HomeMy WebLinkAboutPC Minutes 2019-10-24Town of Ithaca Planning Committee
Thursday, October 24, 2019
Committee members: Rich DePaolo, Chair; Pat Leary
Absent: Rod Howe
Board/Staff members present: Bill Goodman, Town Supervisor; Sue Ritter; Bruce Bates
Others: None
1. Persons to be heard: None
2. Committee announcements and concerns: Referring to the September meeting minutes and the
committee’s brief discussion of the City gun range, Rich reiterated that it is an important issue and
suggested that it be placed on a future agenda of the committee.
3. Consider September meeting minutes: Approved as drafted.
4. Continue to discuss and consider potential modification to rental registry law:
Bruce handed out alternative versions of proposed language that would add exemptions to the rental
registry law (applicability section, Town Code §207-1). Initial discussion concerned exemptions for
cooperative housing. Bruce described language he prepared that exempted any occupant of a
cooperative, whether they were the original proprietary lease holder or a person subletting from the
lease holder. This was based on committee discussion at the September meeting. The language he
proposed for §207-1 was as follows:
D. “Residential dwelling units owned by cooperative corporations”.
Bruce explained that in his email communication with Susan Brock, she expressed disagreement with
exempting a subletter of a cooperative unit and instead offered the following language exempting only
the primary shareholder:
D. “Residential dwelling units owned by cooperative corporations where the tenant is a shareholder in
the cooperative corporation and occupies the unit through a proprietary lease with the cooperative
corporation”.
Bill explained that because of the way the law is set up, the person with the proprietary lease would not
be able to obtain an operating permit because they are not an actual “owner”. Also, there is generally a
great deal of oversight associated with cooperatives, including co-operative boards having authority for
approving sublets. Rich was interested in hearing Susan’s legal rationale on the matter and why she felt
strongly that a subletter should not be exempt. Based on the email exchange with Bruce, Susan’s
concern seemed focused on the need to treat cooperatives equally with other types of housing
situations, such as HOAs.
Susan also proposed additional language for 270-219.6.B. (in the ADU section of the Zoning chapter)
dealing with ADUs and cooperatives. The committee initially questioned whether this language was
necessary, given the unlikelihood of ADUs associated with cooperatives, but Rich did find language
through a quick Web search suggesting scenarios of cooperatives having ADUs. As provided by Susan,
the language was similar to that discussed earlier for §207-1, and did not exempt a subletter of an ADU.
The committee decided that until they were provided with a compelling argument, to accept the shorter
version of §207-1D described above (provided by Bruce), and to modify the ADU related proposed
language so that it exempted subletters. The committee proposed the following to be added on to the
end of the existing sentence in 2.B.(2)(a):
(a) “….No operating permits are required for accessory dwelling units owned by the cooperative
corporations. (and removed “where the tenant is a shareholder in the cooperative corporation and
occupies the unit through a proprietary lease with the cooperative corporation.”)
The committee then moved on to consider language that would exempt house-sitting from the rental
registry requirements. After some discussion the following language was proposed:
E. “For purposes of this article, a dwelling shall not be considered a residential rental unit when
occupancy occurs of an owner’s principle residence when no money or other financial consideration is
paid to the owner”.
“(1) For the Purpose of section 207-1 E. principal residence is the dwelling unit of at least one of
the property owners, except as provided below. No other owner(s) shall own a larger percentage,
collectively or individually, than the owner-occupant(s), who must reside in the dwelling unit for a
minimum of 185 days per year.”
The committee asked Bruce to provide the revised language to Susan Brock for her review. If possible,
the committee will address any additional minor changes via email communication, and then forward to
the Town Board.
5. Staff updates and reports:
Sue reported that clean up of the Emerson/Chain Works District site has been completed. A revised
ROD (Record of Decision concerning contamination) from NYS DEC is expected in the near future.
6. Discuss next meeting date and upcoming agenda items: The November meeting was not confirmed,
pending a determination as to whether it will be needed.