run -off from the site because it is gravel. However, more run -off would currently exist from the wooded, brushy and meadow areas of the site. TG Miller's has looked at watershed analysis and means for water quality mitigation relative to the gravel lot. That material is also presented in the board packet. D APPROVED - APPROVED - SEPTEMBER 18, 2001 - APPROVED - APPROVED The only other issue related to environmental review is the lighting. We have lit the site well. We also chose a pole height that would be shorter than the existing regrowth vegetation that is out there. The top elevation of any of the light fixtures would be lower than the surrounding vegetation. We have also used a luminary light fixture that we have used on several other parts of campus. It is a sharp, cut -off, dark sky fixture that projects light down only. As you look at the fixture you do not see the light source. The light is reflected off services below. We are concerned about wetlands, removal of vegetation, lighting and water quality. We believe that they have all been addressed in the information provided by the board. Chairperson Wilcox - There needs to be a need for the proposed use in the proposed location as demonstrated by the applicant. Mr. Trowbridge - The College is engaged in a master planning effort. We have a sub - consultant looking at traffic and parking on site. As you can see from the draft report, there is a demonstrated need even before the increase in admissions. This was determined last year that there was need for 200 parking spaces for staff and existing students. Ithaca College has had the good fortune of having a much higher take rate for their applicant pool than normal. It is very difficult to get a handle on. It is like the airlines, you tend to book, but you assume that you overbook with the assumption that just enough people will show up. In the last few years more students have shown up than the college has anticipated. Subsequently, more need for parking because of the parking policy that allows students to bring cars to campus. The president and staff are currently thinking about changing parking policy. The parking primarily relates to new students. We are existing student housing. We were looking for an area spaces, but also being in association with residential halls. if we were to add additional parking. Most of the places fragments and required to go in and take out other deve alternatives that were not completely satisfactory. trying to put parking in association with big enough to accommodate 200 parking We did look all around campus for places that we might look at were a lot of small loped green space. We did look at other Board Member Hoffmann - We received good comments from the Environmental Review Committee. One of the questions they had was how this fits in with the long -term plan and the Comprehensive Plan, Tom Salm, Ithaca College - We are in the process. We have received the first reviews of potential land use from the Boston Architects who are working with Mr. Trowbridge and Mr. Holt. We will begin campus discussions this fall. We have not come to any firm conclusions yet. Part of this will be evaluation of parking. The architects have given us their first thoughts on what we might be doing with that. They are also waiting to see the final report from our parking consultant. We are one year to two years before we have a hard plan. Probably by the end of this year we will have a very good idea. At this stage of the game I cannot tell you anything beyond that. The Boston Architects have come up with a number of beginning proposals. Again, it is the kind of things you typically hear. Don't allow first year students to have cars. Look at parking garages. They have tentatively sited a couple of places. We are interested in hearing what the parking consultant will have to say. 10 APPROVED - APPROVED - SEPTEMBER 18, 2001 - APPROVED - APPROVED We have in our strategic plan that proceeded the master plan, a conscious effort to increase the size of the Institution by approximately 300 to 400 students. There was intent to increase the size of student population. We currently lease about 165 spaces across the street at AXIOM. They have told us repeatedly that if they get another tenant in that building that we will get ousted at anytime. We would then have six months to be out. As part of the master plan, we did not come and ask that this become a permanent parking lot. We do think over time that we want to make changes to parking policies that we hope will change the way we do parking and reduce the amount of cars coming to campus. We are working on a plan that we hope to put in place in the second semester that will be like Cornell in terms of having faculty /staff able to ride the Ithaca Transit System. If we can get that worked out, we hope to extend that to students the year following. We did for the first time this year too, not to tell our freshmen not to bring cars, but we strongly encouraged them not to. We put that in our language. We cannot forget that we are a very tuition dependent institution. Therefore, freshmen enrollment and enrollment throughout the institution is extremely important to us. Ninety -two percent of every dollar comes from students in terms of their fees and tuition. We are reluctant to tell freshmen not to bring cars. It could be a deciding factor for someone to go some place out. Board Member Hoffmann - It was not clear to me if this was going to be a temporary parking lot. Mr. Salm - We did not ask to have the parking lot paved. We want to put in all the safety and lighting features, but we did not ask for hard pavement. We really do not know where we ought to go with this when it is all said and done. We have a real need this year. There is no question about it. A couple years down the line we would hope that we have a finished plan that the Town would be looking at as well in terms of trying to help us work out what we do with parking and traffic. Board Member Hoffmann - What are the height differences from one end of the site to the other? Mr. Trowbridge - The topsoil from the site, which is important to the environmental portion of your consideration, will be used in another location of campus near Emerson Hall. There was a lot of filling a number of years ago. That area never fully got developed in terms of lawn and playing fields. The topsoil from the site will be moved over near Emerson to finish out a playing field that was begun and never finalized. We want lay the parking lot on existing grade so that there is no gradient off the edge. It fits on the ground. Right now the topography rolls over the site. What we have tried to do, if you are looking east to west, we have pitched the site in a way that allows water to flow primarily the way it does now. When it flows to the north, it stays in the same flow patterns that currently exist on the site. We have done early calculations and feel that no additional fill needs to be brought to the site other than the gravel service. There is about 10 or 12 feet of grade change from north to south. Board Member Hoffmann -Will the southern most end of the lot be dug into? Mr. Trowbridge - No. It will sit on top of the site. Because of the topography of the site, we are able to smooth it but not really dig in other than taking the topsoil off and having sufficient depth to bring gravel in and fill where the topsoil came away. Board Member Hoffmann -The detention basin being proposed is not on the drawing. 11 APPROVED - APPROVED - SEPTEMBER 18, 2001 - APPROVED - APPROVED Mr. Trowbridge - It is on the hydrologic drawing. The other map was primarily trying to show context. Board Member Thayer - It is difficult to maintain gravel with plowing and striping. Mr. Trowbridge - There are other gravel lots on campus where they are re- striped each year on gravel. It is a maintenance issue. As Mr. Salm was suggesting, this may or may not be a permanent lot. The issue is whether the college is willing to invest. The lights are the standards lights so if the college at some future date that this would not be a parking lot the pole and the luminaries are standard. They could be stockpiled and used other places on campus. Board Member Howe - What was the timeline for staff and students to ride T -CAT? Mr. Salm - We hope to have in place for January of this coming year for faculty and staff. If it works well, we hope to extend it to students the following year. I have been working with Rod Ghering on this. We have been trying to come out with a permit process, which has been our major problem. We have a significant problem with the college compared to Cornell. We charge nothing to our faculty and staff. There is very little incentive for people not to drive their cars. We charge our students $60 per year. Compared to Cornell there is not the same economic incentive. Bob Holt, Director of Campus Safety, is working with a company now to come up with the right kind of pass that will allow people to drive on occasion when they need to, but then also hopefully take the bus more often. We also are planning to start discounting the monthly passes for our students this year. They would buy them on campus. We are going to discount them to our students somewhat this year to kind of weigh in on what kind of play we might get on that. We hope to have all in place a year from now. Chairperson Wilcox - Mr. Herrick, could you comment on storm water detention? Mr. Herrick - The railroad engineers have already done much of my work on this project. The old grade that does exist with the small breach that is in it is going to be a natural location for the basin. As part of the next step, we will be finalizing the outlet structure details so that we do provide throttling of the runoff from the change in the surface. Board Member Hoffmann - We were given a draft parking study. It mentions parking lots "Y" and "Z". Where are they located? Bob Holt, Director of Campus Safety - I am responsible, among other things, to manage the parking services at Ithaca College. The "Z" lot is located next to Anderson Hall. The "Y" lot is the AXIOM lot across Route 96B, Board Member Hoffmann - In the report from TG Miller, it talks about the basin behind "M" lot on page 1. Mr. Herrick - There had been consideration just to the west of Boothright at one time for a small parking lot expansion. That work was never completed or initiated. The drainage basin we were looking to modify at that time was on college property. They did not own the Rapponi property at that time, so we did not have the benefit or luxury to use the existing depression that is there. We 12 APPROVED - APPROVED - SEPTEMBER 18, 2001 - APPROVED - APPROVED proposed some modifications behind the Garden Apartments, but because that expansion never did occur to the "M" lot we did not have to go back and modify the basin behind the Garden Apartments, Board Member Hoffmann - Is the basin being used now? Mr. Herrick - There is no basin in the area. It happens to be another natural depression on the college property. We are looking at a better situation now on what had been the Rapponi lands. Board Member Hoffmann - Something was just referred to as being used now. Mr. Herrick - There is nothing being used now at all. There is no detention on that end of the campus at this time. Board Member Hoffmann - I am confused that there are parking areas that are called "M" on this map that we were given. Mr. Herrick - There is an "M" lot, but what we had been looking at the about the same time we were looking at the "C" lot expansion behind the Towers was an "M" lot extension. The "M" lot extension was not built. Chairperson Wilcox - I think you are referring to the "J" lot. Mr. Herrick - Yes. It is the "J" lot. Board Member Hoffmann - There were some other comments from the Environmental Review Committee. They are concerned about the loss of trees and shrubs on such a large area and that there was no rationale for the parking addressed. Mr. Trowbridge - We did provide rationale for parking with the parking study. Chairperson Wilcox - I fear that the temporary lot is put in and then the Comprehensive Plan is put in. Then this vegetative area will be left with a scar. This is why the board is interested in the long -term plan. Mr. Salm - I wish I could be more specific, but let me assure you, if we abandon the site we will restore it. Our intent is not to leave a scar if we don't need to. I would emphasize that is why the lot is gravel. We are in the state of flux on this and we do not know the long -term result. Obviously the Rapponi property is seen as one of the prime candidates for some kind of expansion over time. If you look at our campus, it is the one area of the campus that is on the same plane with this main academic quad. One of the major issues we have is the hill. It is a problem for us. Students do not like to traverse vertically in any way shape or form. As a result the Rapponi property becomes very high candidate to do something. I would say however that the preliminary things that we just saw there is proposed expansion in that area that would make parking of some sort sensible. It is one of the alternatives that are being talked about. There will be discussion about it. I cannot give the answer of where it will end up. 13 APPROVED - APPROVED - SEPTEMBER 18, 2001 -APPROVED - APPROVED The board briefly discussed changes to the Environmental Assessment Form. Chairperson Wilcox closed this segment of the meeting at 8:49 p.m. RESOLUTION NO. 2001 -72 - SEOR Preliminary Site Plan Approval and a Recommendation to the Zoning Board of Appeals Regarding Special Approval, Ithaca College — 213 Space Residential Parking Lot, Main Campus Road, Tax Parcel No. 42- 1 -9.2. MOTION made by Larry Thayer, seconded by George Conneman. WHEREAS: 1. This action is consideration of Preliminary Site Plan Approval and a Recommendation to the Zoning Board of Appeals regarding Special Approval for the proposed 213 space gravel parking lot at Ithaca College, Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No. 42- 1 -9.2, Residence District R -15. The parking lot will be located off an existing parking lot on Main Campus Road and will contain site lighting. Ithaca College, Owner /Applicant; Peter Trowbridge, Trowbridge & Woif Landscape Architects and Planners, Agent. 2. This is a Type 1 Action for which the Town of Ithaca Planning Board has declared its intent to act as Lead Agency in environmental review with respect to Site Plan Approval and Special Approval, and 3. The Planning Board, on August 21, 2001, has reviewed and accepted as adequate a Full Environmental Assessment Form Part 1, submitted by the applicant, and a Part 11 prepared by Town Planning Staff, plans entitled "Residential Parking, Ithaca College - Location Plan," "Residential Parking, Ithaca College — Layout Plan and Details," "Residential Parking, Ithaca College — Watershed IX Hydrologic Conditions," and "Residential Parking, Ithaca College — Schematic Stormwater Management Plan," dated 18 July 2001, prepared by HOLT Architects, P.C., Trowbridge & Wolf, and T.G. Miller P.C., and other application material, and 4. The Town Planning staff has recommended a negative determination of environmental significance with respect to the proposed Site Plan Approval; NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED: That the Town of Ithaca Planning Board hereby environmental significance in accordance with the New York for the above referenced action as proposed, and therefore, not be required. The vote on the motion as follows: makes a negative determination of State Environmental Quality Review Act an Environmental Impact Statement will AYES: Wilcox, Hoffmann, Conneman, Mitrano, Thayer, Howe, Tally, NAYS: None. 14 APPROVED - APPROVED - SEPTEMBER 18, 2001 - APPROVED - APPROVED The motion was declared to be carried unanimously. PUBLIC HEARING: Consideration of Preliminary Site Plan Approval and a Recommendation to the Zoning Board of Appeals regarding Special Approval for the proposed 213 space gravel parking lot at Ithaca College, Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No. 42.- 1 -9.2, Residence District R -15. The parking lot will be located off an existing parking lot on Main Campus Road and will contain site lighting. Ithaca College, Owner /Applicant; Peter Trowbridge, Trowbridge & Wolf Landscape Architects and Planners, Agent. Chairperson Wilcox opened the public hearing at 8:50 p.m. Liz Smith, 163 Pearsall Place - i am a twelve year employee of Ithaca College. I am here to talk about this parking lot and to address the need of why this is the first choice proposal for Ithaca College. Keep in mind that they have talked about their plans for mass transit for both students and employees. We were told that employees in four months we hope to have that plan going and students in twelve months. There is a need. They have been aware of this need. There is a desire for it. It is not seen as a priority, I do not believe. At a meeting we were told about these four -month plans for the mass transit. They said that once they get approval for this parking lot they can have it up in three to five weeks. If it is an important issue, then they can act quickly. Another issue I would like to make you aware of is that currently if you try and walk to Ithaca College it is very difficult. They do not have dedicated sidewalks or pathways for pedestrians or bicycles. You can walk down the Coddington Road entrance. There is a small portion striped of the roadway that is marked for people. It is not very safe. There is nothing on the access road. Once you get out to the light at Route 96B there are no sidewalks. In light that there is no mass transportation, they have not made this a priority. They have not allowed safe passage for pedestrians. I enjoy being able to walk down to my Town Hall and will be taking the bus home after this meeting. I ask you to please to delay or reject this proposal until they come up with better options and that additional huge parking lots are not seen as their first choice on how to handle the increasing numbers of students, employees, guests, visitors. Chairperson Wilcox closed the public hearing at 8:53 p.m. Board Member Mitrano - I would be interested in hearing from staff why there have not been sidewalks placed in that area up towards Ithaca College. Has there ever been a discussion about that? Mr. Kanter - There have been discussions. For one thing, Coddington Road, which is one of the main accesses to the campus, is a County road. It is not a Town road. Sometimes it is difficult to get those types of improvements in place. The County has a transportation improvement program project proposed for sometime three to four years in the future for improving Coddington Road. One issue with that will be pedestrian access and whether sidewalks are appropriate. Part of the problem with Coddington Road in that area is that it is very constrained in terms of right -of -way. Pedestrian safety is definitely an issue; the space for sidewalks has always been a question and problem. Further compounding that is the indication by a lot of the residents in the area that they would prefer not having sidewalks that would encourage more pedestrians walk there. It is a catch 22 situation. If you put more sidewalks in you could make the situation better, but on the other hand there will be more of that type of issue. 15 APPROVED - APPROVED - SEPTEMBER 18, 2001 - APPROVED - APPROVED We have been working with Ithaca College on that very issue. A couple of the Town Board Members that accompanied us on a field trip to Ithaca College, Councilman Lesser and Councilman Niederkorn were interested in this subject. They walked an area with some of the Ithaca College representatives to look at some other possibilities of getting pedestrian walkways or access way and other parts of the campus that could help connect with surrounding roadways. It is an issue that is being addressed. Hopefully in working with the college through the master planning process will further those questions. We will try to reach some kind of solution. It has been an interesting history in that area? Board Member Mitrano - What about Route 9613? Mr. Kanter - I have never seen any concrete proposals for sidewalks on Route 96B. It is a very busy road. I think the suggestion for public buses coming up and down there is a good one. It is much better than encouraging more pedestrian traffic there. The only thing I really notice there is that sometimes you see people walking along the shoulders. ' The shoulders are wide, but you can tell that they are trying to rush along and move over. I do not think there have been any good ideas for how you could get better pedestrian access along Route 96B. I think the Coddington Road side is probably the better side to work with. Board Member Mitrano - I wanted to say to live up in that direction and taught at Ithaca If it were at all effective to not vote for this have to take the material that we have and trading. We cannot pass a bill if you do th heart some very heartfelt comments. Ms. Smith that I very much heard what she had to say. College some time ago. It has been an idea in my mind. proposal in order to get that, I would consider that. We use a certain criteria. It is not like legislation and horse - is for me. I would urge the associated parties to take to Mr. Salm - We do have the Ithaca Transit buses coming to the campus every half -hour. We do have a fair amount of bus transportation in place. Pedestrians continue to be a problem. Ms. Smith is right. We have talked about this many times. She is unhappy that we have not moved more quickly. We have not come up with a good solution. Mr. Kanter is right. Trying to go out onto Route 96B is a real problem. We do not own a number of properties along Coddington Road. We cannot force that. Councilman Lesser and I did walk the area this summer to see if there was any kind of interior way to do it. It is possible, but it is also a problem in terms of whether it will seriously get used and liability issues. We have not come to a conclusion. We do want to consider it as part of the master plan. It has taken us longer to get to this point. People have a right to be impatient. Board Member Conneman - Could you respond to Ms. Smith's question timing of the project? Mr. Salm - We should have come in with this project sooner. We are going to have a real problem with parking this fall. We cannot change parking between now and the time that freshmen arrive this weekend. It is not possible. We are going to have a problem until we can get this lot. On the short term we are going to need it until we have worked something out with a Master Plan. We are 200 spaces short according to our traffic consultant. That is based on a series of assumptions relative to turn over rates. Behind it is also the AXIOM issue. I have serious concerns about it. Suddenly we could lose 162 parking spaces. Whether we like it or not we have changed the culture. The meeting being referred to is the open staff and administration meeting yesterday. We have an uphill battle 16 APPROVED - APPROVED - SEPTEMBER 18, 2001 - APPROVED - APPROVED and we need the parking. I do not think we can do it in a real short period of time, but I would like to do it as reasonably as we can. Mr. Holt - The number of students bringing cars to campus did drop about 3 to 4 years ago. The number of students bringing cars is back up on the rise. We do not have any restrictions for freshmen to drive. Students will come to Ithaca College to bring their car with them because their second choice school will not allow them to bring a car. We are working on that side of it also. Board Member Thayer - Is there a shuttle for the people who park at AXIOM? Mr. Salm - They walk across the road. It is the least preferred parking lot. Board Member Talty - What was the contingency plan in the event that AXIOM no longer had parking spaces available? Mr. Salm - Our other contingency plan would have to be to park along the edge of roads and any place that we could fill cars in. We would also need to use grass fields. It is very temporary. It would not work well during the winter. This would cause congestion and problems. We have maxed out with trying to have as many spaces as we can in our parking lots including the parking lot behind the Terraces. It is remote and up high. It is primary residential parking. Board Member Talty - It has come to my attention that students are driving a variety of different vehicles. Are you finding it to be a problem with the type of vehicles students are bringing on to campus? Many times they are not well experienced drivers. It is shortening up the amount of parking spaces if they are bringing the larger SUVs. Mr. Salm - I do not think we have made substantial changes. Mr. Holt - The problem with a certain number of spaces for small cars and there are not that many small cars on campus that day or week, then there are vacant spaces. That is our problem. We do not have enough room for vacant spaces. We use a standard width and length for all spaces on campus. Board Member Talty - There has never been a proposal for compact cars only. Mr. Holt - That is correct, not to my knowledge. Mr. Salm - I do not think that our parking consultant recommended that either. Board Member Talty - It just seems to me that instead of adding parking lots, you could utilize them in more ways. Although there will be some people who have the tendency in parking in the compact only with a Surburan, a couple tow jobs would limit how many violations you would have. There would be more cars per square footage. Mr. Trowbridge - The parking space size that we use at Ithaca College is 9 feet by 18 feet. Cornell tried to go to 8.5 feet parking spaces. This is the minimal size that you can practicably build. The 17 APPROVED - APPROVED - SEPTEMBER 18, 2001 - APPROVED - APPROVED reality is that we cannot save space based on what is being suggested. The spaces are already at a fairly minimum, but standard size. Board Member Hoffmann - I like that idea. Chairperson Wilcox - Parking lots are a necessary evil. Mr. Walker - The standard parking spaces used to be 10 feet by 20 feet. Even the big cars are smaller than they were. There needs to be a space for people to turn into a parking space. The compact car space only in the parking area under Center Ithaca was not put in there because they were trying to make more spaces. It was put in because there is a building limitation. There is a jog in the building that comes out 2 feet. Chairperson Wilcox - I live on Juniper Drive, which is located just past the rear entrance to Ithaca College. A neighbor was killed about 6 years ago on Coddington Road riding a bicycle. Coddington Road is a problem between Hudson Street and the entrance to the college. People are walking less than a straight line down the middle of the road. The right -of -way on Coddington Road is quite narrow. Mr. Walker - It is. Chairperson Wilcox - There is not a lot of room between the road and houses. Mr. Walker - The slope is also a consideration in the area as well. Chairperson Wilcox - It is a difficult along there would be wonderful. We jurisdiction. Route 96B is interesting, lanes, it is actually a little narrower t[ road. problem. I think everyone is aware of the fact that sidewalks are stuck with a County road inside the Town. The County has If I am not mistaken, if you are headed north, the eastern most ian the other lanes. There is not a shoulder on that side of the RESOLUTION NO. 2001 -73 - Preliminary Site Plan Approval and a Recommendation to the Zoning Board of Appeals Regarding Special Approval, Ithaca College — 213 Space Residential Parking Lot, Main Campus Road, Tax Parcel No. 42442. MOTION made by Kevin Talty, seconded by Tracy Mitrano, WHEREAS: 1. This action is consideration of Preliminary Site Plan Approval and a Recommendation to the Zoning Board of Appeals regarding Special Approval for the proposed 213 space gravel parking lot at Ithaca College, Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No. 42- 1 -9.2, Residence District R -15. The parking lot will be located off an existing parking lot on Main Campus Road and will contain site lighting. Ithaca College, Owner /Applicant; Peter Trowbridge, Trowbridge & Wolf Landscape Architects and Planners, Agent, and in APPROVED - APPROVED - SEPTEMBER 18, 2001 - APPROVED - APPROVED 2. This is a Type I Action for which the Town of Ithaca Planning Board, acting as lead agency in environmental review with respect to Site Plan Approval, has, on August 21, 2001, made a negative determination of environmental significance, after having reviewed and accepted as adequate a Full Environmental Assessment Form Part 1, submitted by the applicant, and a Part 11 prepared by Town Planning staff, and 3. The Planning Board, at a Public Hearing held on August 21, 2001, has reviewed and accepted as adequate for preliminary approval, plans entitled "Residential Parking, Ithaca College - Location Plan," "Residential Parking, Ithaca College — Layout Plan and Details," "Residential Parking, Ithaca College -- Watershed IX Hydrologic Conditions," and "Residential Parking, Ithaca College — Schematic Stormwater Management Plan," dated 18 July 2001, prepared by HOLT Architects, P.C., Trowbridge & Wolf, and T. G. Miller P.C., and other application material, and NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED: 1. That the Town of Ithaca Planning Board hereby waives certain requirements for Preliminary Site Plan Approval, as shown on the checklist, 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 Site Plan Approval for the proposed 213 space residential parking lot located at Ithaca College, Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No 42- 1 -9.2, as shown on plans entitled "Residential Parking, Ithaca College - Location Plan," "Residential Parking, Ithaca College — Layout Plan and Details," "Residential Parking, Ithaca College — Watershed 1X Hydrologic Conditions," and "Residential, Parking, Ithaca College — Schematic Stormwater Management Plan," dated 18 July 2001, prepared by HOLT Architects, P.C., Trowbridge & Wolf, and T.G. Miller P.C., and other application material, subject to the following conditions: av the granting of Special Approval by the Zoning Board of Appeals; and ba revision of detail "C8 — Detention Area North of Site" on plan titled "Layout Plan and Details" (sheet L 102) to show the currently proposed detention basin with outlet control structure labeled; and C, revision of sheet L 101 (Location Map) to include location of proposed detention basin; and d. revision of sheet C 10 1 (Watershed IX Hydrologic Conditions) to represent the Proposed Parking Improvements area as gravel impervious and revision of Watershed Area Calculations table to reflect change, and el in the event the parking area is abandoned, the gravel shall be removed and the area revegetated with grass or other natural vegetation, all within one year of abandonment. For this purpose abandonment shall be deemed to occur upon: 19 APPROVED -APPROVED - SEPTEMBER 18, 2001 -APPROVED -APPROVED (1) the date the college formally determines to cease using the area for parking, or (2) if the area has not been used regularly for parking by at least ten cars for a period of one year; whichever is earlier. AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED. 1. That the Planning Board, in making its recommendation regarding Special Approval to the Zoning Board of Appeals, determines the following: a. there is a need for the proposed use in the proposed location, as demonstrated by the applicant; b, the existing and probable future character of the neighborhood will not be adversely affected as a result of the proposed use; C. the specific proposed use as a result of the proposed project is in accordance with a Comprehensive Plan of development for the Town of Ithaca. 2. That the Planning Board reports to the Zoning Board of Appeals its recommendation that the aforementioned request for Special Approval be granted. The vote on the motion as follows: AYES: Wilcox, Hoffmann, Conneman, Mitrano, Thayer, Talty. NAYS: Howe. The motion was declared to be carried. AGENDA ITEM: APPROVAL OF MINUTES: RESOLUTION NO. 2001=74 - Approval of Minutes = August 7, 2001. MOTION by Fred Wilcox, seconded by Larry Thayer. RESOLVED, that the Planning Board does hereby approve and adopt the August 7, 2001 as the official minutes of the Town of Ithaca Planning Board for the said meeting as presented with corrections. THERE being no further discussion, the Chair called for a vote. AYES: Wilcox, Hoffmann, Conneman, Mitrano, Thayer, Talty, NA YS: NONE. ABSTAIN. Howe. The MOTION was declared to be carried. 20 APPROVED - APPROVED - SEPTEMBER 18, 2001 - APPROVED - APPROVED AGENDA ITEM: OTHER BUSINESS. Chairperson Wilcox - Would the board like their picture on the website? Board Member Talty - Does this need to be a unanimous decision? Chairperson Wilcox - Yes, it should be. Board Member Mitrano - I think that it would be fun. Board Member Hoffmann - I do not want my picture on the website. Board Member Howe - I think that it is fine. Chairperson Wilcox - Board Member Hoffmann cares not to have her picture on the website. There would be a picture of the rest of the board with Board Member Hoffmann being noticed as absent. Board Member Mitrano - The board is on the website as members. Board Member Hoffmann - I do not like the picture being associated with a name. Attorney Barney - The Town Board and Zoning Board will have their picture on the website. AGENDA ITEM: Consideration of Sketch Plan for the proposed Oxley Parking lot at Cornell University, located on NYS Route 366, Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No. 61-1 -8.2 and City of Ithaca Tax Parcel No. 31.- 1 -1.2, Residence District R -30. The proposal includes the removal of the existing barn, development of a seasonal pedestrian trail, construction of a permanent paved 149 -space parking lot, landscaping, and site lighting. Cornell University, Owner /Applicant; Kimberly Martinson and Kathryn Wolf, Agents. Chairperson Wilcox opened this segment of the meeting at 9:17 p.m. Chairperson Wilcox - I attended the grand opening of North Campus buildings this afternoon. The residential buildings are beautiful. They are still doing the landscaping. Kathryn Wolf, Trowbridge and Wolf Architects - This project is a join undertaking between the Cornell Plantations and the Cornell Department of Transportation. Mr. Rakow will be describing the landscape rehabilitation plan that was developed by the Plantations for the project. Ms. Martinson did most of the site engineering. This is sketch plan review. We will give a brief overview of the project and would like to get the board's feedback in preparation for submitting preliminary site plan approval. Ms. Wolf presented an aerial photograph from 1934 to the board. The site is going to be bounded to the north by Cascadilla Creek and Route 366 to the South. To the east is the entrance drive to the parking for Wilson Lab. Most of the area west of the entrance drive is in the City of Ithaca. The 21 APPROVED - APPROVED - SEPTEMBER 18, 2001 - APPROVED - APPROVED balance of the project is in the City of Ithaca. The existing gravel parking area occupies what was predominately formerly the footprint of the Polo Arena. The storage shed actually had been an addition to the back of the arena. There has been fill on the site over the years. There is a lot of compacted earth. It is a fairly disturbed area. The Town approved the current use of the site for ten for a period of 5 years. An extension was granted on December of this year. We are coming before the permanent solution. Good planning always requires updating current conditions. Cornell did not anticipate this use. The demand for this has not gone away. change. iporary parking. It was initially granted in 1990 that in 1996. The extension will be expiring in board with a new proposal for the site for a re- evaluation and re- assessment of plans and 5 or 10 years ago the magnitude of demand for It is greater now. They do not anticipate it to The plan really achieves a lot of the green space and open space objectives that were sought by the prior board. It also allows the University to maintain its parking. Another important part of the project is the development of a seasonal trail on the site. It will provide a connection to the East Ithaca Recreation Way, Shirley Egan, Cornell University - When Cornell first started looking into this they were aware of the prior history of this. One of the features of approval was that at the end of the period of time, Cornell would restore the area and make it a managed green space for this. They asked me what that meant. I looked into the history of the hearings, the prior resolutions and the law. I advised them that it meant had we not come in, then once the date fell, and we would be bound by the terms of the resolution to do exactly what the condition said. This is no different from someone coming in with a site plan modification or change. A prior board cannot tell a subsequent board what they have to do or what they cannot do. Each application is viewed on its own merits within the four - corners of that application at the time that it is given. We did go through that record. We made this a joint project with the Plantations. We are meeting the needs of the prior Planning Board and the needs of the University. Ms. Wolf - The footprint of the proposed parking lot is somewhat smaller than the existing footprint of the gravel parking lot because it is paved and striped. The shed will be removed from the site. The existing use is for 134 parking spaces. The proposed is for 149 parking spaces. There is an addition of 15 spaces, but this is achieved in a smaller footprint. The building made it an inefficient use of the lot. The lot currently sheets drains to Cascadilla Creek. Water quality should be improved as a result of the project. There are a series of dry, bio- retention swales at the new lot. The lot will sheet drain into the bio- retention swales. There are check stands between the individual swales so that during a large storm there is pre- treatment and sediment unloading before it drains into the creek. Almost all of the on site vegetation is retained. There is extensive buffering along the creek. Don Rakow, Director of Cornell Plantations - Ms. Wolf used the word "rehabilitation" of this site. I think it is very important to start by pointing out that as you can see from the aerial photograph, what we are "rehabilitating" has in fact not been a virgin site for a very long time. In fact, in the packet it describes in the narrative that as early as the 1910's the Calvary was using this site for various 22 APPROVED - APPROVED - SEPTEMBER 18, 2001 - APPROVED - APPROVED maneuvers. I prefer to think of it as site enhancement, relative to the appearance of the site as it is currently. We are hardly restoring the forest prime evil here. I do feel that the objections of the project are very worthwhile ones. That is in fact why Cornell Plantations has become involved. We are not going to be parking any cars in the new spaces, so we had to have other motivations for becoming involved in this project. The soil on the site is very heavily compacted and of a very poor quality. The first step in the site enhancement will be to scarify the subsoil to improve the aeration. Before that we would also remove much of the non - native, invasive vegetation by both chemical and hand means. Once most of the invasive vegetation is gone and the quality of the subsoil was somewhat improved, we would then have very large quantities of an improved, more aerated top soil brought in so that the conditions for growth of trees and shrubs could be made more favorable. The next step would be to bring in approximately 160 native shrubs and about 100 native trees. They would be placed in clusters around the site. We feel the clustering most closely resembles the type of vegetation that was found on the north side of the creek back before site development. In addition to the planting of the bare root trees and shrubs, we would also have planted a meadow mix of primarily native species so that in the large areas of meadow between the clusters of trees and shrubs, these meadow plants would establish and would act to hold in the soil to prevent erosion. Finally, there would be the construction of a crush stone pathway through the site. The pathway would connect on the west end to the existing sidewalk and the east end would connect at the Wilson Drive and Route 366 intersection. The east end of the pathway is somewhat unresolved until the NYSDOT resolves how it will reconstruct the Route 366 bridge. The shrubs would be planted towards the west end in such a way that they would allow corridors to the more attractive and interesting areas across the creek. It will be planted more densely to the further eastern portions of the pathway to obscure Wilson Lab. There would be a more diverse pallet of primarily native vegetation. We feel that this should attract more wildlife to the site. It should also make the site more interesting and more valuable for educational purposes, even with the channeling of the creek. There are classes in stream ecology and in wildlife ecology that do use the site. We feel that their use of the site as well as other academic uses would certainly be enhanced by this. We feel that this would become a more attractive site. Perhaps more importantly to residents of the Town and members of the Cornell community, this pathway would provide a very important linkage that is currently missing. Pedestrians or joggers wishing to go along this corridor are forced to go along the road or try to follow a very difficult pathway. For all of these reasons we feel that this project is a very worthwhile one. We hope that as the project makes it way through the review process, the members of the Planning Board will be able to offer suggestions for how the project may be developed. Board Member Hoffmann - This site is located in a Unique Natural Area (UNA). Ms. Wolf - A portion of the site is located in a UNA. It is predominately the portion that we are proposing to restore. The parking lot is not in the UNA. Board Member Hoffmann - It is something that has always been a problem for me. It is classified as a UNA even though it has been disturbed. Ms. Wolf - This will make the area more qualified for its designation. 23 APPROVED - APPROVED - SEPTEMBER 18, 2001 - APPROVED - APPROVED Board Member Hoffmann - I was a member of the Town of Ithaca Cornell Transportation Committee. I am concerned about the two endings of the proposed trail. What are they connecting to? How do they allow people to go to work or other places on campus? One of the things that we talked about on the committee was trying to achieve a way for people to get to campus on foot or by bicycle. I do not see that this trail does anything but allow for a recreational path. How would you get to central campus from this path? One would have to get out onto the road. Ms. Wolf - There is a sidewalk that would allow someone to get to central campus. Mr. Rakow - The sidewalk connects to a staircase, which leads up to the Kite Hill parking lot. Board Member Hoffmann - I know about that route, but it would be hard for a bicyclist to take that route. I do not think it is a good way of connecting that path to the trail or to East Hill Plaza and other areas. Mr. Rakow - I share that concern. I feel that putting a path in that does not have truly effective connections is of very little value. At the east end, it would connect to two trails. Assuming the arm is built, which goes out to Route 366, the pedestrian or jogger would cross Route 366. Then there would need to be one small additional piece developed to the south of Route 366 to connect to the East Ithaca Recreation Way. It would connect to the arm of the East Ithaca Recreation Way that was on the other side of Pine Tree Road. These connections would need to be made. I see these as essential components to complete this pathway. Mr. Kanter - Part of the Route 366 bridge project that we are working with the State on has a component that includes a pedestrian /bicycle bridge crossing separate from the vehicular bridge. It would then go up the hill on the former Judd Falls Road right -of -way that would connect up to campus. It would be primarily where bicyclist travels. It would be a very important link. Board Member Hoffmann - I do not know who wrote "The Project Narrative for Oxley Site Development, August 10,2001", It does not indicate what office it came from or the position of the person who wrote it. It is probably okay for its purpose today, but the final document should have that information. It talks about the lot being used now and in the future for workers who go to different work sites on campus. I would like to know how they get to those work sites from here now. What is their route to central campus? Ms. Wolf - It would depend on where they are going. The immediate anticipated use coming up is Duffield Hall. It is anticipated that they would walk along Route 366 to the site. Board Member Hoffmann - What about sites further to the east? Would it be possible to create a more convenient way for people to walk rather than have to go to the west? Ms. Wolf - In the foreseeable future, it is anticipated that this lot would be used for projects on central campus. If there were projects under construction further east, then we would look at other lots. In general, this is considered the eastern most lot for central campus. It is anticipated that most people would either enter along Hoy Road or up the staircase. There have not been discussions about uses ldl APPROVED - APPROVED - SEPTEMBER 18, 2001 - APPROVED - APPROVED that might actually be further east. The focus has definitely been the demand is central campus and that is where parking is not available. It tends to be the predominant direction for pedestrian flow. Board Member Hoffmann -There is a project coming up fairly soon, just north of the Kite Hill area by the playing fields. In general, it would be nice to have a connection directed to the north of this parking lot someway across the creek. Ms. Wolf - I have made a note of it and we will discuss it. Board Member Hoffmann - The text in the packet talks about it being necessary to use herbicides to clean up the species of plants that are not desirable to keep. How will the creek be protected from possible leakage of herbicides into the water? Mr. Rakow - The only herbicide that will be used is Glyposate Round -up. It has a very short, half -life in soils. It lasts usually a few days at most. It also has very little ability to migrate horizontally in the soils. The reason why Round -up would be used is that the vegetation that has established itself on the site is primarily Crown vetch and Tick tree foil. They are two non - natives, invasive species that literally cannot be eradicated by hand removal, tilling or plowing. They are very persistent legumes that if you trim them under, it causes them to proliferate. The Round -up would not be used anywhere adjacent to the creek. We feel that there would be very low potential for migration of that Round -up to the area adjacent to the creek. Board Member Hoffmann - My sister works at the Swedish equivalent to the Environmental Protection Agency. There was some news in Sweden the last time I was there about Round -up having problems more than one realizes. I have not read about it in this country yet. Mr. Rakow - One condition that I am aware of it that in very organic soils the persistence is considerably longer. Having done test borings on this site, we know that this is definitely not an organic soil. We do not think that particular problem would be present on the site. Cornell Plantations prescribes to a very aggressive pest integrated pest management program. We would not recommend or be party to the use of a chemical pesticide that we felt was injurious to the environment. Board Member Hoffmann - The schedule indicates that there are no definite construction plans in place for the restoration of the east end of the trail. Does that mean that the meadow parts and plantings of the east end of the project will not be touched until the bridge project is complete? Ms. Wolf - The intention is that as much of the landscape rehabilitation could be done up to some point to be determined. DOT has expressed using the far end as a staging area. That portion would be post - poned. Possibly we could make them come in and finish that portion of the site according to the plan. It is unclear at this point in time. Board Member Conneman - How will the workers get from the parking lot to Duffield Hall? The document made a big deal about half an hour a day. Will it not take them a half an hour a day to walk from the site to Duffield Hall and back? 25 APPROVED - APPROVED - SEPTEMBER 18, 2001 - APPROVED - APPROVED Ms. Wolf - It is probably about a 10 minute walk to Duffield Hall. Board Member Conneman - It will be 20 minutes a day instead of 30 minutes. It still costs you something to get there. Ms. Wolf - It will cost you something unless you can park them right next to the site. Ms. Egan - When I worked at Day Hall, it took me 9 minutes to get from Day Hall to Humphrey Service Building. I walked along the Hoy Road walk. I think we are talking about fairly shorts amounts of time. You can actually access the Duffield Hall site from between the 2 buildings on Hoy Road. I see this as a 5 minute walk at most. I have timed almost every route on campus because walk it myself all the time. I do not think we are talking about big losses of time from employees. It is what we have to do. Employees are still going to park someplace and we are still going to have to pay them from wherever they park. At least we can get it as close as possible. Board Member Conneman - Is the parking lot going to be used as a staging area as well as a parking lot? Ms. Wolf - No. The intent is for it to be a parking lot. The permanent solution would exclude those activities that have gone on here. Those uses would be removed from the site. Currently they use the shed for pipe storage and construction material storage. The shed will be removed. Those materials will be moved off site. The use will no longer occur here. The intent is to make much more visually attractive. The intention is to do as much of the landscape rehabilitation as possible, pending the resolution of the DOT on the eastern end. The landscape restoration work could occur in advance of the parking. The parking would not be paved until such time the peak demand for Duffield Hall was no longer occupying the site. Board Member Talty - I was at the site today. I think it is wonder project. I was kind of appalled because I had never been back in that area. I have more of an issue with where the items are going to go that are there now. Besides the building, there are various building supplies that have been on the site a long time. There are also storage containers back there. It is secluded. I am worried about it being transplanted elsewhere, where it is more visual. Where is the stuff going? Ms. Wolf - It is being consolidated in the shops area. Kim Martinson, Cornell University - We are building a new shops building on Palm Road. There is a warehouse with a large storage yard. The Pipe Shop stores some of the materials there now, but they prefer this site. They have been asked to move all the materials to the Palm Road site. Chairperson Wilcox - It is part of Precinct 9. We recently approved the new building. There is brick, pipe and old artificial turf stored there. It is a fill site. Board Member Talty - Currently, is there any machinery that goes onto that location? Are there any staging areas for the machinery? 26 APPROVED - APPROVED - SEPTEMBER 18, 2001 - APPROVED - APPROVED Ms. Wolf - We cannot say that there has never been any machinery there, but I believe there have been trailers with materials stored in them. The primary use has been construction workers. Board Member Talty - The type of materials that I saw on the site today had to have been brought in by some type of large vehicle. If that is the case, then if it is going to be continued to be used, the larger type vehicles will not be able to get in with the proposed layout. Ms. Wolf - Cornell is not going to want that type of material that will damage the paving. Ms. Martinson - The first step in the process will be to remove the storage shed and the piping material. All storage will be removed from the site. It adds more parking ability for the Duffield project, but it is the first step towards helping with the landscape restoration. Mr. Kanter - In the board's recommendation on Special Approval, you could recommend that a condition restricting those types of storage use in the lot. Chairperson Wilcox - It occurred to me that we are all aware of the issues with the temporary trailers on the other side. Then we have this temporary parking lot. It was granted for 5 years and then extended for 5 years more. What do we need to do to get this temporary parking lot a permanent parking lot? The answer was to pave the existing gravel parking lot and landscape the other part of the parcel. I am happy to see Plantations come on board to do something with the other 60% of the site. I do like what I see. I like the landscaping. I do not necessarily like the parking lot next to the creek. I do not necessarily like the parking lot from the other side of the creek that we just extended. We might be able to put a footbridge from this parking lot across the creek the Wilson Lab. We can solve Wilson Lab's parking problem. There was a footbridge there before during the construction of the Synchrotron addition. Is there anything else you are looking for from this board tonight? Ms. Wolf - I think that we are hearing a green light to make our application for Preliminary Site Plan approval. That is what we will do now. We will discuss your comments. The University absolutely wants the parking lot as a permanent parking lot. They do not want to keep coming back for extensions. It is clear to them that there is great demand for this lot in this location. They are absolutely committed to building the parking lot. Chairperson Wilcox - Is the same drainage system being used as was used at Wilson Lab? Ms. Wolf - There are'similarities in terms of bio- retention infiltration. Chairperson Wilcox - There were some issues with the system on the other side about making sure it was cleaned. Ms. Ritter - There are maintenance issues with this type of system. We would be looking for how they are going to maintain the system when we get those kind of details in. 27 APPROVED - APPROVED - SEPTEMBER 18, 2001 - APPROVED - APPROVED Ms. Wolf - It is true that over time the bio- retention swales need to be cleaned out. They need to be maintained. Chairperson Wilcox - What is the sunset provision for an approval? They do not want to put the parking lot in until 2004. Attorney Barney - It can be part of preliminary approval in terms of what the timeframe is. Chairperson Wilcox closed this segment of the meeting at 10:08 p.m. AGENDA ITEM: OTHER BUSINESS. Chairperson Wilcox - Do we know when Steeples Glen is coming before the board? Mr. Kanter - We are not sure. We have not received any plans. Chairperson Wilcox - We have discussed training sessions over the past couple of weeks. I hope that the Town has heard from those who would like to attend. Mr. Kanter - We have not heard from anyone. Board Member Talty - I cannot attend the NYS Planning Federation, but I can attend the training in Ithaca. Mr. Kanter - Board Member Mitrano has indicated that she was interested, but we have not heard from her. If, Board Member Mitrano were interested, it would leave open one more space available for a board member. Board Member Hoffmann - I am interested in attending. Chairperson Wilcox - I would like to attend if Board Member Mitrano does not attend. Mr. Walker - The County has been working on the Public Safety Communications Program. This is the 911 Call Center and the Emergency Operations Center. It would house the dispatch center, fire patrol, and emergency management. This site was one of about 5 or 6 that were looked at over the past year. This includes a few sites next to the airport and Dryden. This site has some distinct advantages. One is that there is an existing fire station with facilities that can be shared. We can minimize new construction. There is a tower on the top of the mountain that belongs to Ithaca College. It is one of the best transmission points in the County. It can reach more points in the County than any other tower site in the County as an existing tower. There is a direct line of sight between this building and that tower. It is only a matter of 1,000 feet. It is a good site as far as emergency communication. If all the other towers went down, they could still reach a lot of people in the County from this one site. It is also close to the center of the City. In a major disaster this would become the emergency operations center where the policy makers would be brought in. I am brining this as an introduction to the board. The one sketch rendering we have shows the existing fire station on the right hand side. The equipment bay would serve as the emergency operations center for APPROVED - APPROVED - SEPTEMBER 18, 2001 - APPROVED - APPROVED bringing people together and working. During an emergency the trucks would not be in the bay. The commercial kitchen in the fire station could feed 50 to 100 people without a lot of trouble. The new building starts just to the left of the equipment bay. There is a repair bay. There is parking underneath the building for staff that is going to be working in the operations center. There is storage space under the building for emergency equipment. The first and second floors would house the offices. The top floor would have the actual dispatch area. It is a high security area with limited access. It is emergency operations. This center will function 24 hours per day. There will be emergency generators so that it will be self- sustained. The other sketch shows the footprint of the existing fire station and then the footprint of the proposed building. The proposed building will be about 14,000 square feet of office space and shop space. It does require zoning variances. The height of the building will exceed 34 feet. It is probably about 46 feet from the ground to the highest point. There is also a space limitation that would be within 10 feet of the rear property line. I do not have all the documentation of how this will fit into the area. Directly behind this site is the Ceracci Center and the stadium for Ithaca College. It is not a real natural area anymore. There is a natural stepping as you go up the hill. I wanted to introduce this to the board so that you could be thinking of questions. This is a combined project with the County as the agency that sponsors the project. The Town and City are both involved because the Town owns the site and we share the operational cost and part ownership of the fire station with the City. The City Fire Department is intimately involved with the project as well. It is a good joint use of the space. Ithaca College is involved because they originally gave the space to the Town for the fire station. When they gave that space there was a condition in the deed that they get to approve any changes. Parking is going to be a questi emergency there would be other is an emergency, other spaces shows additional parking on the field. on. The day to day parking is not much of a problem, but in an people coming into the site. Due to the nature of the facility, if there at Ithaca College are going to be made available. The site plan Ithaca College property. It would be jointly shared with the baseball Chairperson Wilcox - Is the tower existing? Mr. Walker - Yes. It is in need of repair. We are working with Ithaca College on a Memorandum of Understanding to use some of their facilities. They are already allowing the antenna on top of the High Rise buildings to be used at the existing dispatch center. This is one part of the big communications project. We have convinced the County that it is important to keep the municipalities involved in the planning process. We have succeeded in breaking through that barrier on that phase of the project. I am on the building committee as an official representative. We cannot vote on money issues, but we can talk about site issues. Board Member Hoffmann - I am impressed to hear that there is parking under the building. Mr. Walker - They had to provide a driveway underneath the building to keep traffic moving through the site. Board Member Hoffmann - Why is the building so high? 29 APPROVED - APPROVED - SEPTEMBER 18, 2001 - APPROVED - APPROVED Mr. Walker - They needed 14,000 square feet for the program. I will be bringing more information as it comes in. They have a staff of about 14 permanent people at the site. The program has been very well thought out. A large part of the space is the vehicle service area. I will have a much more complete presentation as it is developed. This is the schematic phase. Any comments from the board on the use of the site for that purpose? The board responded that it was a good site. AGENDA ITEM: ADJOURNMENT: Upon MOTION, Chairperson Wilcox declared the August 21, 2001 meeting of Town of Ithaca Planning Board duly adjourned at 10:26 p.m. Respectfully submitted: Carrie Whitmore, Deputy Town Clerk/Deputy Receiver of Taxes 30