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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPB Minutes 2014-03-18^ TOWN OF ITHACA PLANNING BOARD 215 North Tioga Street Ithaca, New York 14850 Tuesday. March 18. 2014 AGENDA 7:00 P.M. Consideration of a sketch plan for the proposed Amabel subdivision located at 619 Five Mile Drive (NYS Route 13A) and a portion of 617 Five Mile Drive, Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No.'s 31-2-28 and 31-2-6 (part of), Low Density Residential Zone. The proposal involves developing a clustered subdivision with approximately thirty-one new housing units located off a new driveway from Inlet Road. The project will also include approximately 53 parking spaces, walking paths, community open space, a community garden and garden shed, bike storage, a dog park, landscaping, and stormwater facilities. New Earth Living LLC and City of Ithaca, Owners; Sue Cosentini, Applicant. 2. Persons to be heard 3. Approval of Minutes: February 18, 2014 and March 4, 2014. 4. Other Business ^ 5. Adjoumment Susan Ritter 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 MEETING Tuesday, March 18, 2014 215 N. Tioga Street, Ithaca, NY 14850 Board Members Present: Fred Wilcox(Chair), Linda Collins,Joseph Haefeli (Alternate),John Beach, Yvonne Fogarty,Jon Bosak, Hollis Erb Staff Present: Sue Ritter, Director of Planning; Chris Balestra, Planner; Bruce Bates, Director of Code Enforcement; Creig Hebdon, Town Engineer; Susan Brock,Attorney for the Town; Deb DeAugistine, Deputy Town Clerk Call to Order Mr. Wilcox called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Ms. Brock announced that the Town received Judge Rumsey's decision in the litigation against the ZBA. Dunkin' Donuts had sued the ZBA, which had denied the area variance that would allow a drive-through facility. The decision,which was very solid, found in favor of the ZBA; it upheld their denial of the area variance. She would be surprised if they appealed, based on how strongly the deci- sion supported its conclusions. On March 4, the Planning Board gave them site plan approval with- out the drive-through facility. She thinks they intended, if they had won the case, to come back and ask for a modification of the site plan to include the drive-through. Ms. Brock said she didn't have any updates on the law suit the West Hill residents have brought against the County for their alleged failure to do a proper SEQR with regard to the sale of the Biggs property. She's not in the loop. Ms. Collins said she was surprised to read that they needed to do a SEQR on the sale of property. Ms. Brock responded that sales of property by a public entity do require SEQR. Sales of land are not on the Type I1 list, which would exempt them from SEQR. If the buyer and seller are both private entities, then SEQR does not apply. Linda Grace-Kobas, a resident of West Hill who was in the audience, said the case has been filed; they have a return-to-court date of May 2nd. They have not received a response from the County. Ms. Erb asked whether the ZBA had met yet to discuss the sign variances for the Belle Sherman Cot- tages and Dunkin' Donuts. Ms. Brock responded that they approved the variances for the Belle Sherman Cottages and incorporated all the Planning Board's conditions as their conditions. The Dunkin' Donuts proposal has not come before the ZBA yet. AGENDA ITEM Consideration of a sketch plan for the proposed Amabel subdivision located at 619 Five Mile Drive (NYS Route 13A) and a portion of 617 Five Mile Drive, Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No.'s 31-2-28 and 31-2-6 (part of), Low Density Residential Zone. The proposal involves developing a clustered subdivi- sion with approximately thirty-one new housing units located off a new driveway from Inlet Road. The project will also include approximately 53 parking spaces, walking paths, community open space, a community garden and garden shed, bike storage, a dog park, landscaping, and stormwater facilities. New Earth Living LLC and City of Ithaca, Owners; Sue Cosentini,Applicant. Planning Board Minutes 03-18.2014 Page 2 of 9 Ms. Erb requested that in any future maps, Ms. Cosentini show the location of Black Diamond Trail (BDT) and how her residents would access it, because creating and maintaining a pathway to the trail was presented as a benefit. Ms. Collins would also be interested in knowing the status of the BDT development and how the timeline fits in with Ms. Cosentini's project. Mr.Wilcox noted that he came upon some very detailed New York State maps on the planned trail on Google. They show two bridges across the inlet - one near this development and another further north. Ms. Cosentini said that the BDT is intended to cross the fish ladder using the railroad abutment and then run along the tracks and out toward Buttermilk, traversing the inlet two more times with small pedestrian bridges. Ms. Cosentini recently called the State, and they indicated to her that the buildout would occur within the next five years; she estimates that Amabel will build out in the next three to five years. There's a legal crossing of the railroad bed for pedestrians for DEC and other agen- cies to get to the fish ladder. Ms. Erb said she loves several features of this project: the community gardens, the stated attempt to keep most of the trees, the dog park. She asked whether there will be water at the gardens and the dog park. She was curious about the location of the handicapped parking; it seems rather far from some of the residences. Ms. Erb asked whether the pathways would be engineered such that deliveries of things like appliances will be able to get near the residence. She asked where the moving van parks. Ms. Cosentini agreed that the parking is far from some homes. She said parcels are purchased on a per-person basis, so she anticipates that if someone is handicapped, they'll purchase a house that is closer to parking; she may make accommodations for that particular parcel. The project is very similar to EcoVillage.Appliances are frequently delivered on rugged hand trucks and also on slings.You will be able to pull up to places, but not all the time because the trails are not intended for vehicles. There will be water and benches at the community garden and the dog park. Dogs are a great way to create relationships. Ms. Erb is concerned about there being only one major entrance. It's not that she wants to increase the vehicle prominence, but she's worried about the wrong situation at the choke point, especially for getting emergency vehicles through. Mr. Wilcox would more than urge another entrance. The Town doesn't allow cul-de-sacs over 1000 feet, and it is roughly 1100 feet to the back parking lot of this project, which is a long path to get out. He would consider a connector from the parking lot. He thinks EcoVillage put down a base and then pavers for emergency use. The advantage is that grass grows up through the pavers so it doesn't look like it could function as a driveway.A gate could be put across it with a key for the fire department. It's a second exit/entrance both for residents and the fire department in emergency situations.A sec- ond access point, especially given the length of the private drive, would satisfy his concern about safety. Ms. Fogarty thinks that with 53 possible cars, it would be useful to have a second entrance. Planning Board Minutes 03-18.2014 Page 3 of 9 Mr. Wilcox responded that it's Ms. Cosentini's capital. If she thinks it's not a problem and that it's saleable like this, it's her business. He wants there to be another access point for safety reasons. Ms. Erb agreed that she'd be more comfortable with Mr. Wilcox's solution. She said she likes that the project will have a play area, but pointed out that it's away from the center of the population. She could not find a bicycle shed. Ms. Cosentini replied that this sketch plan is very preliminary. There will be play areas everywhere. The existing barn is where they'll keep bikes and canoes and garden tools. Most homes will have a little back yard shed because each will have its own little garden. Ms. Erb pointed out that if Ms. Cosentini doesn't own the road, there will need to be easements. Mr. Wilcox inquired about the status of Inlet Road. Ms. Cosentini responded that she and Dierk TerLouw own the road to the end of her property line. She owns from the center line to her property. There are easements. The limousine service is at the end of the road. The State has easements for the flood control channel. Ms. Ritter said that Inlet Road is a private road that is on the Town map. The property owner is re- sponsible for maintenance and plowing. Mr. Thaete added that NYS Department of Public Works has easements to go down there. They went down twice this year to haul out silt from Coy Glen Creek. They're frequently there with heavy trucks and equipment. The easements give them the right to tear up the road and block the road, etc. It's definitely something Ms. Cosentini will have to address. Ms. Cosentini said she called NYS DOT, and they were fine with her using the entrance. If they block the road, it will probably be down at the bottom. Mr.TerLouw said they've never blocked it, but they go down there a lot. He might even sell her his part of the road at the top half. Mr. Wilcox said Ms. Cosentini will want the legal right to have her development's traffic use the half of the road to the north just as the owner to the north will also want an easement to use the half of the road she owns. Mr. Thaete pointed out that she might already have easements filed with the County Clerk. There are multiple easements on file for that area. The Town would just need clarification. Ms. Cosentini said that using that road enhances the sensibility of the project: shooting something straight off Five Mile Drive just isn't attractive. Ms. Erb agreed that if there's a road already there that can be used safely and legally, it makes sense. Mr. Bosak said he loves the concept of the pocket neighborhood and what she's done with the Aurora pocket neighborhood. This proposal has enough units that the Board will have to look at traf- fic, especially since this is a two-lane road that leads to one of the scariest intersections in the County. Planning Board Minutes 03-18.2014 Page 4 of 9 The mitigations she's suggesting are that it is flat and walkable. Flat is debatable, but walkable is not - there's not only not a sidewalk, there's not even a shoulder on Floral Avenue.The argument was that the traffic could be mitigated by the fact that people could walk instead of drive, but he does not see it. However, if it could be shown that there's an easy walk to Wegman's across the inlet, that's some- thing he'd like to take a look at.Another issue for him is that if sewage has to be pumped up hill, then you are at the mercy of the electrical system staying up, and in the case of something like an ice storm, after a couple of days, the entire project is unlivable. He will want to know how that will be mitigated. He thinks that breaking up parking makes sense: there are just two masses of parking. In a project as imaginative as this one, the parking could be improved. It's unfortunate we don't have a functioning rural transit system. If something ran down Five Mile Drive, that would be a mitigation. Ms. Cosentini said she is planning to put together an internet portal for the residents to do car share. She has been sharing a car with three other people for four years and it's been very successful with Google Calendar. Ms. Fogarty said she really loves the project. She commented that the area is very wet. She also would like to see anther exit. Ms. Cosentini said they dug five test holes eight feet down, approximately five days after the August hurricane. Dave Herrick was present.The soil is so well drained and so dry that the wind blew dust off a freshly dug pile. Mr. Beach said he is very supportive. His main concern is the issue of Inlet Road and the possibility of another avenue of access and egress in case of emergencies. Mr. Haefeli stated that he thinks the project is neat. He agrees that another egress is needed for fire safety and that the massed parking should be broken up a bit. Ms. Cosentini said that if they're required to improve Inlet Road for fire truck access, the project is untenable. Improving Inlet Road would require cutting down all the trees, plus it's too expensive. She has talked to Fire Chief Tom Parsons, and he has approved it the way it is with the hammerhead. Mr. Bates pointed out that the layout meets the code requirements, and that's why the fire chief ap- proved it. Ms. Cosentini said she's trying to arrange it so people's yards aren't juxtaposed with vehicles she then has to screen. She's trying to make the community have an intimate feel,while maintaining the pri- vacy for each of the houses. Having the trees between one pool of parking and the houses is sweet. She's putting in more plantings so the houses along the road don't have to look at the parking. The homes on the south side will have gorgeous properties because the cemetery is in the back, and no one will ever be there, and in the front are the hackberries and Central Park. That's why she didn't want to intersperse the parking, making that become what the homes would be looking at. She agrees that it is a bit of a hike. Mr. Haefeli agrees that whether a person wants to walk 300 feet from his car to his house is a personal choice. Planning Board Minutes 03-18.2014 Page 5 of 9 Ms. Cosentini said she's thinking about putting in root cellars to do whatever she can to keep people from having to go to the store. There will also be a CSA drop off. Regarding adding new bus routes, Mr. Bosak, who once sat on a TCAT citizen's advisory committee, commented that TCAT is run as well as it can be run and that as long as it operates under its current funding model, there won't be additional service anyplace else, particularly no rural routes. He said that TCAT's purpose is to get employees to Cornell and back. Ms. Fogarty pointed out that a bus stops at Buttermilk. Ms. Erb stated that defining where the closest potential buses are would also be part of the transporta- tion analysis. Mr. Tasman stated that the Newfield route is closest; there are three buses in the morning and three at night. It is mainly for the Cornell commuters. The closest stop is about a half mile from the project location. Board members thought it was closer to a mile away, and pointed out that there is no sidewalk. Mr. Haefeli commented that the car share idea is more viable in a pocket neighborhood than the buses. He asked about the sewer pump station. Mr. Thaete responded that the Town isn't in the business of taking over pump stations. The applicant can go to the Public Works Committee and appeal that. The largest pump station in the Town is at the old Waldorf School. Public Works has asked that Ms. Cosentini pump to the Town's gravity sys- tem, which would go to that pump station. Mr. Thaete added that they will work out the details to address emergency issues as far as backup. Ms. Collins agrees that this is a great plan. She asked how the neighborhood got its name and for information on the houses. Ms. Cosentini responded that the property was owned by the Mobbs family for three generations. They're originally from Norfolk, England. When she was working with them to buy the property, she did some research into the etymology of their name. It comes from a female personal name, Mabel, which traces back to the Medieval name Amabel. She will remodel the current house and live in it and use it as an office while the project is being built. Even with upgrades, it will never perform like the new homes. She's trying to make the homes as affordable as possible. The houses will range from 1200 to 1900 square feet, both one and two stories. "Fee simple" means you buy the parcel and the house; you're not buying a proprietary lease like in a co-op and it's not a condo, where you're buying air -you have a boundary to your parcel. There will still be a homeowners' association (HOA)be- cause of the common road and sewer system. Ms. Brock said she will need to see the homeowners' association documents before they're submitted to the Attorney General to make sure that nothing will impede the common facilities being main- tained. Planning Board Minutes 03-18.2014 Page 6 of 9 Ms. Collins asked about ultra air-tight houses. It used to be that air-tight houses were not considered good houses, in the sense that air-flow issues caused molds to grow. Ms. Cosentini responded that the current conventional wisdom in the green building arena is the passive house standards. These houses have a heat recovery ventilator(HRV), which brings in fresh air. Mr. Wilcox asked whether she will do phased construction or find 31 buyers and build 31 units. If phasing, the Planning Board will want to know how it will be done. Ms. Cosentini said she anticipates she will have the lion's share of the buyers aggregated because of the sewer system. The ones by the road will likely tap into the sewer by the road; she might build one of those homes first to use as a model. Mr. Wilcox is not as adamant on the issue of amassed parking, saying that it's her money and if she thinks it's appropriate, that's fine. Mr. Bosak said that what he meant by his comment on parking is that when staff remarks on some- thing, he wants to see the applicant respond.When he sees what changing the parking would do to the lovely arrangement Ms. Cosentini has come up with, he thinks it would be fair for her to sit down with Mr. Tasman and challenge him to show her how this could be broken up without messing up the nature of the plan. It's not something he would demand, but it does become an issue of the kind of surface that would be used on the footpaths from the parking lots to the homes. He cited the first EcoVillage neighborhood as an example, saying that the surface they originally used between the units was impassible in winter, and they later paved it.You can come up with designs that are well or ill suited to people getting from the parking lot to the middle of the complex in January. Mr. Wilcox questioned whether all houses and units are supposed to have frontage on a public road. None of these units do,with the exception of those fronting onto Five Mile Drive. Ms. Brock responded that they don't have to have frontage on a public road; they only need to front onto a road that's on the official map. Inlet Road is on the map, and if the internal drive becomes a road, it automatically gets put on the map once the subdivision is approved. If the homeowners' asso- ciation owns all the common areas, and everyone who lives there is a member of the HOA, they have ownership in the parcels that might be between their own parcel and the roads. They just need to assure that each parcel meets Town Law 280a. It will be useful to have a map showing which parcels will be owned by the HOA, so we can figure out whether every lot with a house touches one of those parcels, which then touches a road if the lot with a house doesn't directly touch a road. Each home- owner has to own access to the road. Mr. Beach asked about the cost of the units. Ms. Cosentini responded that she's working that out because she's working on an unusual wall as- sembly in order to bring the cost down. Until she gets done with TO Miller, she won't know what her infrastructure costs will be. She's working hard to keep some of the units below$300,000 and that's not easy with state-of-the art houses. She's trying to get these houses to perform at net zero. Part of the design of these houses is that she can flip the ridges depending on how the houses are oriented and Planning Board Minutes 03-18.2014 Page 7 of 9 then she can put PV arrays on. The envelope is thermally broken all the way around, even the roof, so that it might be able to meet net zero, which is not easy in Zone 6. Ms. Erb asked that the preliminary site plan show where contractor parking and the staging areas for construction material will be on site; nothing should spill into the neighborhood. Ms. Erb said she drove up Inlet Road very slowly and tried to catch a view of the cell phone tower, and couldn't catch a view until she got to the existing house. Mr. Thaete commented that if she builds the water system according to Town standards - a loop sys- tem - the Town will take it over and maintain it. If it's a dead-end water main and it's long enough, you might not get the flow to keep the pipes clean. The main reason for using a loop system is fire safety: you tend to get better flow when it comes in from two directions instead of one.Water quality is the other issue. The Town prefers not to take over sewer systems. Ms. Brock noted that if they dedicate the water and/or sewer line to the Town, they will need ease- ments so the Town can have access. In terms of the stormwater facility, even though it will be pri- vately maintained, the Town still needs an easement to get into the facilities and maintain them in the case that the property owner doesn't do it. The Town has a standard stormwater agreement in which if the town has to come in and maintain the system, they can go in and then bill the property owner. Regarding the property owner's right to use both sides of Inlet Road up to the access into the property,we will need to see that she has the right to use both sides of the road. That should come in when she submits her application for preliminary subdivision approval. PB Resolution No. 2014.016: Lead Agency- Declaration of Intent, Amabel Subdivision, Tax Parcel No.'s 31.-2-28 6z 31:2.6, 617 and 619 Five Mile Drive Moved by Fred Wilcox, seconded by Hollis Erb WHEREAS: 1. The Town of Ithaca Planning Board, at its meeting on March 18, 2014, considered a Sketch Plan for the proposed Amabel subdivision, located at 619 Five Mile Drive (NYS Route 13A) and a portion of 617 Five Mile Drive, Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No.'s 31:2-28 and 31:2-6, Low Density Residential Zone. The proposal involves developing a clustered subdivision with approximately thirty-one new housing units located off a new driveway from Inlet Road. The project will also include approximately 54 parking spaces,walking paths, community open space, a community garden and garden shed, bike storage, a dog park, landscaping and stormwater facilities. New Earth Living LLC and City of Ithaca, Owners; Sue Cosentini,Applicant; and 2. The proposed project, which requires subdivision approval by the Town of Ithaca Planning Board and a zoning change by the Town of Ithaca Town Board, is a Type I Action pursuant to the State Environmental Quality Review Act, 6 NYCRR Part 617, and Chapter 148 of the Town of Ithaca Code regarding Environmental Quality Review, because the proposal involves the construction of more than thirty new residential units connected to publicly owned utilities (Section 148-5 B.2, Town of Ithaca Code); NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED: Planning Board Minutes 03-18.2014 Page 8 of 9 That the Town of Ithaca Planning Board hereby proposes to establish itself as lead agency to coordinate the environmental review of the proposed actions, as described above; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: That the Town of Ithaca Planning Board hereby requests the concurrence of all involved agencies on this proposed lead agency designation, said concurrence to be received by the Town of Ithaca Planning Department within thirty days from the date of notification of the involved agencies. Vote Ayes:Wilcox, Collins, Haefeli, Beach, Fogarty, Bosak, Erb AGENDA ITEM Persons to be heard - Nobody came forward to address the Board. AGENDA ITEM Approval of Minutes PB Resolution No. 2014.017: Minutes of February 18, 2014 Moved by Fred Wilcox; seconded by Hollis Erb WHEREAS, the Town of Ithaca Planning Board has reviewed the draft minutes from the meeting on February 18; now therefore be it RESOLVED, the Town of Ithaca Planning Board approves the minutes, as amended, to be the final minutes of the meeting on February 18. Vote: Ayes: Wilcox, Collins, Haefeli, Beach, Bosak, Erb Abstentions: Fogarty PB Resolution No. 2014.018: Minutes of March 4, 2014 Moved by Fred Wilcox; seconded by Hollis Erb WHEREAS, the Town of Ithaca Planning Board has reviewed the draft minutes from the meeting on March 4; now therefore be it RESOLVED, the Town of Ithaca Planning Board approves the minutes, as amended, to be the final minutes of the meeting on March 4. Vote: Ayes: Wilcox, Collins, Haefeli, Beach, Fogarty, Bosak, Erb Planning Board Minutes 03-18-2014 Page 9 of 9 AGENDA ITEM Other Business Ms. Ritter said there are no agenda items for the April 1 meeting. Regarding the Dunkin' Donuts sign, she said that Ms. Balestra found that Dunkin' Donuts also uses a channel letter sign at some locations. She passed around a couple photos showing the boxy letter sign they're proposing and channel letter signs with two tenants. She said she can take the information to the ZBA that there is an option for channel letter signs. The Board agreed. Ms. Ritter mentioned that Planning Board and Town Board members were invited for a site visit to the Emerson site. She said there has been talk between the City and the Town about the possibility of having an intermunicipal planning board - with members from both the Town and City planning boards to create a new board just authorized to look at the Emerson site: environmental review and site plan. City Planning Board staff is not enthusiastic. She doesn't know if it will come up at the site visit. Ms. Brock said that State law allows it. Mr. Beach pointed out that it would need an odd number of members: which municipality would have more members? Mr. Wilcox reminded the Board that they can observe, they can ask questions, but they cannot dis cuss the project amongst themselves, even if there is not a quorum. AGENDA ITEM Adjournment Upon a motion by Hollis Erb, the meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m. Respectfully submitted. MDebra DeAugistine, Depufy'TdWi Clerk Planning Board Minutes 03-18-2014 Page 9 of 9 AGENDA ITEM Other Business Ms. Ritter said there are no agenda items for the April 1 meeting. Regarding the Dunkin' Donuts sign, she said that Ms. Balestra found that Dunkin' Donuts also uses a channel letter sign at some locations. She passed around a couple photos showing the boxy letter sign they're proposing and channel letter signs with two tenants. She said she can take the information to the ZBA that there is an option for channel letter signs. The Board agreed. Ms. Ritter mentioned that Planning Board and Town Board members were invited for a site visit to the Emerson site. She said there has been talk between the City and the Town about the possibility of having an intermunicipal planning board - with members from both the Town and City planning boards to create a new board just authorized to look at the Emerson site: environmental review and site plan. City Planning Board staff is not enthusiastic. She doesn't know if it will come up at the site visit. Ms. Brock said that State law allows it. Mr. Beach pointed out that it would need an odd number of members: which municipality would have more members? Mr. Wilcox reminded the Board that they can observe, they can ask questions, but they cannot dis cuss the project amongst themselves, even if there is not a quorum. AGENDA ITEM Adjournment Upon a motion by Hollis Erb, the meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m. Respectfully submitted. NDebra DeAugistine, Deputy "ToWn Clerk