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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPC Minutes 2017-08-141 TOWN OF ITHACA PLANNING COMMITTEE SUMMARY OF AUGUST 14, 2017 MEETING Committee Members Present: Rich DePaolo (Chair), Rod Howe, Pat Leary. Town-Related Staff/Board Members/Others Present: Susan Ritter, Director of Planning, Marty Moseley Code Enforcement, Susan Brock, Attorney for Town, Paulette Rosa, Town Clerk. Other: Larry Fabbroni. Members of the Public Present: None. Chair Rich DePaolo called the meeting to order at approximately 1:00pm. Persons to Be Heard: None. Committee Announcements and Concerns: None. Consider July Meeting Summary: Approved with minor edit. Consideration of Rental Property Oversight Strategies and Recommendation to Town Board: -Rich: Suggested the discussion begin with Susan Brock’s questions/comments concerning the proposed legislation. -Susan B.: Handed out the Town’s MDR provisions pertaining to yard regulations (270-21), building area (270-72), and more than one building on a lot (270-226) to illustrate what the Code currently contains. She said the Committee will need to determine whether to fit the new accessory dwelling unit (ADU) regulations (setbacks, lot coverage, height) into these existing provisions or have completely separate set of rules. She suggested identifying everything needing to be regulated and determining the rules to apply, and then figuring out how to meld them into the Code. -Sue: Added that there are now three different ADU types to consider: attached ADUs and ADUs within an existing (or new) accessory structure (garage, barn) that are currently permitted in Town Code, and now the proposed legislation allowing detached ADUs. She thought each ADU type warranted its own yard regulations. She listed the various setbacks and yard regulations for garages and accessory structures. -Bill: Suggested having a table/chart prepared listing all of these various regulations to help the Committee sort these out. -Rich: Suggested starting to look at ADU yard regulations for the MDR zone. -Sue: Listed the various existing regulations associated with ADUs. She noted that an existing accessory structure (barns, garages) currently allowed to contain an ADU, could potentially be entirely converted to an ADU under the proposed provision allowing detached ADUs. Rich: Stated that he did not support existing accessory structures (barns, garages) being allowed to become a detached ADU unless they could conform to the setbacks requirements established for detached ADUs. He did not feel they should be grandfathered, given their potential close proximity to a neighboring property line. -Pat: Responded that since the structure already exists, grandfathering may be appropriate. She supported allowing these buildings to be converted given the need for housing. -Sue: Suggested making ZBA approval (area variance) necessary in the case of a barn or garage being converted to a residence that does not meet the setback requirements. This would be analogous to the current regulations requiring special approval from the ZBA for adding an ADU to 2 a garage or barn. This would allow them to be evaluated on an individual basis and provide notification to the neighbors. -Pat/Bill: Both stated that they were comfortable with ZBA approval in these situations with pre-existing structures that are located within the setback area, making it no harder regulatory-wise than it is currently. -Committee: Discussed proposed setbacks and height requirements for detached ADUs for each zone, considering lot size/dimensional requirements and consideration for neighboring properties, and agreed to the following (permitted as of right): Medium Density Residential: 30’ side lot setback – 15’ rear yard setback; High Density Residential: 20’ side lot setback – 15’ rear yard setback; Low Density Residential: 50’ side lot setback – 35’ rear yard setback. Height, all zones: One-story, maximum; not to exceed 20’. - Committee: Expressed concern for detached ADUs in conservation zones being placed a long distance from the primary dwelling, thus requiring land disturbances for long additional driveways and other infrastructure, contrary to the goals of the zone. They agreed to require a provision that ADUs be within some maximum distance from the principal dwelling. They also agreed that the detached ADU, unlike in other zones, could be placed in the front yard where the principal building is at least 200 ft. from the road right-of-way. The following provisions were agreed to: Conservation Zone: 150’ maximum distance from primary structure; 200’ minimum front yard setback; allowed in front yard only when 200’ or more from road right-of-way; 100’ minimum side lot setback; 200’ minimum rear yard setback. - Committee: Expressed similar concern for the agricultural zone, as the conservation zone, pertaining to the placement of detached ADUs and agreed to the same clustering provision. They also agreed to allow the ADU in the front yard in cases where a minimum of 200’ could be achieved. Given that the agricultural zones contain 1-2 acre size residential lots, the yard setback provisions were set equal to that proposed for the low density residential zone. The following provisions were agreed to: Agriculture Zone: 50’ side yard setback; 35’ rear yard setback; 150’ maximum distance from primary structure; 200’ minimum front yard setback; allowed in front yard only when 200’ or more from road right-of-way. Committee: Agreed to restrict ADUs in the lakefront residential zone, citing multiple constraints (lot coverage, parking issues, etc.) Lakefront Residential: no new detached ADU permitted. Committee: Discussed parking for ADUs and determined that this is adequately addressed in Town Code parking standards (270-227-B.1.A). 3 -Susan: Indicated that the Committee still needs to consider possible design standards for detached ADUs per the model law ideas from accessorydwelling.org (roof pitch, windows, location of entry door, character compatibility with primary house, etc.). -Committee: Agreed to meet on August 22nd to discuss the remaining issues associated with design. -Susan: Agreed to target preparation of an initial draft of the legislation by September 7th (for consideration by the Town Board on September 11th. Staff Updates and Reports: - No staff updates or reports. Next Meeting Date and Upcoming Agenda Items: - The Planning Committee will hold a special meeting on August 22nd at 12:30pm. - The next regular meeting of the Planning Committee is September 21st. Meeting adjourned at approximately 3:34pm.