HomeMy WebLinkAboutPB Minutes 2004-07-20FILE
TOWN OF ITHACA PLANNING BOARD DATE
TUESDAY, JULY 205 2004
The Town of Ithaca Planning Board met in regular session on Tuesday, July 20, 2004, in
Town Hall, 215 North Tioga Street, Ithaca, New York, at 7:00 p.m.
PRESENT: Fred Wilcox, Chairperson; Eva Hoffmann, Board Member; George Conneman,
Board Member; Larry Thayer, Board Member; Jonathan Kanter, Director of Planning; John
Barney, Attorney for the Town; Creig Hebdon, Assistant Director of Planning; Mike Smith,
Environmental Planner:
EXCUSED: Rod Howe, Board Member; Kevin Talty, Board Member; Daniel Walker,
Director of Engineering; Susan Ritter, Assistant Director of Planning; Christine Balestra,
Planner.
OTHERS: Diane McPherson, 950 Coddington Rd; Marilyn Rivchin, 95.0 Coddington Rd;
Gale Smith, 930 Coddington Rd; Stephen Nicholson, 220 Yaple Rd; Patrick Leahy, 527
Highland Rd; Brian Martinson, 146 Troy Rd; David Herrick, TG Miller.
Chairperson Wilcox declared the meeting duly opened at 7:03 p.m., and accepted for the
record Secretary's Affidavit of Posting and Publication of the Notice of Public Hearings in
Town Hall and the Ithaca Journal on July 12, 2004 and July 14, 2004, 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 July 14, 2004.
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 7:04 p.m. With no persons
present to be heard, Chairperson Wilcox closed this segment of the meeting at 7:05 p.m.
AGENDA ITEM: SEQR: Young 5 -Lot Subdivision, Coddington Rd
Chairperson Wilcox opened this segment of the meeting at 7:05 p.m.
Patrick Leahy, 527 Highland Rd
Good evening. My name is Patrick Leahy, 527 Highland Rd in Ithaca and I'm the agent for
Mr. John Young of Triphammer Rd in Ithaca.
was at this Planning Board back in March at which time we did a sketch review,
you may recall, of a small five -lot subdivision that we proposed on Coddington Road. The
feedback was positive at the time so it encourages us to move forward, which we have
done over the last few months.
PLANNING BOARD MINUTES
JULY 20, 2004
APPROVED - JULY 27, 2004 - APPROVED
Let me just refresh your memory as to where this is. This is on Coddington Road
about 870 or 880 feet south of the intersection with Updike Road and it is our plan to
propose a five -lot subdivision of the 15 -acre parcel on that property. The back nine acres
of which you might see here on the map labeled parcels A, would be a donation to the
Coddington Road Community Center, which lies just adjacent to the property to the north.
We have talked with the Coddington Road Community Center about this donation. They
see some value in having this property, in particular, for their summer recreational
activities. We sent them a formal letter that provided we got permission to continue the
subdivision, we would go ahead and make the donation. They wrote back to us and said
they would gladly like to accept. The letter has been included in the materials that we
distributed. One thing that I would point out about that, I did contact the Assessment
Office because that question came up during our sketch review session and I showed
them the proposed subdivision and they foresee no reason why they can't consolidate
those two parcels into one, which the Community Center has agreed to do provided we
can proceed and it is going to be connected by a 25 -foot lot path that has been expanded
from 15 feet since our first get- together.
The front half of the property, if you will, the goal is to subdivide it into four individual
parcels, each about an acre and a quarter to an acre and three - quarters, which we would
make available for individual sale. We propose serving those four lots with a private
driveway, which you can see here on the map. Our hope there is that for there to be
residential home building on those lots that each of those lots would be .serviced from that
driveway, thus limiting the curb cuts to Coddington Road to just one.
Since we last got together, we have talked to a number of people. I would just like
to review one or two of those, if I may, just to tell you where we've been. We have
contacted the Health Department. They see this, John Andersson sees this as a four -lot
subdivision not a five -lot subdivision. Consequently, incidentally because of the
consolidation of course, consequently there is no special permitting that we need to do.
We just need to make sure that each of the individuals; again, were they to build a house
that they file permits for their own individual septic systems because there is no public
sewer there.
We did investigate pretty thoroughly whether those individuals would have problems
obtaining the permit and each of these lots meets their 30,000 square foot requirements,
half an acre useable land, 100 -foot diameter within the useable land and no particular set
backs from ponds or steams or rivers or anything. So we feel pretty comfortable that when
the time comes, we won't have problems with the Health Department.
We did contact the Highway Department about the private driveway and began the
process of filing a driveway permit with them. That prompted them to go out and check
site distance, which they've done and they've given us their clearance that they foresee no
problem with the prevailing speed limit. They also checked our culvert and the plans that
we had to put culverts in at the end of the private driveway and they are consistent with our
plans. So they seem to be okay with what we are proposing.
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PLANNING BOARD MINUTES
JULY 207 2004
APPROVED - JULY 27, 2004 - APPROVED
We talked with Chief Wilbur at the Fire Department and met some of his
requirements for the driveway. The turn around, as you can see here, enable the trucks to
turn around, a 20 -foot width and also a durability enough that his trucks can get by without
any problem. We did also talk about whether there would be additional hydrant necessary
and he said it would not given that this driveway is not more than 500 feet.
The utility, I won't get into the details, but you are probably aware there is municipal
water here. As I mentioned, there is no sewer. There's no gas, but there is electric, of
course there's telephone. We have talked with each of those service providers to ensure
that we could bring those services to these lots was it necessary.
We have also enlisted TG Miller to do a stormwater management analysis of this
project. The short of it, in our opinion, is their view that this subdivision will have nominal
impact, nominal additional runoff and will not impact the total watershed. But we do have
David Herrick from TG Miller here who might be able to answer some questions. My
guess is that they might come up.
So I guess that is just a quick overview. Our plan is to come to you with the hope
that we might get preliminary and final subdivision approval, at which case we would go to
the Zoning Board of Appeals because as you can see, parcels B and C require a variance
because it doesn't meet the minimum road frontage requirement. Is that okay?
Chairperson Wilcox — Good start. Questions of Mr. Leahy, or should we go right to David
Herrick? David. A little background for the members of the audience who are here, we
have a letter from the County signed by Ed Marx, Commissioner of Planning, which he
speaks to concerns about stormwater runoff and consistency with the Department of
Environmental Conservation's Phase II Stormwater Regulations. We have a response
from the Town of Ithaca Engineering Department indicating that there seems to be a
difference of opinion. We have a subsequent response from Joan Jurkowich, who is the
Deputy Commissioner of Planning, indicating that the County is standing by their original
concerns. So David, why don't you help us out?
David Herrick, TG Miller
David Herrick with TG Miller Engineers and Surveyors, 203 North Aurora Street. There
are certain conditions within the State's new Phase II SPDES permit that, in my opinion,
allow a municipality to exclude from the current Phase II permit process the design and
construction of permanent, on -site stormwater management practices for residential
projects of this scale. The development of the permit, I think, all across the State would
agree was hasty. There is a lot of uncertainty in the language. There is a lot of
misinterpretation across the State, even amongst DEC regions as to how the permit is to
be apply and some of the conditions, but I think that in this case it is quite clear that
residential projects that disturb between one and five acres in total of land and they have
to be residential projects, they can't be townhouses, apartments or commercial facilities,
that these residential projects are excluded from having to provide a permanent
stormwater management facilities. They are required to prepare an Erosion and Sediment
Control Plan, which is what we did complete for Mr. Young in our Stormwater Management
[c�
PLANNING BOARD MINUTES
JULY 20, 2004
APPROVED -JULY 27, 2004 -APPROVED
Study. In our . Stormwater Management objectives, we clearly stated up front that we
recognize this project as not having to comply with the permanent practices and I think that
triggered the response that you received from the County. It didn't take very long for me to
catch wind of this interpretation and inquire here at the Town what did the Town
understand of the conditions and I think research here concluded that the interpretation
that we presented to Mr. Young and to the Town was correct. It doesn't mean that the
interpretation has been resolved within the State Region here of DEC, but I'm sure that it
will be.
In the end, what we concluded with our pre and post development analysis was that
there is, as there should be, a slight increase in the stormwater runoff from particularly the
ten and 100 -year storm. events, but also recognize that the capacity of the culverts that are
in front of this project and pass beneath Coddington Road can accommodate easily the
25 -year design storm, which is what's recognized at the County as being a typical event
sized culverts. So that is what we found; concluded, presented and I think we are here,
I'm here because of this interpretation issue.
Chairperson Wilcox — The acreage of the four ... the total acreage of the four residential lots
is 5.75 acres. Would you hazard a guess as to how much of that would be disturbed as
part of the construction of four residences? I know I'm a little bit outside your area of
expertise, but would you hazard a guess?
Mr. Herrick — Well, I'm often on the other side of the table and have to look at these
requests that come in and I make generous allowances for septic system construction,
yard disturbance, foundation construction, driveway construction, I think the total
disturbance of this project would clearly be less than 2.5 acres.
Chairperson Wilcox — And the DEC limit that we are talking about is five?
Mr. Herrick — Correct.
Chairperson Wilcox — Ladies and gentlemen. Questions?
Board Member Conneman — Is there anybody here from the County Planning Department
who would like to say something to us? Those letters don't help me very much.
Chairperson Wilcox — Nobody here from the County.
Board Member Conneman — Well, if they want to do something they should come, in my
opinion.
Chairperson Wilcox — The affect of those letters at this point is to require a super- majority
of this board, which would be 5 of 7. And, should this receive approval from this board
when they go to the Zoning Board having required a super- majority there, which would be
4 out of 5 unless the County should alter their opinion.
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PLANNING BOARD MINUTES
JULY 207 2004
APPROVED - JULY 27, 2004 - APPROVED
Board Member Conneman — I think Dan's letter was pretty straightforward and very well
written. You can tell him that, Creig.
Chairperson Wilcox — Absolutely.
Board Member Conneman — I thought he was right on target. I was surprised at these
other follow -ups from the County.
Mr. Herrick — I do feel the need to point out something in the most recent letter that
included my name perhaps inferring somehow that I was responsible for this determination
and I would tell you that are not correct, and maybe this doesn't infer that, but that's kind of
how I read it. My inclusion in the second paragraph that I somehow agreed to or
persuaded the County to take this position and quite to the contrary I tried to point out
those sections of the DEC's manual and information that supported my original
presentation.
Board Member Conneman — So you would delete the sentence that says the project
engineer, David Herrick, has resulted in the determination that the developer would need
to comply, right? Because you didn't do that. You didn't say that.
Mr. Herrick — Well, the project does need to comply with DEC's Phase II Stormwater regs
and it does to the extent that it has completed the erosion and sediment control plan and
would file a Notice of Intent, but not that permanent practices are required.
Board Member Conneman — Okay. Thank you.
Chairperson Wilcox — Questions with regard to the environmental review? Members of the
public, would anybody like to address the board this evening? You will get a chance to
speak at the public hearing with regard to subdivision. Would somebody like to address
the board specifically to any environmental concerns?
Steve Nicholson, 220 Yaple Rd
My Name is Steven Nicholson and I'm the Chair of
Management Council, but I would like to add that
because I'm on the Board of Directors at the Coddir
really here to talk about that, but I would like to talk
issues since you have given me the chance.
the Tompkins County Environmental
the reason that I am here tonight is
igton Road Community Center so I'm
a little bit about some environmental
First of all, I don't know anything about Ed Marx's letter to the planning ... I wish I had
known ahead of time or I would have done more homework. The Phase II Stormwater
Management plan, its fine to say that only 2.5 acres are going to be disturbed. I think it is
highly dependent on what the property owner has in mind for his land or her land. I don't
know how many of you are familiar with the site, its what I would call heavily wooded. If
anyone wants a lawn or wants total lawn that would mean the entire site will be disturbed.
If someone wants to live in the woods, conceivably only 2.5 acres would be disturbed.
5
PLANNING BOARD MINUTES
JULY 20, 2004
APPROVED - JULY 27, 2004 -APPROVED
Getting more to Coddington Road property, the Community Center ... I see the link
the has been increased to 20 feet.
Chairperson Wilcox — Actually, 25.
Mr. Nicholson — Oh, it said 20 on that.
Chairperson Wilcox — The paper said 20, but its actually 25 and I apologize. I said 20 to
Roger, but 25 feet is now the width of that little piece that will allow the connection between
those two parcels.
Mr. Nicholson — Once concern that I have is that this section here is the baseball field and
you can see the 25 -foot setback comes just back here to the corner. Actually, the field
probably ends right about at this line. It would be, and I would talk to this later from the
Board of Director's point of view, but this 25 -foot stretch, if this was continued all the way
down to the road that would guarantee that the atmosphere at the ball field, which is now a
field surrounded by woods would remain. My concern is that if the owner of Parcel D
decides to cut down every tree, then that house will be visible from the baseball field.
That's all I have to say as long as I get to talk later.
Chairperson Wilcox — Yes, you do. Absolutely.
Gale Smith, 930 Coddington Rd
I'm Gale Smith. I live at 930 Coddington; the property adjacent to this. I'm not aware of all
the details of the plan, but I am concerned about hearing that there is no concern about
runoff. As far as I know, the only culvert under Coddington Road is right in front of my
property and in a major storm now it is hardly able to deal with runoff. I think there is
reason to be concerned about what is to be done about that.
Chairperson Wilcox — Anybody else? Gale, you and I met many, many years ago. I think
there is concern about the runoff and I think that is why David Herrick and TG Miller was
hired to do the stormwater analysis and in the papers that we've been provided and
David's statement, the culverts there are sufficient to handle a 25 -year storm. If you can
provide something more than I'm concerned about it, I want to hear,you, but David has
provided the analysis that shows they are sufficient to handle the 25 -year storm. Now
maybe in the last couple of years or five or ten years we've had a ... didn't we have a 50 or
100 year storm about 2 years ago? David, I'm looking at ya. Certainly up on South Hill.
Mr. Herrick — Depending on where you lived.
Chairperson Wilcox — Yeah, you're right. Depending on where you lived, which caused
significant damage in some areas. So that is my response to that right there. Anything
else with regard to...
Board Member Thayer — Do we have any control over the trees as far as who cuts down
what on individual lots? We don't, do we?
N
PLANNING BOARD MINUTES
JULY 207 2004
APPROVED - JULY 27, 2004 - APPROVED
Chairperson Wilcox — Mr. Barney is shaking his head no.
Attorney Barney — I suppose if you wanted to impose some well- crafted conditions, I'm not
quite sure how quickly we could craft them so well. In the subdivision process to preserve
them, you might be able to ... (inaudible) ... there are regulations ... (inaudible)...
Board Member Hoffmann — Couldn't we ask for a buffer between the school property and
these lots?
Board Member Thayer — Maintain a 50 -foot amount of trees.
Mr. Kanter — I think as an environmental issue, you do look at community recreational
resources and if there is a concern that such a resource could be impacted by if trees were
that that could be a link as far as the environmental review to say that in the subdivision
you would like to see a buffer of trees preserved, but I would say that I'm not quite sure.
Chairperson Wilcox — There is on the plat shown a 40 foot setback from the...
Board Member Thayer — I would think that was sufficient for a buffer.
Chairperson Wilcox — Yeah, its interesting. One would expect ... I could understand... is
there someone from the Coddington Road Community Center here? We are assuming the
expectation that they would like to be screened from any residences, but I would also think
that the residences would want to be screened from ... the fact that we sit here and say we
think that they want to be doesn't control that. It would be possible I think to potentially put
some restrictions on activity within the 40 -foot buffer to what is described as the north end
of the property..
Mr. Smith — I would just mention that you do have a letter in your packet from the
Coddington Road Community Center from the President and at that point they didn't
mention anything about that.
Chairperson Wilcox — No and in fact we don't have anything from them other than thank
you very much, we'll gladly accept the land.
Mr. Smith — Well, they do mention about the width of that strip, which...
Chairperson Wilcox — And asking that it be increased to 25.
Board Member Hoffmann — But in this case, there are two different uses. There's
residential and there is and I don't know what you would call the community center. A
school use?
Board Member Thayer — Recreational.
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PLANNING BOARD MINUTES
JULY 205 2004
APPROVED - JULY 27, 2004 - APPROVED
Chairperson Wilcox — Yeah, in this particular, its recreational in that area.
Board Member Hoffmann — And we do very often require buffers, actually, between certain
other uses and residential uses so it doesn't seem to me to be very far fetched to request
that trees be left in that area as a buffer.
Chairperson Wilcox — Mr. Barney, any comments?
Board Member Hoffmann - And maybe it shouldn't only be along that boundary, which is
the northerly boundary, but also along the western boundary to the parcel that is being
donated to the community center in back of parcels B and C.
Mr. Kanter — The only thing about that area is that is where the NYSEG power line
easement goes and that's pretty much what it is.
Attorney Barney — Plus they have to cut trees to keep the lines...
Board Member Hoffmann — But I'm talking about on parcel B and C having the tree buffer
that would be to protect the people who live there. Actually again I think, like you said Fred
that they would want to keep the trees there.
Chairperson Wilcox — Mr. Barney?
Attorney Barney — Well the buffers that we normally have are between residential and
commercial or residential and industrial. They are not between residential and what is
otherwise what I think is zoned residential. So first we would be setting up a situation
putting a buffer where I'm not sure that ... (inaudible) ... that we have the authority
to... (inaudible)
Mr. Kanter —That 3 S.11
Chairperson Wilcox —Say that again. You must have some basis in the law...
Attorney Barney— You basically have to have some reason. I guess Jon is right. You
could say there is an environmental consequence of not having it there then you might be
able to hang your hat on that. It is a little bit iffy because your law does not require a buffer
between residences and neighboring residential uses.
Board Member Hoffmann — But couldn't we do what we have talked about doing in the
past and request that the developers...
Attorney Barney — That's fine.
Board Member.Hoffmann - ...have agreed to do this because it would seem to me to be in
the developer's interest to have lots that have desirable to people who want to buy them
and build on them.
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PLANNING BOARD MINUTES
JULY 2012004
APPROVED - JULY 27, 2004 -APPROVED
Chairperson Wilcox — Yeah, in this particular, its recreational in that area
Board Member Hoffmann — And we do very often require buffers, actually, between certain
other uses and residential uses so it doesn't seem to me to be very far fetched to request
that trees be left in that area as a buffer.
Chairperson Wilcox — Mr. Barney, any comments?
Board Member Hoffmann - And maybe it shouldn't only be along that boundary, which is
the northerly boundary, but also along the western boundary to the parcel that is being
donated to the community center in back of parcels B and C.
Mr. Kanter — The only thing about that area is that is where the NYSEG power line
easement goes and that's pretty much what it is. I
.
Attorney Barney — Plus they have to cut.trees to keep the lines...
Board Member Hoffmann — But I'm talking about on parcel B and C having the tree buffer
that would be to protect the people who live there. Actually again I think, like you said Fred
that they would want to keep the trees there.
Chairperson Wilcox — Mr. Barney?
Attorney Barney — Well the buffers that we normally have are between residential and
commercial or residential and industrial. They are not between residential and what is
otherwise what I think is zoned residential. So first we would be setting up a situation
putting a buffer where I'm not sure that ... (inaudible) ... that we have the authority
to ... (inaudible)
Mr. Kanter —That's...
Chairperson Wilcox — Say that again. You must have some basis in the law...
Attorney Barney — You basically have to have some reason. I guess Jon is right. You
could say there is an environmental consequence of not having it there then you might be
able to hang your hat on that. It is a little bit iffy because your law does not require a buffer
between residences and neighboring residential uses.
Board Member Hoffmann — But couldn't we do what we have talked about doing in the
past and request that the developers... ,
Attorney Barney — That's fine.
Board Member Hoffmann - ...have agreed to do this because it would seem to me to be in
the developer's interest to have lots that have desirable to people who want to buy them
and build on them.
l7
PLANNING BOARD MINUTES
JULY 20, 2004
APPROVED - JULY 27, 2004 -APPROVED
Chairperson Wilcox — We can request. That is easy to do.
Attorney Barney — I'm a little bit more troubled with that.
Chairperson Wilcox — In terms of making an appropriate determination as to why...
Attorney Barney — The other question that I have is how to define the buffer. Is it forever
while no cutting or say you can cut diseased trees. That's why I said getting into the
crafting of it because these people who own the lots are presumably going to put homes
on it and they will want to, I assume, determine how much trees are left and how much are
not. The question in my mind moving quite clearly from legal to policy is how much control
this board wants to put on each of these individual lots. The homeowner bought and paid
for it and is paying taxes on it.
Chairperson Wilcox — Thank you, John.
Board Member Conneman — It seems to me if the developer wishes to have the project
approved, he might be willing to do it.
Board Member Mitrano — And what is that?
Board Member Conneman — Establish the buffer. We are reasonable people here.
Board Member Mitrano — I am in favor of the.:. restrictions on each of the lots.
Chairperson Wilcox - B and D are the only ones I think we are concerned about because
they border the school. I'm not sure it's appropriate to call it a school, but it certainly
borders the institution.
Mr. Kanter — I should remind you that the field is operated and maintained by the Town of
Ithaca under a License Agreement or Lease... something with the Community Center. So
it really is a public recreational facility, a Town facility at that.
Board Member Mitrano — Do many of the trees exist on that side or are they all in this
habitably owned zone.
Chairperson Wilcox — I don't know.
Mr. Kanter — Its probably pretty close up to the border.
Chairperson Wilcox — I would guess the tree line is pretty close to the property line.
Mr. Smith — You can see from the aerial photograph that is in the packet just where the ball
field is with the actual tax parcel lines on it aren't exact to show where the tree line.
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PLANNING BOARD MINUTES
JULY 20, 2004
APPROVED - JULY27, 2004 - APPROVED
Board Member Thayer — There are only a few trees along their boundary.
Board Member Hoffmann — If that boundary is put in the correct place.
Chairperson Wilcox — Mr. Barney, with the County's correspondence, we need a super -
majority vote. Does that apply to all votes that we take?
Attorney Barney — No. Just the approval.
Chairperson Wilcox — Okay. Thanks. It doesn't apply to the SEAR. What is this board
sort of feeling? Buffers are great when residential lots are against Unique Natural Areas or
other features that have been identified and delineated. In this particular case, I think I'm
sort of with Mr. Barney. How much do we want to control this whether 20 or 25 or 30 or
40 -foot buffet area and there is a required setback, obviously, from the lot line in which the
house can be build? Yes the residents could clear cut and butcher the...
Board Member Thayer — I guess I sort of feel that a homeowner should do his own
buffering. If he doesn't want to border a ball field...
Chairperson Wilcox — And actually, there is a lot of room given where the diamond is
located and the age of the children that play here. It's a good shot to get a baseball or
softball into the woods. We really need to nail this down when we get to the actual review
of the subdivision that has been proposed.
Board Member Hoffmann — I think putting some request in to have that buffer there would
be one way of making sure there is some vegetation that will absorb runoff as well. It is a
visual barrier as well as a way of preventing too much runoff getting onto the road, which is
what the County is worried about. So that to me would be an additional reason to try to get
something in there.
Board Member Conneman — So you are saying we should handle it not only in the
SEAR...
Chairperson Wilcox — What I'm saying is if you think the view and actually what we are
talking about is the view and whether it is the view of the homeowners at B and D of the
community center or it's the community center view of the homes. If you think that is a
significant and sufficient environmental concern that hasn't been made yet, then you can
continue to discuss it ... and we can either try to mitigate it if we think it is a significant
concern or we may determine that it is significant and not mitigate it and move on
appropriately. In my personal opinion, it is not a significant environmental issue.
Board Member Conneman — (inaudible).
Chairperson Wilcox — There could be a homeowner, frankly, who would love to look out
and see the kids play. That is entirely possible. Somebody could be very happy to look
out and see kids at the community center during the day or the boys and girls playing
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PLANNING BOARD MINUTES
JULY 20, 2004
APPROVED -JULY 27, 2004 -APPROVED
softball on the weekends. That's entirely possible. But the trees also provide a buffer from
noise, litter potentially, but that's not a big problem out there in my experience, run away
baseballs. That sort of stuff. The trees serve a purpose.
Board Member Hoffmann — If .the Town maintains the park I would hope there isn't any
litter to worry about.
Chairperson Wilcox — I mention litter only because when you have lots of people in an
area, but in my experience there hasn't been a problem.
Board Member Thayer— I'll move the SEAR.
Board Member Conneman — I second.
PB RESOLUTION NO. 2004 -072: SEAR, Preliminary and Final Subdivision Approval,
Young Five -Lot Subdivision, 922 -928 Coddington Rd, Tax Parcel No. 47.44
MOTION made by Larry Thayer, seconded by George Conneman.
WHEREAS.
1. This action is consideration of Preliminary and Final Subdivision Approval for the
proposed 5 -lot subdivision located on Coddington Road approximately 870 feet
south of Updike Road, Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No. 47-1 -4, Low Density
Residential zone (former Residence District R -30). The proposal involves
subdividing the 14.8 +/- are parcel into four residential building lots along
Coddington Road and on 9 +/- acre lot which would be donated to the Coddington
Road Community Center for their recreational activities. John F. Young, Owner;
Patrick Leahy, Applicant.
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 July 20, 2004, has reviewed and accepted as adequate a
Short Environmental Assessment Form Part I, submitted by the applicant, and Part
Il prepared by the Town Planning staff, a survey entitled "Subdivision Map Showing
Lands of John Young" dated 1012012003, by Allen T. Fulkerson, L.S., and plans
titled "Erosion and Sediment Control" and "Watershed Map" dated 6118104,
Prepared by T.G. Miller, P.C. and other application materials, and
4. The Town planning staff has recommended a negative determination of
environmental significance with respect to the proposed Subdivision Approval,
NO W. THEREFORE, BE IT RESOL VED:
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PLANNING BOARD MINUTES
JULY 20, 2004
APPROVED -JULY 27, 2004 -APPROVED
softball on the weekends. That's entirely possible. But the trees also provide a buffer from
noise, litter potentially, but that's not a big problem out there in my experience, run away
baseballs. That sort of stuff. The trees serve a purpose.
Board Member Hoffmann — If the Town maintains the park I would hope there isn't any
litter to worry about.
Chairperson Wilcox — I mention litter only because when you have lots of people in an
area, but in my experience there hasn't been a problem.
Board Member Thayer — I'll move the SEQR.
Board Member Conneman - I second.
PB RESOLUTION NO. 2004 -072: SEQR, Preliminary and Final Subdivision Approval,
Young Five -Lot Subdivision, 922 -928 Coddington Rd, Tax Parcel No. 47.44
MOTION made by Larry Thayer, seconded by George Conneman.
WHEREAS:
1. This action is consideration of Preliminary and Final Subdivision Approval for the
proposed 5 -lot subdivision located on Coddington Road approximately 870 feet
south of Updike Road, Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No. 47-1 -4, Low Density
Residential zone (former Residence District R -30). The proposal involves
subdividing the 14.8 +/- are parcel into four residential building lots along
Coddington Road and on 9 +/- acre lot which would be donated to the Coddington
Road Community Center for their recreational activities. John F. Young, Owner;
Patrick Leahy, Applicant.
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 July 20, 2004, 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 survey entitled "Subdivision Map Showing
Lands of John Young" dated 1012012003, by Allen T. Fulkerson, L.S., and plans
titled "Erosion and Sediment Control" and "Watershed Map" dated 6118104,
Prepared by T. G. Miller, P.C. and other application materials, and
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:
11
PLANNING BOARD MINUTES
JULY 207 2004
APPROVED - JULY 27, 2004 - APPROVED
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.
A vote on the motion resulted as follows:
AYES: Wilcox, Hoffmann, Conneman, Mitrano, Thayer.
NAYS: None.
ABSTAIN: None.
The motion was declared to be carried unanimously.
Chairperson Wilcox closed this segment of the meeting at 7:40 p.m.
PUBLIC HEARING: Consideration of Preliminary and Final Subdivision Approval for
the proposed 5 -lot subdivision located on Coddington Road approximately 870 feet
south of Updike Road, Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No. 47 -1 -4, Low Density
Residential zone (former Residence District R -30). The proposal involves
subdividing the 14.8 +/- acre parcel into four residential building lots along
Coddington Road and one 9 +/- acre lot which would be donated to the Coddington
Road Community Center for their recreational activities. John F. Young, Owner;
Patrick Leahy, Applicant.
Chairperson Wilcox opened the public hearing at 7:40 p.m. and invited members of the
public to speak. .
Chairperson Wilcox — Would the Coddington Road Community Center like to make a
statement? I will let you go first and then I will give the public a chance to speak.
Brian Martinson, 147 Troy Road
I'm Brian Martinson, 147 Troy Road. I'm the treasurer for the Coddington Community
Center. I would just like to thank the owner and his representative for offering to donate
this parcel to our land. Currently we operate a summer camp that uses the woods
surrounding the area and this would be a very nice formal piece of land that we could
utilize for that program.
Chairperson Wilcox — Are you aware of any issues with regard to the two NYSEG rights -of-
way that exist on the property that are going to restrict your activities in any way?
Mr. Martinson — They do kind of cut really close to the property line of where the donation
would be. So the parcel we would use would be beyond the NYSEG area and then back
up into the hillside behind it. We are currently using part of that land west of the
community center. That is a private acreage that they sort of cut across that corner to get
back in that area.
12
PLANNING BOARD MINUTES
JULY 20, 2004
APPROVED - JULY 27, 2004 - APPROVED
Chairperson Wilcox — And you are comfortable with the access from your existing land to
this land and 25 foot is sufficient?
Mr. Martinson - I believe it would be because again there is some work cutting through
there at a diagonal now with some trails that are back there so this would be a nice formal
25 -foot pathway.
Chairperson Wilcox — Very good. Thank you.
Mr. Martinson — Thank you.
Marilyn Rivchin, 950 Coddington Rd
My name is Marilyn Rivchin. I live at ... property owner at 950 Coddington Road. It is very
helpful to hear the details of the proposals and hear discussion on the environmental
impact. I will introduce my question, which is really about other impacts besides the
environmental impacts you have discussed and that is traffic impact. It, is near a
dangerous intersection. Just yesterday I was driving home in the late afternoon and saw
two cars that had crashed at the intersection of Burns Road and Coddington Road. You
may or may not know that at the community center, a great number of bicyclist tend to
meet or gather at that point and then take off on rides up Coddington Road, which is fine
for me that bicyclists use the road. Its part of its charm and I have nothing against
bicycling per se except for the danger of many riders who ride two, three and four abreast.
Because it is a two lane road and because of the near intersection with Burns Road and
then very quickly King, Burns, and Updike Roads, it is already quite a dangerous situation.
So my question is about the single driveway serving potentially four private homes with
between four and eight cars that would come in and out of a single driveway. And
because of the hilly nature of that stretch of road, it seems to me an increase in the impact
of potential traffic problems. I just wonder if that is taken into consideration in looking at
the subdivision.
Chairperson Wilcox —That is something that we definitely have to take into account. My
opinion and the applicant can address it if necessary, but my opinion is that one curb cut
and a short driveway is far preferable in this area than two curb cuts or. possibly more.
Having lived on South Hill and actually traveling Coddington Road once a week, the Burns
Road intersection is an awful intersection. It is a down right dangerous intersection.
Board Member Mitrano — I travel it twice a day and I couldn't concur more.
Chairperson Wilcox — And you have an offset intersection there as well. You have the
topography, but none the less, we are talking about the potential of four homes, four to
eight cars, which probably translates into 40 or 50 vehicles trips per day with the way that
that works and that's a blip I think in terms of the total traffic that exists on Coddington
Road that exists there today.
Mr. Hebdon — I would also like to point out that the applicant has been in touch with
Tompkins County Highway who did go out and look at where they were going to put their
13
PLANNING BOARD MINUTES
JULY 203 2004
APPROVED - JULY 27, 2004 - APPROVED
road and looked at the site distance for the 45 mile an hour speed limit and said there was
plenty of site distance at the location for that single driveway. If you start moving the
driveway and get multiple driveways you might not end up with the significant site distance.
Chairperson Wilcox — So you may not agree with my opinion, but that's where I'm coming
from.
Ms. Rivchin — Well, I don't disagree that one driveway is better than two, three or four. My
interest is that it is already a dangerous traffic area and any, additional and not just total
amount of cars that go down the road, but they go constantly in and out of an area that has
two directions of car traffic and a great deal of bicycle traffic immediately next door to it.
Board Member Conneman — Do you believe people drive too fact on the road? Is that your
point or is it just that Burns Road is so poorly placed that you have accidents no matter
what?
Ms. Rivchin — I think speed is just part of the problematic situation.
Board Member Conneman — I would agree with you.
Ms. Rivchin — As one approached Updike and Burns Road from the south going north, it
should be slower I think.
Chairperson Wilcox — Thank you very much.
Ms. Rivchin — Thank you.
Steve Nicholson, 220 Yaple Road
My name is Steven Nicholson and I live at 220 Yaple Road and I'm speaking as a member
of the Board of Directors at Coddington Road Community Center. The Board is
unanimous in favor of accepting the nine acres of land. It is not everyday that we are
given nine acres of land and we have planned uses for it. We are going to build trails
through it. We want to make sure the access is wide enough to say get a tractor with a
brush hog in and I think it will be at 25 feet.
Part of the camp activities this year involved the kids making mountain bike trails
and certainly they will be overjoyed to be able to continue that up further along. The
primitive pursuits outdoor education group has been using our woods and they will enjoy
having much more woods to pursue their primitive pursuits.
Now I would just like to speak on a personal basis as an environmentalists and
getting back to the buffer zone. This is a community center for the whole Town of Ithaca
and anybody can go there and play soccer or baseball. The summer camp uses it. The
whole field there all the way to the property line. And its great to think again that both
parties want a buffer zone. I would ask you to be a little creative and suggest that
continuing that 20 or 25 foot strip all the way to the road and making that a part of
14
PLANNING BOARD MINUTES
JULY 203 2004
APPROVED - JULY 27, 2004 - APPROVED
Coddington Road Community Center will ensure that for the far into the future that will
remain woods. To me, it is going to be a big difference if you're standing on home plate
and you can see two or four houses in the outfield rather than what we see .now, which is
woods. The Coddington Road Camp enjoys feeling like it is out in the middle of the
woods. I know you guys have a vision for what the Town of Ithaca is going to be like, but
hope part of the vision includes ensuring that there are woods to look at rather than just
houses. Thank you.
Chairperson Wilcox — Thank you.
Diane McPherson, 950 Coddington Road
My name is Diane McPherson and I also live at 950 Coddington Road. And I thought I
heard, this is a question for the developer and also maybe someone else can answer it. I
thought I heard the developer say that there was municipal water to that parcel. I was
under the impression that there was not. The municipal water went only as far as the
community center and no further. So it seems to me that that needs to be clear: I would
like to have it clear.
And I also would like to say that I do think that it is a very low estimate that two and
a half acres of that property would be disturbed because I walked by it this morning myself
and it is very heavily wooded with some very old trees. So that I think that a lot would
have to be disturbed in order just to get equipment into the place to build houses and dig
septic systems and possibly wells if there is no municipal water, but I would like to know
from someone if municipal water goes there or not.
Board Member Thayer — There is a fire hydrant right in front.
Chairperson Wilcox — Yeah, we'll get to that in just a second. Would anybody else like to
speak at this point? David, I'll ask you in just a second.
Chairperson Wilcox closed the public hearing at 7:54 p.m.
Chairperson Wilcox — David, do you want to address the issue, if you would, about water?
Or I don't care who does it.
Mr. Leahy — All I can tell you is that it is my understanding that the fire hydrant that will run
right next to the proposed driveway is active and we've spoken with the Town Engineer's
about it and they seem to concur that municipal water is available. Our plan would be to
tap that if we needed to bring water to any or all of the properties.
Chairperson Wilcox — Creig?
Mr. Hebdon — The fire hydrant is the end of the line.
Chairperson Wilcox — The fire hydrant is the end of the line.
15
PLANNING BOARD MINUTES
JULY 202 2004
APPROVED - JULY 27, 2004 - APPROVED
Mr. Hebdon — The fire hydrant comes off the line and then probably five more feet and
there's a plug and that's where the line ends. Right there. So they would be able to tap it
right just below.
Chairperson Wilcox — The developer or the owners can extend water from that upper hill to
their property. So water is available at a reasonable... we should be careful here. If you
were 500 feet further down the road on Coddington Road, you could argue that water was
available if someone was willing to extend it themselves and pay the expense.
Mr. Hebdon — Correct.
Chairperson Wilcox — But water is much more easily available on these four lots given the
current terminious is right there at the property ... at the fire hydrant right there in front.
Board Member Mitrano — Would they have to pump it up then, Creig?
Mr. Hebdon — No. There is plenty of pressure at that point.
Chairperson Wilcox — We don't have pressure problems on that part. Discussion? Back to
the buffer zone?
Board Member Conneman — Lets go back to the buffer zone. Why couldn't we have the
25 -foot all the way?
Board Member Thayer — How is that going to protect us? We don't know that the
Coddington Road Community Center is not going to cut trees down.
Board Member Hoffmann — That's true.
Board Member Conneman — That's true.
Chairperson Wilcox — Again, one would presume that the Coddington Road Community
Center would not do that, but we can't predict the future.
Board Member Hoffmann — I think the other possibility is that the Community Center can
plant trees on their side of the property line.
Board Member Thayer — They have some already.
Chairperson Wilcox — We should talk about the issue of the two and a half acres, which
asked David Herrick to speculate on some disturbed area. The real issue is, is it under
five. Yeah. The total area of the proposed for the four residential lots is five and three -
quarter acres. David, correct me if I'm wrong, different DEC regulations apply if less than
five acres are disturbed and more than five acres are disturbed.
Mr. Herrick —That ) s correct.
16
PLANNING BOARD MINUTES
J LY 20, 2004
APPROVED - JULY27, 2004 -APPROVED
Chairperson Wilcox — So the real issue here is, is it less than five or more than five and
given that the total residential lot size is five and three - quarters is it going to be more or
less than five, so whether it is two and a half or three or three and a half. I mean heaven
for bid it gets up to four or four and a half, but the question is, is it going to be less than
five. That's really the threshold here.
Mr. Herrick - That is the threshold, yes.
Chairperson Wilcox — Lets go back to the trees.
Board Member Conneman — If the Community Center does not want to see the houses,
they can plant some trees. It looks like there are some there anyway, which is why I said
they could plant a few more. So you cut a few feet off the field. So what. It seems to me if
they want to protect their...they are getting nine or so acres for free, they can plant a few
trees.
Mr. Kanter — Also, it is they, but it is also us because remember it is a Town ball field. So I
think we just want to be careful we don't create a situation where our own ball field is going
to be over planted with trees because then it is no longer a ball field. It is a pretty small
area and it's a small ball field.
Board Member Conneman — You put the language together so it doesn't happen.
Mr. Kanter — I'm not advocating one way or another, I'm just saying...
Board Member Conneman — Yeah, I agree with you, Jon.
Attorney Barney — The installation of trees on the ball field is really something between the
Coddington Road Community Center and the Town. We have an agreement with
Coddington Road Community Center that we renew every year and they count on the
rental that we pay for a significant portion of operating expense. So I would suspect that it
is unlikely that they are going to take action that would jeopardize the cash portion of their
income. I'm not sure it can be so easily dealt with here.
Chairperson Wilcox — Is there any other discussion at this point?
Board Member Thayer — The setback line should jive with that 25 -foot right -of -way,
shouldn't it?
Chairperson Wilcox — Yes.
Attorney Barney — Great minds go in the same direction. We just saw that, too.
17
PLANNING BOARD MINUTES
JULY 205 2004
APPROVED - JULY 27, 2004 - APPROVED
Chairperson Wilcox — Mr. Leahy, are you aware of what we are talking about on parcel B?
So, if we get to that point what I assume what we'll do is simply put a condition in the
resolution that the line be modified and the final drawings to follow that little piece. All set?
Mr. Leahy — Yeah. I don't think we have a problem with that at all. Thank you.
Board Member Conneman — The only other question is traffic and I'm on the Town Traffic
Committee and I'm going to be glad to bring the arguments and the message of this to that
committee to talk about it. I don't think we can do anything about it in this situation. I think
it is a dangerous road myself and people do drive to fast.
Mr. Leahy — Let me add as agent to the owner, we would be supportive of addressing the
speed limit or something of that sort certainly. We think that is in our best interest and the
interest of any potential buyer.
Chairperson Wilcox — Speed limits are interesting. The Town Board as the elected board,
the policy setting board would have to make a recommendation to the State, the DOT
asking for a reduction in the speed limit.
Mr. Kanter — It is also the County because it is a County road. The Town Board would
have to petition the County to petition the State to change the speed limit, which we have
done before.
Chairperson Wilcox —.I still don't understand why the State controls speed limits on County
and Town roads, but be that as it may. That is the process there ladies and gentlemen, if
you wish to pursue that. You can go to the Town Board or the County Legislature,
Board Member Mitrano — I think it will get a lot of support.
Chairperson Wilcox — It might. The one nice thing is the extension of the 45 -mile per hour
zone beyond their section of German Cross Road into the Town of Danby. They did
extend that six months, a year ago maybe. . I'm trying to think how long ago it was
extended out. That has helped because the transition from 55 to 45 is right near... but that
has at least pushed that back so people tend to be going a little bit slower through there,
they're not still decelerating from 55 down as they go passed the Coddington Road
Community Center. It has helped a little bit I think. Any other discussion or issues? All
right. Staff, we all set?
Mr. Smith — I just want to mention one other thing about Lots D and C, it was mentioned
but I didn't mention in my materials or the resolution about requiring those driveways to
actually be on the shared driveway. You might want to add a note on the map that those
driveways have to be on the shared driveway.
Attorney Barney — I was actually going to insert a paragraph in the conditions that there be
no curb cuts on Coddington Road except for the one curb cut for the one proposed
driveway.
fiE:1111
PLANNING BOARD MINUTES
JULY 20, 2004
APPROVED - JULY 27, 2004 - APPROVED
Mr. Kanter — And could we have a note actually on the plat?
Chairperson Wilcox — Its funny. This made me think of down Coddington Road, closer to
the City is Spruce Way, which is similar in that you have a four lot subdivision, but in that
case, Spruce Way became a Town Road of roughly similar length and all the problems
inherit with a short piece of road like that. I would hope, again we don't set policy; I would
hope that this doesn't become a Town road. I think the short little roads are just... having
lived in that area and watching Town vehicles, specifically sanders and other vehicles push
snow out of the way, watching them try to maneuver on these tiny little streets and not
being able to turn around and back up and its tough and its also dangerous. I have never
seen them on Spruce Way, but its got to be difficult. It's nice to have the hammerhead
here just in case so that emergency vehicles can get in and out,.but I don't think they want
this to be a town road.
Mr. Leahy — May I ask a question?
Chairperson Wilcox — Yes, you may?
Mr. Leahy — Its our impression as well to make certain the driveways are served off of the
project drive, not off of Coddington. Would that require us to create some minimum off of
Coddington where the first driveway could start? If that makes any sense. You know, 100
feet off the road rather than 50 or I don't know why anyone would want to put one so close
to the road having to build it off the private drive. Does it make sense to put a minimum in
there? It has to be 50 feet off the road or 80 feet off the road or something like that or is
there going to be an assumption that that's what they are going to do?
Attorney Barney — There is nothing prohibiting, if you're willing, for us to put in a condition
to says that no driveway will be located closer than x number of feet to...
Mr. Leahy — I'm personally for putting fewer restrictions in unless we think as a group that it
is necessary and if you don't think its necessary than I would rather .not, but if you would
think that it would help.
Attorney Barney — I think it makes a lot of sense not to have a driveway that is 20 feet from
the Coddington Road intersection, but whether it 80 feet or 50 feet, I don't know what
might be appropriate. I assume they are going to be facing on the private drive and it
would probably be easy to make the driveway or garage or the driveway access further
away from Coddington Road.
Mr. Leahy — I mean that was a question, not so much a statement or what have you.
Board Member Mitrano — The only thing that I want to say is that I would like there to be
super majority.
19
PLANNING BOARD MINUTES
JULY 207 2004
APPROVED - JULY 27, 2004 -APPROVED
Chairperson Wilcox — It has to be super majority. You understand that we need five, which
is all of us tonight given that two members aren't here.
Board Member Mitrano — On that note, I will move the motion.
Board Member Conneman — I'll second.
Chairperson Wilcox — Mr. Barney, you have made some notes over there.
Attorney Barney — Yes. I was suggesting a new "d" be inserted between "c" and the
current "d" on the second page of the resolution reading something like this, "no curb cut
shall be allowed on Coddington Road except for the one curb cut for the proposed drive
and that the subdivision map be amended to note this prohibition' . And then what was
formally "d" becomes "e" and add at the end of that, "such agreement to include the
prohibition against curb cuts onto Coddington Road referred to above ". Then add at the
end of it "AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED" with "1. Within 30 days of the adoption of
this resolution a copy of the same be filed with Tompkins County Planning Department,
and 2. That the reasons for the Board deciding to override the recommendation of the
Tompkins County Planning Department are that a) this board does not believe a post.
construction stormwater management plan is required based upon the interpretation of the
Town Engineer set forth in his letter dated July 15, 2004 and in particular to the citations
for the exemptions applicable to single family residence set forth in letter and also the
conclusion that typical residential properties do not have large areas of impervious lands,
and b) the issue of curb cuts has been dealt with by inclusion of prohibition of the curb cuts
on Coddington Road". You need, the reason for this extra kind of wordy thing is that you
are supposed to file this within 30 days if you take action contrary to the recommendation
of the County Planning Department together with the reasons that you are choosing to do
so.
Chairperson Wilcox — Is that acceptable to Tracy and George?
Board Member Conneman — Absolutely.
PB RESOLUTION NO.
2004 -073: Preliminary and
Final Subdivision
Approval, Young
Five -Lot Subdivision,
922 -928 Coddington Road,
Tax Parcel No. 47.44
MOTION made by Tracy Mitrano, seconded by George Conneman.
WHEREAS:
1. This action is consideration of Preliminary and Final Subdivision Approval for the
proposed 5 -lot subdivision located on Coddington Road approximately 870 feet
south of Updike Road, Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No. 47-1 -4, Low Density
Residential zone (former Residence . District R -30). The proposal involves
subdividing the 14.8 +/- acre parcel into four residential buildings lots along
Coddington Road and one 9 +/- acre lot which would be donated to the Coddington
20
PLANNING BOARD MINUTES
JULY 20, 2004
APPROVED - JULY 27, 2004 -APPROVED
Road Community Center or their recreational activities. John F. Young, owner;
Patrick Leahy, 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
July 20, 2004, made a negative determination of environmental significance, after
having reviewed and accepted as adequate a Short Environmental Assessment
Form Part I, submitted by the. applicant, and Part 11 prepared by the Town Planning
staff, and
3. The Planning Board, at a Public Hearing held on July 20, 2004, has reviewed and
accepted as adequate a survey entitled "Subdivision Map Showing Lands of John
Young" dated 1012012003, by Allen T. Fulkerson, L. S., and plans titled "Erosion and
Sediment Control" and "Watershed Map" dated 6118104, Prepared by T.G. Miller,
P.C. and other application materials.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE /T 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 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 five -lot subdivision located at 922 -928 Coddington Road, Town of
Ithaca Tax Parcel No. 47-1-4, as shown on the survey entitled "Subdivision Map
Showing Lands of John Young" dated 1012012003, by Allen T. Fulkerson, L.S.,
subject to the following conditions:
a. submission for signing by the Chairman of the Planning Board of an original
or mylar copy of the final subdivision plat, and three dark -lined prints,
including the name and seal of the registered land surveyor, prior to filing
with the Tompkins County Clerk's Office, and submission of a receipt of filing
to the Town of Ithaca Planning Department, such plan to be modified to show
the correct setback requirement on Parcel B, and
b, within six months of this approval, consolidation of Parcel A with the adjacent
Coddington Road Community Center, Inc. property (Tax Parcel No. 47-1-
11,3) to the north, and submission to the Town Planning Department of a
copy of the request to the Tompkins County Assessment Department for the
consolidation, and
21
PLANNING BOARD MINUTES
JULY 207 2004
APPROVED - JULY 27, 2004 -APPROVED
C, granting of the necessary variances for Parcels B and C from the Zoning
Board of Appeals, prior to the signing of the plat by the Chairman of the
Planning Board, and
d. no curb cuts shall be allowed on Coddington Road except for the one curb
cut for the proposed common driveway, and the subdivision map be
amended to note the prohibition, and
e. submission of an easement/maintenance agreement, for review and approval
by the Attorney for the Town, allowing the shared use and maintenance of
the drive between Parcels B, C, D, and E, said approval to be issued prior to
the signing of the plat by the Chairman of the Planning Board, such
agreement to include the prohibition referred to against curb cuts onto
Coddington Road referred to above, and
f. submission of record of application for and approval status of all necessary
permits from county, state, and /or federal agencies, including but not limited
to the Pollution Prevention Plan for NYSDEC.
AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:
1. Within 30 days of the adoption of this resolution, a copy be filed with the Tompkins
County Department of Planning; and
2. The reason this board elected to approve the proposal notwithstanding the
recommendation of said Department are:
a. this board does not believe a post- construction stormwater management plan
is required, based upon the interpretation of the Town Engineer set forth in
his letter dated July 15, 2004, and in particular to the citations to the
exemptions applicable to single- family residences set forth in the letter, and
also the conclusion that typical residential properties do not have large areas
of impervious lands; and
b. the issue of curb cuts has been dealt with by inclusion of a prohibition of the
curb cuts on Coddington Road.
A vote on the motion resulted as follows:
AYES: Wilcox, Hoffmann, Conneman, Mitrano, Thayer.
NAYS: None.
ABSTAIN: None.
The motion was declared to be carried unanimously.
AGENDA ITEM: APPROVAL OF MINUTES — July 6, 2004
22
PLANNING BOARD MINUTES
JULY 20, 2004
APPROVED - JULY 27, 2004 - APPROVED
PB RESOLUTION NO. 2004 -074: Approval of Minutes — July 6,200
MOTION by Fred Wilcox, seconded by Larry Thayer
RESOLVED, that the Planning Board does hereby approve and adopt the June 6, 2004
minutes as the official minutes of the Town of Ithaca Planning Board for the said meetings
as presented with corrections.
The vote on the motion resulted as follows:
AYES: Wilcox, Conneman, Mitrano, Thayer.
NAYS: None.
ABSTAIN: Hoffmann.
The motion was declared to be carried.
AGENDA ITEM: Cancellation of August 3, 2004 Planning Board Meeting
Chairperson Wilcox — The reason for scheduling a special meeting is to accommodate the
County. My understanding is the timeline is being imposed on them by Ithaca College to
complete construction of the new telecommunications tower. I believe Ithaca College has
requested that work be done before the students come back and if we cancel the third and
don't meet until the 17th, it would make it very difficult for the County to have the necessary
approvals. So we have scheduled a special meeting for the 27th. You will also notice that
we have a second telecommunications facility on that agenda, which will be a third facility
on a given Cornell University water tank. I like co- location.
PB RESOLUTION NO. 2004 -075: Cancellation of August 3, 2004 Meeting
MOTION made by Larry Thayer, seconded by Eva Hoffmann.
RESOLVED, that the Planning Board does hereby cancel the August 3, 2004 meeting of
the Town of Ithaca Planning Board.
THERE being no further discussion, the Chair called for a vote.
AYES: Wilcox, Hoffmann, Conneman, Mitrano, Thayer.
NAYS: None.
ABSTAIN: None.
The motion was declared to be carried unanimously.
A special Planning Board meeting has been scheduled for Tuesday, July 27, 2004 to
replace the August 3, 2004 meeting.
23
PLANNING BOARD MINUTES
JULY 20, 2004
APPROVED - JULY 27, 2004 -APPROVED
AGENDA ITEM: TRAINING
The board decided to post -pone discussion on Planning Board training sessions until
Board Member Howe was present to participate in the discussion since he initiated the
discussion. Mr. Kanter provided the board with information on training sessions from the
Department of State.
AGEND ITEM: OTHER BUSINESS
Board Member Hoffmann described a water tower in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that
blended in with the sky and trees. It was painted the same very pale, bluish -aqua color as
the water tower she had seen while traveling from Tennessee earlier this summer. She
explained that galvanized steel becomes dark very quickly and the monopoles stand out
when they turn dark gray. Board Member Hoffmann would like the County to consider
painting the cell tower to blend in with the background.
Mr. Kanter informed the board that the County was proposing not to paint the tower for
various reasons, partly because the tower would need to be shut down in order to do
maintenance painting. He thought there would be further discussion at the July 20th
meeting about painting the cell tower.
AGENDA ITEM: ADJOURNMENT
Upon MOTION, Chairperson Wilcox declared the July 20, 2004 meeting of the Town of
Ithaca Planning Board duly adjourned at 8:22 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted, r
Carrie Coates Whitmore
Deputy Town Clerk
24
TOWN OF ITHACA PLANNING BOARD
215 North Tioga Street
Ithaca, New York 14850
Tuesday, July 20, 2004
AGENDA
7:00 P.M. Persons to be heard (no more than five minutes).
7:05 P.M. SEQR Determination: Young 5 -Lot Subdivision, Coddington Road.
7:10 P.M. PUBLIC HEARING: Consideration of Preliminary and Final Subdivision Approval for
the proposed 5 -lot subdivision located on Coddington Road approximately 870 feet south
of Updike Road, Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No. 47 -1 -4, Low Density Residential zone
(former Residence District R -30). The proposal involves subdividing the 14.8 +/- acre
parcel into four residential building lots along Coddington Road and one 9 +/- acre lot
which would be donated to the Coddington Road Community Center for their .
recreational activities. John F. Young, Owner; Patrick Leahy, Applicant.
4. Persons to be heard (continued from beginning of meeting if necessary).
5. Approval of Minutes: July 6, 2004.
6. . Other Business:
7. Adjournment.
a) Consider cancellation of August 3, 2004 Planning Board meeting.
b) Discuss training options for Planning Board members including
NYPF Conference (September 19 -22 in Lake Placid); visit by NYPF
planner (Kathryn Daniels) as summarized in Rod Howe's email
(6/20/04); visit by NYS Dept. of State planner; "retreat" for informal
Planning Board discussion, etc.
Jonathan Kanter, AICP
Director of Planning
273 -1747
NOTE: IF ANY MEMBER OF THE PLANNING BOARD IS UNABLE TO ATTEND, PLEASE NOTIFY
SANDY POLCE AT 273 -1747.
(A quorum of four (4) members is necessary to conduct Planning Board business.)
TOWN OF ITHACA PLANNING BOARD
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARINGS
Tuesday, July 20, 2004
By direction of the Chairperson of the Planning Board, NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that Public Hearings
will be held by the Planning Board of the Town of Ithaca on Tuesday, July 20, 2004, at 215 North Tioga
Street, Ithaca, N.Y., at the following times and on the following matters:
7:10 P.M. Consideration of Preliminary and Final Subdivision Approval for the proposed 5 -lot
subdivision located on Coddington Road approximately 870 feet south of Updike Road,
Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No. 47 -1 -4, Low Density Residential zone (former Residence
District R -30). The proposal involves subdividing the 14.8 +/- acre parcel into four
residential building lots along Coddington Road and one 9 +/- acre lot which would be
donated to the Coddington Road Community Center for their recreational activities. John
F. Young, Owner; Patrick Leahy, Applicant.
Said Planning Board will at said times and said place hear all persons in support of such matters or objections
thereto. Persons may appear by agent or in person. Individuals with visual impairments, hearing
impairments or other special needs, will be provided with assistance as necessary, upon request. Persons
desiring assistance must make such a request not less than 48 hours prior to the time of the public hearings.
Jonathan Kanter, AICP
Director of Planning
273 -1747
Dated: Monday, July 12, 2004
Publish: Wednesday, July 14, 2004
The Ithaca Journah`��' " °
Wetlnesday, Ju1y�14,u2004
TOWN OF ITHACA
PLANNING BOARD
SIGN -IN SHEET
DATE$ July 20, 2004
(PLEASE PRINT TO ENSURE ACCURACY IN OFFICIAL MINUTES)
PLEASE PRINT NAME
1 i � /7r
PLEASE PRINTADDRESS /AFFILIATION
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TOWN OF ITHACA
AFFIDAVIT OF POSTING AND PUBLICATION
I, Sandra Polce being duly sworn, depose and say that I am a Senior Typist for the Town of
Ithaca, Tompkins County, New York; that the following Notice has been duly posted on the sign
board of the Town of Ithaca and that said Notice has been duly published in the local newspaper,
The Ithaca Journal.
Notice of Public Hearings to be held by the Town of Ithaca Planning Board in the Town of Ithaca
Town Hall 215 North Tioga Street Ithaca New York, on Tuesday, July 20, 2004 commencing
at 7:00 P.M., as per attached.
Location of Sign Board used for Posting: Town Clerk Sign Board — 215 North Tio ag Street.
Date of Posting:
Date of Publication:
July 12, 2004
July 14, 2004
`bm , (:510-&�
Sandra Polce, Senior Typist
Town of Ithaca.
STATE OF NEW YORK) SS:
COUNTY OF TOMPKINS)
Sworn to and subscribed before me this 14th day of July 2004.
Notary Public
CONNIE F. CLARK
Notary Public, State of New York
No.01CL6052878
Qualified in Tompkins County
Commission Expires December 26, 20 ��