HomeMy WebLinkAboutZBA Minutes 2012-09-17 ® TOWN OF ITHACA ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS
Monday September 17, 2012
Minutes
1
Present : Kirk Sigel , Chair; Ron Krantz, Rob Rosen,
Alternates : Yvonne Fogarty and Andrew Dixon
Staff: Bruce Bates, Director of Code Enforcement, Susan Brock, Attorney for the Town, and
Lori Kofoid , Deputy Town Clerk
Chairman Sigel opened the meeting at 7 : 06pm .
Appeal of Brian Francis, agent for Gary & Rita Carlson, owners, requesting variances
from the requirements of Chapter 270-233 and Section 270-71C "Yard Regulations" of the
Town of Ithaca Code to be permitted to construct a deck addition that encroach into the
side yard setback located at 2 Saunders Dr, Tax Parcel No . 44 .2-2- 1 , Medium Density
Residential.
Mr. Carlson explained that 9 years ago they applied for a variance to move the house 9 feet back
from the front to allow for more space between their house and garage and their neighbors as
well as away from a waterline in the front of the property. The variance was granted and he
thought they also received a variance for the side-yard setback since the moving of the house at
® that time also encroached on the side yard setback. He went on to explain that when they applied
for a building permit to extend their deck, they found out that they did not get the side yard
setback at that time and need it now . He noted that the new addition is going to be on the main
part of the deck so it will not increase the encroachment, but the existing encroachment needs a
variance.
Mr. Bates explained that the variance being requested is for the existing deck that does not match
the documents on file with the Town and encroaches into the setback so they need a variance to
make the property compliant . The proposed addition does not require a variance ; a building
permit can not be issued for the addition until the non-conformity is approved .
Mr. Francis stated that the deck has been there for 9 years and submitted additional pictures to
the Board . He added that there have been no complaints in all those years and in fact, the
neighbors thought the Carlson ' s had received a variance long ago .
Ms . Brock stated that this was Type II so there was not a need for an environmental review.
Mr. Sigel opened the Public Hearing at 7 : 12pm . There was no one wishing to address the board
and the hearing was closed .
ZBA 9/ 17/2012
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® ZBA Resolution No. 2012-049, Area Variance, 2 Saunders Rd, TP# 44.2-2- 1 ,
September 17, 2012
Motion made by Kirk Sigel, seconded Rob Rosen
That this Board grants the appeal of Brian Francis , agent for Gary & Rita Carlson, owners,
requesting variances from the requirements of Chapter 270-233 and Section 270-71C "Yard
Regulations" of the Town of Ithaca Code to be permitted to construct a deck addition that
encroach into the side yard setback located at 2 Saunders Dr, Tax Parcel No . 44 . 2 -2- 1 , Medium
Density Residential .
with the following :
Conditions
1 . That the setback be no less than ten feet and that the portion of the deck located within
the required setback remain in its present location and not be expanded any and
with the following :
Findings
That the benefit to the applicant does outweigh any detriment to the health, safety and welfare of
® the community, specifically:
1 . That the benefit that the applicant wishes to achieve, which is to maintain their existing
deck, cannot be achieved by any other means feasible, and
2 . That there will not be an undesirable change in the neighborhood character or to nearby
properties given that the deck has existed without complaint for approximately the last
nine years ,
3 . That the request is substantial , encroaching into a third of the required setback, but
nevertheless the benefit to the applicant does outweigh any detriment to health, safety and
welfare of the community, and
4 . That the request will not have any adverse physical or environmental effects given that
there is no new construction involved with this deck, and
5 . That while the alleged difficulty is self-created that again, the benefit to the applicant
does outweigh any detriment to the health safety and welfare of the community.
Vote : Ayes - Sigel , Krantz, Dixon, Fogarty and Rosen. Nays — None
Motion passed .
ZBA 9/ 17/2012
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® Appeal of EAC Montessori School of Ithaca, owner, requesting a variance from the
requirements of Chapter 270-59 of the Town of Ithaca Code to be permitted to construct
an addition to the already existing buildings located at 120- 122 King Rd E, Tax Parcel No .
43 .- 1 -3 .219 43 .- 1 -3 .5 & 43 .- 1 -3 .6, Low Density and Medium Density Residential. Said
addition exceeds the allowable height limitations .
Ernie Bales, architect and Lane Chambliss, agent for the EAC Montessori School gave an
overview of the proposal with the aid of poster boards . The existing campus includes the main
building, the house next door that is being converted into the middle school , the Field of Dreams
and the elementary school across the street . The proposal is to build an additional community
room/gymnasium between the main building and the middle school and connect them by
enclosed corridors to make one continuous building.
The issue is a difference in the foundation heights and topography. The new building is needed
for program changes at the school including additional music and community spaces and a
gymnasium . The gymnasium needs to be taller to accommodate a regulation basketball court
and the engineering involved in supporting that . The best way to accommodate the program
changes without increasing the footprint was to stack the buildings and incorporate walk-out
basements and the gym .
The actual foundation differences between the 3 buildings is 17feet and although the gym will be
higher than allowed from the foundation level , the appearance from the road will be all three
buildings at the same level and within the required height. The hardship is accommodating the
® height needed for the basketball court and the aesthetics of keeping the three building roofs
similar is height and style.
It was noted that this property is currently two separate parcels, one low density residential and
the other medium density residential . The properties will be so the property line will disappear,
but the zoning differences will not .
Mr. Rosen stated that the height issue seems to be a minor technicality and the project is doing
something very nice . He believes this is completely reasonable and the project is going to be a
benefit to the community. The Board agreed .
The SEQR form was discussed and Ms. Brock had changes to Part 1 number 12, which
should be yes and the Planning Board Site Plan Approval and Special Permit added. No
changes to Part II.
ZBA 9/ 17/2012
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® ZBA Resolution No . 2012-050, SEOR Determination, Area Variance, EAC Montessori,
120- 122 King Rd E, TP# 43 .- 1-3 .21413 .5 & 3 .6, September 20, 2012
Motion made by Kirk Sigel , seconded by Ron Krantz
That this Board makes a negative determination of environmental significance based on the
information in Part I and for the reasons stated in Part II of the environmental assessment form .
Vote : Ayes — Sigel , Rosen, Dixon, Fogarty, Krantz
Nayes — none
Motion passed unanimously.
Mr. Sigel opened the public hearing open at 7 : 28pm . There was no one wishing to speak and the
hearing was closed .
ZBA Resolution No . 2012-050, Area Variance, 120422 King Rd E, TP 43 .4 -3 .21 , 43 .- 1 -3 .5
& 43 .- 1 -3 .6, September 20, 2012
Motion made by Kirk Sigel , seconded by Ron Krantz
That this Board grants the appeal of EAC Montessori School of Ithaca, owner, requesting a
variance from the requirements of Chapter 270- 59 of the Town of Ithaca Code to be permitted to
® construct an addition to the already existing buildings located at 120- 122 King Rd E, Tax Parcel
No . 43 . - 1 -3 . 21 , 43 . - 1 -3 . 5 & 43 . - 1 - 3 . 6 , Low Density and Medium Density Residential . Said
addition exceeds the allowable height limitations .
with the following :
Conditions
1 . That the height of the building not exceed 39 ' exterior, and
2 . That the building be built substantially as indicated by the plans submitted to this board
tonight, and
3 . That Planning Board conditions from PB Resolution No 2012 — 065 are included in this
variance as conditions . They are :
a. Within six months of this approval , consolidation of Tax Parcel No . ' s 43 - 1 -3 . 5 ,
43 - 1 -3 . 21 , and 43 - 1 -3 . 6 , and submission of a copy of the consolidation request to
the Town of Ithaca Planning Department; and
b. Submission of a storm water "Operation, Maintenance, and Reporting
Agreement" between the property owner and the Town of Ithaca, satisfactory to
the Attorney for the Town and the Town of Ithaca Public Works Department, and
filing of the agreement and associated storm water easement with the Tompkins
County Clerk, prior to the issuance of any building permits ; and
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® c. Submission to and approval by the Department of Public Works of a truck route
plan for the hauling of excavated materials off site, prior to application for a
building permit .
with the following :
Findings
That the benefit to the applicant does outweigh any detriment to the health, safety and welfare of
the community, specifically:
1 . That the benefit that the applicant wishes to achieve, while possibly feasible with a flatter
roof , is a reasonable plan submitted by the applicant and achieves their goal of
maintaining a consistent roof pitch with other parts of the building and achieving the
desired height for a gymnasium , and
2 . That there will not be an undesirable change in the neighborhood character or to nearby
properties given that this addition is within the existing compound of the Montessori
School and does not get any closer to any of the lot lines than their buildings already do,
and
3 . That the request is not substantial , being only a few feet higher than what would be
allowed and additionally it will not appear to be higher than what is allowed from the
road, and
4 . That the request will not have any adverse physical or environmental effects for the
® reasons stated in the Environmental Assessment form , and
5 . That while the alleged difficulty is self-created, the benefit to the applicant does outweigh
any detriment to the health safety and welfare of the community.
Vote : Ayes - Sigel , Krantz, Dixon, Fogarty and Rosen . Nays — None
Motion passed
Appeal of Ecovillage at Ithaca, owner, requesting a variance from the requirements of
Chapter 270-219 .5 E & F of the Town of Ithaca Code, prohibited activities in Stream
Setback zones 1 & 2 to be permitted to perform excavation and grading to expand the
current farm pond located at 101 Rachel Carson Way, Tax Parcel No. 28 .-26-22, Planned
Development Zone #8.
Joanna Greene, Director Groundswell Center for Local Food and Farming affiliated through
Ecovillage ' s Educational non-profit called The Ecovillage Center for Sustainability Education ,
Ms . Greene explained the importance of the project noting that they are the educational arm,
focusing on food and agriculture education. They started in 2010 and have trained 180 aspiring
and beginning farmers, mostly from the local and regional area. The programs aim to provide
hands on training to new farmers that haven ' t grown up on a farm and don ' t have the business
management and marketing training needed to be successful . The project is based in area farms,
specifically Westhaven Farm and 6 other farms to provide the training. This current project at
Ecovillage directly supports a whole new endeavor which is called the Groundswell Incubator
ZBA 9/ 17/2012
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® Farm . The project will provide technical , mentoring and infrastructure support for small
businesses clustered together at a lower cost that will reduce start up costs . The farm enterprise
incubator is doing the same service for new farmers . They come in for up to a 3 year period ,
launch their own business on a very small scale to get their production and management
experience to eventually move onto their own site or to purchase their own farm . EcoVillage has
designated 10 acres of land for this purpose. They are already receiving applications although
they haven ' t opened up the application process . They are focusing first on new farms and
immigrants that have limited resources .
Ms . Green used the poster boards showing the ponds on the property. One of the limiting
infrastructure problems is the limited availability of water at EcoVillage. The small pond used by
Westhaven Farm was maxed out and they had to use municipal water this season and they are
expanding their farm so Groundswell does not have access to that pond . Since they are already
over capacity, the solution is to expand the farm pond for use by Groundswell and Westhaven
farm . Irrigation for Groundswell can ' t be done without the expansion. A neighboring farm did
try to drill a well in the past year but they were not successful even after a couple of thousand
feet . The expansion of this pond will meet Westhaven Farms and Groundswell ' s needs .
David Herrick, of TG Miller Engineering and Surveyors presented the technical side of this
variance request . He explained that the stream is encumbered by the 35 ft setback on each side
of the stream center line, continues past Rachel Carson Way to the northwest after crossing
through a culvert at Rachel Carson Way and continues through Westhaven farm property and
meanders all the way down to Westhaven Rd where it goes through a culvert and eventually into
® the inlet .
The water that runs off that goes through the culvert at Rachel Carson Way ends up at the pond .
It is not the pond itself that needs the variance ; it is the small footprint of the disturbance that
they are asking for right at the outlet of the existing culvert just off Rachel Carson way.
Recommendation was to have the positive means of maintaining flow into the pond . In order for
this to be accomplished we had the small amount of grading and temporary vegetation
disturbance within the 35ft stream setback.
Technically, the expansion would double the size of the pond and would create an outlet
structure that would accommodate most of the storm events that we are accustomed to , up to the
5 year event, which would actually flow through the pond through the outlet structure and flow
down the Cliff Brook tributary as it always has . It would take more rainfall runoff to fill up the
pond and there would be less flow during drought conditions and in the summer further down the
way. However, he stated that it would not be unlike what is happening currently. He noted that
pictures submitted to the Board show the creek nearly dry and that would continue with or
without the proposed channel work.
Mr. Sigel asked if this would be diverting all of the water that would be coming down the stream
to the pond and Mr. Herrick said that is what happens now . When the pond gets to a certain
level , the water backs up and runs around the outside of the pond and down to the stream . He
noted that he kept the water levels the same so that will still happen . At elevation 1040 the water
ZBA 9/ 17/2012
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will spill out and continue down the tributary but the volume will be increased so it will take
islonger to fill the pond to that level .
Mr. Rosen questioned the stream setback not including the pond and felt that the way Mr.
Herrick is describing it, the pond is a part of the stream . He is not really seeing the stream going
through the pond as described . Mr. Herrick clarified that the issue is that in expanding the pond,
he wanted to make sure the water got into and out of the pond without erosion keeping the flow
from going into the pond or without having engineered water over flows where a large storm
could actually breach the embankments of the pond . He wanted a sustainable pond structure.
Mr. Herrick showed the corridor of the stream as shown on their plans and under many rainfall
events , that corridor will be active . In a 5 year return frequency event, all that water will go out
through the primary spill way which is the big catch basin. For storms that exceed the 5 year
occurrence event you will have over flow over a grass channel and back into the current drain
way.
Mr. Krantz requested specific information on the amount of water being discussed . Mr. Herrick
stated that the pond currently holds 400 , 000 gallons and its capacity would be increased by
600, 000 to hold 1 million gallons when the grading is done .
Ms . Fogarty asked what the water is used for downstream . Mr. Herrick did not know . He did
state that it eventually runs down into the inlet of the lake . He did not know what the frequency
is of times when there is no flow in the stream . This year, there is no water in the pond and no
® flow . Mr. Sigel asked Mr. Herrick if he knew of any other uses for the water down the hill and
Mr. Herrick said he did not know, clarifying that he did not know of any other similar enterprises
using the water down the hill . Mr. Rosen agreed, stating that he did not believe there were any
other sites using it for irrigation and that it comes down quite steeply down west hill and
becomes a waterfall by the old octopus and drops under a culvert under the road into the flood
control channel .
Discussion turned to the SEQR form with Ms . Brock explaining her discussion earlier in the day
with Ms . Ritter, Director of Planning regarding the SEQR and her subsequent research about the
setback situation. Ms . Brock believes that project is exempt under the Agricultural Farm
Management Practice exemption in SEQR, the definition of which is "Clearing a field to plant
crops, construction maintenance and repair of farm buildings and structures, building of dikes,
ditching or installing drainage piping would not require SEQR review . " She then reviewed case
law and found only one reported case that dealt with a farm that got a grant from a state agency
to build hog manure handling facilities . Court said this is part of farm practices management and
therefore exempt from SEQR . Therefore, although the project seems significant enough to
warrant SEQR, the DEC has determined , by putting it on the Type 11 list, that it is exempt due to
the State ' s strong defense of agriculture. After some discussion, Ms . Brock stated that it is a
reasonable interpretation that what they are proposing is an agricultural management project.
Mr. Sigel read the County' s GML recommendation :
"We recommend that the applicant be required to provide a specific estimate of how the
® proposal will change the flow of Cliff Brook and describe any adverse downstream
ZBA 9/ 17/2012
Page 8 of 12
® ecological impacts that could result . Mitigation measures should be considered if
warranted . "
Mr. Sigel asked Mr. Herrick to respond to the recommendation . Mr. Herrick stated that when the
pond is at its full elevation as it functions today, in equals out. When reduced flow conditions
such as summer conditions, when irrigation is a necessity, and with rain flow that is more
normal , there is little or no flow . Not all of the watershed that flows through Cliff Brook
tributary is from the Ecovillage pond . There are other lands below this pond that contributes to
the tributary. It is less acreage than what flows through the pond but nonetheless is a contributor.
So, in droughty conditions there will be less base flow in the stream which would be consistent
with the king of low- or no-flow conditions that have been experienced of late.
Mr. Sigel agreed that the change seems to be pretty straightforward ; when there isn ' t enough
flow to keep the pond full , the upstream water is not going into the down stream but into the
pond and having a bigger pond that can happen for a longer period of time .
Mr. Sigel asked Ms . Brock if the Board would have to do more than simply discuss the fact that
what would happen is obviously that a larger pond can contain more water and halt the flow of
water downstream for a longer period of time to meet the County' s recommendation. Ms . Brock
thought that the Board should also address some of the issues that came in an email addressed to
the Planning Board . (Attachment # 1 )
Ms . Brock read the allegations :
® 1 . Designated a Natural Features Focus area on the Tompkins County Conservation Plan .
2 . It is obviously governed by the recently passed Stream setback code which was put into
effect to prevent this sort of negative impact to the watershed .
3 . The land is part of a conservation easement governed by the Finger Lakes Land Trust
(FLLT) with special restrictions .
4 . It has historically been a wetland with vernal pools .
5 . It is part of a riparian corridor and by withdrawing water it is degrading the downstream
habitat and biodiversity.
6 . Lies within an area designated by the state to contain endangered and threatened species .
"And on a personal note this stream "Cliff Park Brook" runs 1000 ft through my property, by
damming this stream they deny me the right of enjoyment of my property and according to
the conservation plan, decrease the value of my property. "
Ms . Brock thought that if the board discussed some of these issues , the board could say that the
recommendation would be met . What they are saying is get information, and then consider
mitigations if applicable . Mr. Sigel responded that it is an intermittent stream so it would be
debatable to what extent extending that period of time of no-flow is harm to downstream
neighbors . It is not as if it is flowing all the time and expanding this pond has the potential of
stopping it for all time.
Mr. Rosen thought it was hard to respond to an email like that without knowing where the stream
® was on the property and having time to research whether the allegations are true.
ZBA 9/ 17/2012
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® Mr. Sigel opened the public hearing at 8 : 07pm .
Robert Mitchell , author of the email and neighbor to EcoVillage, spoke regarding the
information in his email that had been referenced . He stated that this proposal expands this pond
into a wetland and through this irrigation pond they will withdraw over 1 million gallons of
water from the stream and move 3600 cubic yards of soil , much of it in a wetland. The pond is an
old farm pond that is spring fed which empties into the stream Cliff Park Brook which arises
across the street on Mecklenburg Rd then flows through a wetland to a culvert under Rachel
Carson Drive. Historically it meandered through streamside wetlands and picks up outflows from
the pond and together they augment the flow and exit EcoVillage property along the streambed
down Westhill . It enters the inlet at a waterfall at Hector St and Elm St . He added that by
historically, he means when he was a child , but more recently, EcoVillage has diverted that
stream and channelized it so that as it exits the culvert on Rachel Carson Rd it flows in reverse. It
now flows into the outflow of the pond . The pond was designed as a spring fed pond that never
had a stream running into it. Mr. Mitchell had pictures showing the stream running into the pond .
Instead of the pond adding water to the stream it is actually extracting it before it ever gets to the
stream .
The water once it ' s impounded is then pumped several hundred feet, some of it outside this
watershed to Westhaven Farm . The diminished flow of this stream runs almost 2 ,000 ft through
his property on Westhaven Rd and they draw this water at the crucial time of summer and allow
very little if any water to exit the property. Enough used to get by the earthen damn to make it
® almost tolerable but that was when it was a small farm but now it is over 10 acres, greenhouses
and a proposed addition of 10 acres and this would have a significant impact .
It is Mr. Mitchell ' s fear that with this proposed dam and expansion they would impound even
more water impairing the riparian community downstream that ' s always existed along this
stream and it would be starved of water and die . It is his opinion that Ecovillage doesn ' t own the
water. Running water is not by its nature private property. It can be used in a reasonable manner
but cannot be denied those living downstream . Common Law on which riparian rights are based,
holds to the principal that water flows and ought to flow as it is customary to flow so that all
those that through the land that it runs can enjoy the privilege of its use.
He also believes this plan will degrade the riparian corridor, which as important ecologic feature
and depends on at least a small water flow on a regular basis . This stream doesn ' t always flow,
but there are pools that are always there with enough to support a diverse biological community.
As EcoVillage has withdrawn more and more water, the wildlife and ecosystem has diminished .
Mr. Mitchell also felt that EcoVillage has shown disregard for the wetland by what they have
already done, they have started to mow down the cattails and move some earth , and this seemed
especially egregious since cattails are an indication of wetlands to the Army Corp of Engineers .
His property value is decreased with the water decrease according to the Tompkins County
Conservation Plan and protecting the enjoyment of streams is one of the stated goals of the
newly adopted Stream Setback law. He stated that he has been enjoying this stream since the
1950 ' s as has his family.
ZBA 9/ 17/2012
Page 10 of 12
® Mr. Mitchell doesn ' t believe the applicants have provided a mitigation plan as required by the
Stream Setback Law . He believes that any action that would degrade the environment should be
under closer scrutiny. He also is not alone but has a letter from another neighbor, Rose Platco
whose property abuts Ecovillage and whose property the Cliff Park Brook also runs on .
Although he believes their reasons for wanting the water are laudable, they are not sufficient to
degrade the stream and associated ecosystems . He believes there are other alternatives such as
existing or new wells and there is another larger pond further up the property, along with using
municipal water. He added that these are commercial enterprise with several thousand dollars of
revenue every year that could be spent on this issue of needed irrigation .
Mr. Mitchell thought they could also mitigate this by building a different kind of dam that would
not impound all the water in the summer but they have chosen not to .
Mr. Mitchell discussed the sketch provided by applicant . He pointed out where they show the
stream setback, and thought it was a little hard to understand how on some of the pictures the
whole area is considered a wetland and according to the pictures in the stream setback law, the
stream side wetland is considered part of the stream and the setback doesn ' t start until outside of
that stream side wetland . So the pond would actually be a part of the wetland . He also thought it
was hard to understand how on the applicant ' s diagrams, the stream is in two different places and
the water is running into the pond . He felt that it is only running into the pond because they made
a berm (pointed to it) here to make it run into the pond . They basically channeled the stream in
two places to make it fill the pond .
® Mr. Mitchell also commented on the Environmental Assessment Form in which the word
"quantity" was left out which seemed to indicate that they knew they were doing something
wrong. Mr. Bates pointed out that he was using the ` proposed ' form by DEC which they have
not removed from their website, not the one that is actually being used .
Mr. Herrick confirmed that over time there has been modification of the connection between the
outlets of that culvert and the inlet side of the pond . In reality there is the original stream corridor
and the ditching done as part of a farm practice. They modified the ditch in order to keep the
pond at some point in the past.
The Board discussed the comments and concerns raised by Mr. Mitchell . Mr. Rosen thought that
Mr. Mitchell ' s comments explained his questions about the maps because he couldn ' t see where
the stream fed the pond without diversion . Mr. Sigel noted that the current condition of the pond
is that it is fed by the stream in addition to the spring. That was done at some point in the past
but that is the current form . Mr. Rosen did not think that was shown on the maps exhibited by
the applicant.
Mr. Herrick responded that the Town has a map that shows the location of the streams that are
covered by the stream set back ordinance and that is what is reflected on the displayed maps . He
agreed that there is physical evidence by topography that that corridor is there but there has been
modification via ditching to feed the pond .
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® Mr. Sigel was concerned that if any of the area around the pond being was a wetland that would
extend the setback. It is possible the setback for this stream is short enough that it may be that the
set back is achieved before you hit a wetland . Mr. Herrick was asked if he knew if any of this
was wetland and he responded that there is evidence of cattails growing, other cattails that do
grow down toward the north end of the pond and that by Army Corp standards there would be
evidence in or around the pond that there are wetlands . The process of reviewing that and
determining any issues with the Army Corp was vetted out between the applicant and the Corp
and the Corp provided a letter stating that this purpose of constructing the expanded pond for
purposes of agricultural was not an activity that required any mitigation or delineation of wetland
impact .
Mr. Mitchell commented that in recent weeks some of the cattails around the pond had been
mowed down. He presented some pictures showing this . (Attachment #2) Mr. Mitchell also
stated that the aerial picture that is a part of the Planning Dept packet shows the wetland areas .
Ms . Brock added that this is going in front of the Planning Board tomorrow for a fill permit
because they are going to move more than 250 cubic yards of fill and the Zoning Board did not
get all of the same materials .
Mr. Herrick pointed out that the wetland mowing could have been partly done by the Town as
the means for keeping the easement cleared and he would check with Public Works tomorrow .
Mr. Sigel was concerned because our Stream Setback Law ( SSL) is designed to protect stream
banks and these issues of taking or retaining water from the stream don ' t seem to be directly
® related to stream bank quality or downstream water quality. Their intrusion into the setback area
is small for the diversion area and while he was sympathetic to the issues downstream , he didn ' t
know if that is what the SSL was designed to address . Ms . Brock said the law has its purposes in
it and she began to look for it . Mr. Krantz commented that to him , this clearly violates the SSL.
He thought this would require regular maintenance which would disturb the banks and
sedimentation and this would clearly affect the ecology downstream . He felt that there were
alternatives that should be used . Mr. Sigel did not disagree with the impacts , but did not know
how the Board could relate how those impacts could be related to the banks or setback area that
the SSL is protecting. Ms . Fogarty was concerned about the excavation that will be needed in
the wetlands .
Mr. Sigel discussed the option of adjourning the appeal to get an opinion from the Planning
Board because he felt the Planning Board might have more experience dealing with these types
of issues ; stormwater, drainage, wetland stability if water is damned or more water taken from
the area, and riparian rights . Ms . Brock also noted the question about whether the stream setback
Zones are properly shown and whether there are stream- side wetlands, then you do not count the
wetlands in the setback area, you start the setback area at the edge of the outside of the wetlands .
Mr. Sigel thought that staff should review that and provide recommendations . Ms . Brock added
that although there are questions about where the stream is , the SSL states that the town staff
prepares a map and they have. The map may need to be amended , but that is the map that the
applicant needs to use .
ZBA 9/ 17/2012
Page 12 of 12
® Mr. Rosen asked for figures on water-flow and recharge rates for the pond . Mr. Herrick
responded that he could bring some figures but weather controls the overflow and the
intermittence of the existing stream . Ms . Greene thanked the board and Mr. Mitchell for the
information and felt they need time to think about these concerns that they hadn ' t thought about .
Mr. Sigel closed the public hearing at 8 : 43pm .
Mr. Sigel moved to adjourn the appeal of the EcoVillage until the October meeting of the Zoning
Board of Appeals, both after the request by the applicants that they be given time to supply
additional materials, specifically indicating wetlands and how that may impact the stream
setback ; and also so that this board may request Planning Board recommendation under Chapter
270-275 subsection H .
Seconded by Mr. Dixon
Vote : Ayes - Sigel , Dixon, Fogarty and Rosen . Nays — Krantz
Motion passed
Meeting adjourned 8 : 44pm
7vu_���
Kirk igel , Chair
® Submitted by
Lori Kofoid, Deputy Tow Cler
® TOWN OF ITHACA
(� AFFIDAVIT OF POSTING AND PUBLICATION
I , Lori Kofoid , being duly sworn , say that I a Deputy Town Clerk of the Town of Ithaca ,
Tompkins County, New York that the following notice has been duly posted on the sign board
of the Town Clerk of the Town of Ithaca and the notice has been duly published in the official
newspaper, Ithaca Journal:
ADVERTISEMENT : PUBLIC HEARING
TOWN OF ITHACA ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARINGS
Monday, September 17 , 2012
7 : 00 P . M .
Date of Publication : Thursday, September 6 , 2012
Location of Sign Board Used for Posting : Town Hall Lobby
Public Notices Board
215 North Tioga Street
Ithaca , NY 14850
Date of Posting : Friday, September 6 , 2012
f
Lori Kofoid
Deputy Town Clerk
Town of Ithaca
STATE OF NEW YORK)
COUNTY OF TOMPKINS ) SS :
TOWN OF ITHACA )
Sworn to and subscribed before me this 6th day of September 2012 .
Nota�ublic
Debra DeAugis± ine
Notary Public - State of New York
No. 01DE6148085
Qualified in Tompkins County
My Commission Expires June 19, 20 -JO
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TOWN OF ITHACA
ZONING BOARD
OF APPEALS '
NOTICE OF PUBLIC
HEARINGS
' Monday' , •'
September 17,12012
f - 215 North Toga Street,
Ithaca , f
7:00 P:M.
(Appeal . of Brian Francis.
, agent for Gary & Rita Car -
son, owners, requesting
.variances from ,the require-
ments of. Chapter 270-233,
and Section 270-71C 'Yardl
Regulations" of the Town of�
Ithaca Code to be permit-
ted to construct deck ad-
dition that ' encroach . into
the side yard setback locat-
ed at 2 Saunders Dr, •Tax ,
Parcel No. '44.2.2-1 , , Medi
um Density Residential.
. Appeal of EAC o ere-
( School of Ithaca,, ownner,r, re-
questing a , variance from
the requirements of Chap-
ter 270-59 of the Town of •,
.Ithaca Code to be permit-
ted to construct an addition I
to the already - existing
'buildings located at 120- -
122 King Rd E, Tax Parcel!
No. 43.- 1 -3.21 , 43.- 1 -3.5 & �
143.-1 -3.6, Low Density andl
Medium Density .
Residen-tial. Said addition exceeds -
the allowable. height limita
tions.
Appeal of Ecovillage at Itha-
da. , owner, requesting a
variancefrom the require-
ments of Chapter 270-i
I' 219.5E & Fofthe Town of
Ithaca Code, prohibited ac-
tiviiies in Stream Setback
I zones 1. &.2 to be permitted
� to perform excavation and
I grading to, expand the cur-
t rent' farm pond locatedat
101 Rachel Carson Way,
'Tax Parcel No. 28.26.22,'
Planned Development Zone
#8.
Assistance will be provided
for individuals with special
,needs, upon 'request. Re-
quests should be made not
less than 48 hours prior
the public hearings.
Bruce W. Bates .
Director of Code I
jEnforcement
-607-273. 1783 _
, ! Dated: Septembers, 2012 _
19/7/2012 A .
of
AFFIDAVIT OF SERVICE BY MAIL
WATE OF NEW YORK ) SS . :
COUNTY OF TOMPKINS )
1, Lori Kofoid, being duly sworn, deposes and says , that deponent is not a party to the actions, is over 21 years of
age with a professional address of 215 North Tioga Street, Ithaca, New York.
That on the 7`h day of September 2012 , deponent served the within Notice upon the property owners of the
following Tax Parcel Numbers :
2 Saunders Rd, Area Variance
Robert P Barker Brenda Bear Jason Bennett
6 Chase Ln 4 Chase Ln 183 King Rd E
Ithaca, NY 14850 Ithaca, NY 14850 Ithaca, NY 14850
Richard Benson William Block Gary Carlson
8 Chase Ln 7 Saunders Rd 2 Saunders Rd
Ithaca, NY 14850 Ithaca, NY 14850 Ithaca, NY 14850
James V Ciaschi III Joseph R Citro William Courtney
7 Chase Ln 177 King Rd E 19 Saunders Rd
haca, NY 14850 Ithaca, NY 14850 Ithaca, NY 14850
Eric Cronise Michael Dorf Jennifer Driscoll
5 Saunders Rd 189 King Rd E 14 Saunders Rd
Ithaca, NY 14850 Ithaca, NY 14850 Ithaca, NY 14850
Mark Fiore James Garbarino Yuval Grossman
165 King Rd E PO Box 7074 8 Saunders Rd
Ithaca, NY 14850 Ithaca, NY 14851 Ithaca, NY 14850
Kevin Hallock Kevin Haverlock Brandon Hencey
6 Saunders Rd 5 Chase Ln 181 King Rd E
Ithaca, NY 14850 Ithaca, NY 14850 Ithaca, NY 14850
Kenneth Hodges Hospicare Foundation, Inc Kevin Howe
16 Saunders Rd 172 King Rd E 173 King Rd E
Ithaca, NY 14850 Ithaca, NY 14850 Ithaca, NY 14850
Michael Massicci Peter Massicci Cheryl Mitchell
12 Saunders Rd 18 Saunders Rd 10 Saunders Rd
Ithaca, NY 14850 Ithaca, NY 14850 Ithaca, NY 14850
Paul Muscente Richard Newhart John Peterson
20 Saunders Rd 171 King Rd E 34 Crosstie Court
�haca, NY 14850 Ithaca, NY 14850 Palm Coast, FL 32137
Christopher Petrillose Ronald Provus William Rady
179 King Rd E 3 Chase Ln 10 Chase Ln
Ithaca, NY 14850 Ithaca, NY 14850 Ithaca, NY 14850
ffidavit of Service by Mail Zoning Board of Appeals Meeting 09/ 17/2012
49
Joseph Scaffido James Scarpulla Brian Smith
4 Saunders Rd 185 King Rd E 175 King Rd E
Ithaca, NY 14850 Ithaca, NY 14850 Ithaca, NY 14850
Arthur Stern William Whitten
9 Chase Ln 191 King Rd E
Ithaca, NY 14850 Ithaca, NY 14850
120- 122 King Rd E, Area Variance
Leslie Black Robert Chamberlain College Crossing LLC
107 Kings Way 70 Gunderman Rd 123 King Rd E
Ithaca, NY 14850 Ithaca, NY 14850 Ithaca, NY 14853
Jacob Crawford Rachel Cullenen Mark Fonder
111 Kings Way 1111 Danby Rd 126 King Rd E
Ithaca, NY 14850 Ithaca, NY 14850 Ithaca, NY 14850
Manley ' s Mighty Mart Montessori Elem Sch of Ithaca Theresa Peck
1249 Front St 120 King Rd E 113 Kings Way
Binghamton, NY 13905 Ithaca, NY 14850 Ithaca, NY 14850
Oed Oak Cayuga Properties, LLC Samuel Peter Trust Eric Schneider
PO Box 737 1083 Danby Rd 124 King Rd E
Trumansburg, NY 14886 Ithaca, NY 14850 Ithaca, NY 14850
Donna Updike
130 King Rd E
Ithaca, NY 14850
101 Rachel Carson Way, Area Variance
Mossaad Abdel-Ghany Franziska Bedzyk Robin Botie
162 Westhaven Rd 1343 Mecklenburg Rd 1341 Mecklenburg Rd
Ithaca, NY 14850 Ithaca, NY 14850 Ithaca, NY 14850
Robert Champion Ecovillage at Ithaca, Inc Ecovillage at Ithaca, Inc
24 Helen ' s Way 200 Rachel Carson Way 100 Rachel Carson Way
Ithaca, NY 14851 Ithaca, NY 14850 Ithaca, NY 14850
Rose Flacco Revocable Trust Brent Katzmann Abbe Lyons
150 Westhaven Rd 1335 Mecklenburg Rd 154 Westhaven Rd
Ithaca, NY 14850 Ithaca, NY 14850 Ithaca, NY 14850
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0kffidavit of Service by Mail Zoning Board of Appeals Meeting 09/ 17/2012
Robert Mitchell Leon Newhart Joshua Peluso
153 Westhaven Rd 155 Westhaven Rd 140 Westhaven Rd
Ithaca, NY 14850 Ithaca, NY 11210 Ithaca, NY 14850
Steven Pond Stanley Renkas Colleen Shuler
142 Westhaven Rd 164 Westhaven Rd 1319 Mecklenburg Rd #5
Ithaca, NY 14850 Ithaca, NY 14850 Ithaca, NY 14850
Robert & Mary Swansbrough Leo Teeter & Ann Lillie Yunis Realty Inc
15 Piper Rd 214 Wood St 214 E Church St
Newfield, NY 14867 Ithaca, NY 14850 Elmira, NY 14901
Jeffrey Gilmore Devon Van Noble Peter Trowbridge
Ecovillage at Ithaca, Inc PO Box 6679 1345 Mecklenburg Rd
Ithaca, NY 14850 Ithaca, NY 14851 Ithaca, NY 14850
By depositing same enclosed in a postpaid addressed wrapper, in a post office under the exclusive care and custody of the
United States Post Office Department within the St New York.
i
,ori Kofoid, Deputy Town Clerk
Town of Ithaca
Sworn to f e me this 7"' day of September 2012 .
01/1
WA
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Notary Publ
PAULETTE TERMWOER
Nctory Pubfic, State of Hew Yak
No. OITE6156809
C Wi ied to Vmipkim ooh+ /
Comn�ion Ewkw Oeoernber 4, 20*/
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® TOWN OF ITHACA
ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS
SIGN - IN SHEET
DATE : September 17 , 2012
(PLEASE PRINT TO ENSURE A CCURA CY IN OFFICIAL MINUTES)
PLEASE PRINT NAME PLEASE PRINTADDRESS / AFFILIATION
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