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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPB Minutes 2021-06-01 TOWN OF ITHACA PLANNING BOARD Shirley A. Raffensperger Board Room, Town Hall 215 North Tioga Street Ithaca,New York 14850 Tuesday, June 1,2021 Because of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19),the Town of Ithaca Planning Board Meeting scheduled for June 1,2021 will be held electronically via Zoom,instead of a public meeting open for the public to attend in person. Members of the public may listen to (call in on cell or landline: (929)436-2866 and enter the Meeting ID: 675 059 3272) or view (by computer go to httns://zoom.us/i/6750593272) the Board meeting through Zoom. AGENDA 7:00 P.M. SEQR Determination: Cornell University Multidisciplinary Building,350 Tower Road. 7:00 P.M. PUBLIC HEARING: Consideration of Preliminary Site Plan Approval and Special Permit for the proposed Cornell University Multidisciplinary Building project, located east of Rice Hall on the Cornell University campus along Tower Road, Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No. 67.-1-13.2, Low Density Residential Zone. The project involves the construction of a 100,000+/- square foot,4-story building that will replace an existing parking lot adjacent to Rice and Bruckner Halls. The new building will house Cornell's Centers for Cancer Biology and Immunology, Department of Computation Biology, Masters of Public Health Program, and the Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future. The project will also include the installation of small plazas, pathways, gardens, stormwater facilities, outdoor lighting, signage, and landscaping. Cornell University, Owner; Ramnath Venkat, Cornell University Infrastructure, Properties & Planning, Applicant/Agent. 3. Persons to be heard. 4. Approval of Minutes: May 4, 2021 and May 18, 2021 5. Other Business 6. Adjournment 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 or SPOLCECaz)TOWN.ITHACA.NY.US. (A quorum of four(4)members is necessary to conduct Planning Board business.) Accessing Meeting Materials Online Site Plan and Subdivision applications and associated project materials are accessible electronically on the Town's website under"Planning Board"on the"Meeting Agendas"page(httg://www.town.ithaca.nv.us/meeting-a2endas). TOWN OF ITHACA PLANNING BOARD NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARINGS Tuesday,June 1,2021 By direction of the Chairperson of the Planning Board,NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a Public Hearing will be held electronically by the Planning Board of the Town of Ithaca on Tuesday, June 1, 2021, at the following time and on the following matter: 7:00 P.M. Consideration of Preliminary Site Plan Approval and Special Permit for the proposed Cornell University Multidisciplinary Building project, located east of Rice Hall on the Cornell University campus along Tower Road, Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No. 67.-1-13.2, Low Density Residential Zone. The project involves the construction of a 100,000+I-square foot, 4-story building that will replace an existing parking lot adjacent to Rice and Bruckner Halls. The new building will house Cornell's Centers for Cancer Biology and Immunology, Department of Computation Biology, Masters of Public Health Program, and the Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future. The project will also include the installation of small plazas, pathways,gardens,stormwater facilities,outdoor lighting,signage,and landscaping. Cornell University, Owner; Ramnath Venkat, Cornell University Infrastructure, Properties & Planning,Applicant/Agent. Because of the Novel Coronavirus(COVID-19),the Town of Ithaca Planning Board Meeting scheduled for June 1,2021 will be held electronically via Zoom, instead of a public meeting open for the public to attend in person. Members of the public may listen to (call in on cell or landline: (929)436-2866 and enter the Meeting 1D: 675 059 3272)or view(by computer go to https:Hzooin.tis/i/6750593272)the Board meeting through Zoom. Said Planning Board will at said time 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 hearing. Susan Ritter Director of Planning 273-1747 Dated: Monday,May 24,2021 Publish: Wednesday, May 26, 2021 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_T_ ioga Street, Ithaca, New York, on Tuesday, June 1, 2021 commencing at 7:00 P.M., as per attached. Location of Sign Board used for Posting: Town Clerk Sign Board—215 North Tioga Street. Date of Posting: May 24, 2021 Date of Publication: May 26, 2021 Sandra Polce, Senior Typist Town of Ithaca STATE OF NEW YORK) SS: COUNTY OF TOMPKINS) Sworn to and subscribed before me this 26`h day of May 2021. Notary Public DEBORAH KELL;73 NOTARY PUBLIC.STATE,QERK Regi mdaallo.0KW Qualirrod iin SCHUYLEiCo alWoa Exgm MAY WEDNESDAY, MAY 26, 2021 ! THE ITHACA JOURNAL TOWN OF ITHACA_PLANNING BOARD NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARINGS Tuesday.,June 1,2021 By direction of the Chairperson of the Planning Board, NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a Public Hearing will be held electronically by the Planning Board of the Town of Ithaca on Tuesday, June 1, 2021, at the following time and on the following matter: 7:00 P.M. Consideration of Preliminary Site Plan Approval and Special Permit for the proposed Cornell University Multidisciplinary Building project, located east of Rice Hall on the Cornell University campus along Tower Road, Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No.67.- 1-13.2, Low Density Residential Zone. The project in- volves the construction of a 100,000+/- square toot, story building that will replace an existing parking lot adjacent to Rice and Bruckner Halls. The new building will house Corneli's Centers for Cancer Biol. ogy and Immunology, Department of Computation Biology, Masters of Public Health Program, and the Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future. The proj- ect will also include the installation of small plazas, pathways, gardens, stormwater facilities, outdoor lighting, signage, and landscaping Cornell University, Owner; Ramnath Ven t, Cornell University Infrastructure, Properties & Planning, Applicant/Agent. Because of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), the Town of Ithaca Planning Board Meeting scheduled for June 1, 2021 will be held electronically via Zoom, instead of a public meeting open for the public to attend in person. Members of the public may listen to (call in on cell or landline: (929) 436-2866 and enter the Meeting ID: 675 059 3272) or view(by computer go to httpso ://zom._gVj/67 50593272)the Board meeting through Zoom Said Planning Board will at said time and said place hear i all persons in support of such matters or objections there- i to. Persons may appear by agent or in person. Individu- als with visual impairments, hearing impairments or other assistance as necessa- ryeuponneeds, requ request. be will desiring provided assistance mut make such a request not less than 48 hours prior to the time of the public hearing. Susan Ritter Director of Planning 273-1747 Dated: Monday, May 24,2021 Publish:Wednesday, May 26, 2021 � � TOWN OF ITHACA PLANNING BOARD Tuesday, June 1, 2021 Due to the extension of Governor Cuomo's Executive Order(s) suspending certain aspects of Open Meetings Law for health and safety reasons, the meeting was held virtually via ZOOM. Minutes Board Members Present: Members Liebe Meier Swain, Chair; Yvonne Fogarty,Greg Lindquist, Jamie Vanucchi, Cindy Kaufman, Margaret Johnson, Ariel Casper, and Fred Wilcox Town Staff. Sue Ritter, Director of Planning; Chris Balestra, Planner; Marty Mosely, Director of Code Enforcement; Susan Brock, Attorney for the Town; David O'Shea, Senior Civil Engineer, Justin McNeal, Civil Engineer; Becky Jordan, Deputy Town Clerk; Ms. Meier Swain opened the meeting at 7:01 p.m. Consideration of Preliminary Site Plan Approval and Special Permit for the proposed Cornell University Multidisciplinary Building project, located east of Rice Hall on the Cornell University campus along Tower Road, Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No. 67.-l-13.2, Low Density Residential Zone. The project involves the construction of a 100,000+/-square foot,4-story building that will replace an existing parking lot adjacent to Rice and Bruckner Halls. The new building will house Cornell's Centers for Cancer Biology and immunology, Department of Computation Biology, Masters of Public Health Program,and the Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future. The project will also include the installation of small plazas,pathways,gardens, stormwater facilities, outdoor lighting, signage,and landscaping. Cornell University, Owner;Ramnath Venkat, Cornell University Infrastructure,Properties&Planning, Applicant/Agent. Mr. Venkat, Project Manager, introduced other team members; Margaret Carney, University Architect; David Cutter, University Landscape Architect; Matt Kozlowski, University Facilities Engineering; and Dondi Hamer, T.G. Miller. Mr. Venkat gave an overview of the project, saying the Multidisciplinary Building was before the Board for sketch plan review in September 2019 and has been on hold until about 4 months ago. Ms. Carney went through a presentation, saying that this building will bring together a group of diverse researchers with a united focus in planetary health, including; the Center for Cancer Biology and Immunology, Master of Public Health, Department of Computational Biology, Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability and the Infectious Disease Genomics Lab programs. The project is intended to be LEED Gold or Platinum and be a model for other buildings as we work to meet our aggressive climate action plan and sustainability. The building is four stories overall with a basement. The Atkinson Center and Master of Public Health will occupy the 1 st floor; floors two and three will house wet lab and computational space PB 2021-06-01 (Filed 7/13) Ps. I and the top floor will house all dry computational biology space. The basement will house Bio Safety Level 3 labs. The north side of the building has an organic feel to it and blends in with the natural trail, trees and botanic gardens. The building is clad in copper that will patina and over the years will have a rustic look to it. In an effort to manage stormwater, we have proposed creating a constructed wetland behind the building along the trail which students and faculty doing research on natural environments can use as a living wetland lab for testing and observation. The glass has a bird friendly finish and we have been thoughtful and respectful of neighboring Rice Hall and its place on the National Registry of Historic Places. Mr. Cutter discussed the impacts the current site had on the building design. The site is currently a 90+permitted parking lot with a Visitors Booth to the east. This parking will go away but there are 12 spaces on the other side of Rice Hall, 30-35 spaces along Mann Dr, and approximately 230 or so spaces along Alumni Lot on Tower Road, 50-60 spaces along Wing Rd,and approximately 100 spaces at the Peterson visitor parking lot. Mann Drive will continue to serve primarily as service and emergency access but will change to a one way. The north side entry will be pedestrian only with small emergency vehicle access. There will be access via three sides of the building with the main entrance along Tower Rd., and a drop off and emergency access point at the east end, and another entry on west side facing Rice and Bruckner. A consulting arborist was brought in to evaluate the existing Red Oaks and unfortunately, they have internal decay or infection and are a risk with splits in the trunks. Four Oaks on Tower Rd will be replaced with similar form and size and the northside landscaping will maintain naturalistic feeling. Stormwater management will include constructed wetlands with native plantings and a bioswale along the north walkway. Runoff will be captured from the adjacent roof and pavement to supply water to the wetlands and then flow into bio-retention filtering through plants and soil before ending up in stonm drain system. Both the wetlands and bio-retention basins will have impervious liners underneath to provide better control of water levels and future destabilization. Mr. Venkat discussed construction logistics, saying that with the tight physical constraints of the site, they engaged early with construction contractors on how to best protect existing landscape and regular traffic flow around the site, including emergency and delivery access. The existing walkway along Tower Rd will be maintained throughout the project's construction. PB 2021-06-01 (Filed 7/13) P& 2 Mr. Venkat stated that the current schedule, includes preliminary site plan review here now, followed by a height variance application by the Zoning Board of Appeals, and Planning Board final site plan review in the fall with design completion targeted for Spring 2022, and construction completion by Spring of 2024. Board Comments and Questions Ms. Kaufman asked about the alternates in the drawings related to equipment spaces on roof and an area where there is a large space possible for an addition. Mr. Venkat replied that the University is awaiting word on a grant application and if awarded, the space would be available for expanded office space through that grant. Ms. Carney added that the fourth floor was designed for only the programs must-haves at first and although there was space for additional offices, there wasn't funding. The grant,which focuses on immunology, happened at an opportune time and would fund the additional space. Ms. Fogarty inquired about delivery and management of building supplies being delivered and then moved off site. Mr. Venkat responded that deliveries will be timed to closely follow the construction schedule with materials of immediate use on site and materials not being used taken off site; there will be no storage of materials onsite. Mr. Wilcox suggested discussing construction staging given the tight space and size of building. The materials book indicate there will be roughly 23k cubic yards of soil and asphalt excavated and potentially removed,which equates to about 2k truckloads. It also states suitable topsoil will be retained and stockpiled for reuse, where will that soil be stockpiled? Mr. Venkat responded that that is no longer the plan and that reference should have been deleted. Mr. Wilcox responded that that will increase the number of truckloads in and out and he assumes there will be a discussion about truck routing plans during site plan review. He was curious about the controversy of Uris Hall being nicknamed"Old Rusty", and how sure are they can be about the patina and how it is going to look? Ms. Johnson replied that although she was skeptical, she has seen other projects with untreated copper left to naturally patina. Within about two years you start to see a difference in that the character will dull and mellow in with the natural context.The process is beautiful to watch, and that is the finish they are after. Mr. Wilcox asked if the visitor booth was being eliminated? Mr. Cutter replied that the visitor booth is on the same parcel and has not been used in well over a year and will be removed. PB 2021-06-01 (Filed 7;13) Pg.3 Mr. Wilcox stated that he was concerned about the schedule and the proposed 2022 completion of design, noting that any significant changes should come back to the Planning Board. Mr. Wilcox asked what is a BSL3? Ms. Johnson responded that BSL3 is Bio Safety Level 3. It is a very sophisticated but small genomics focused lab where tissue culture and analysis work will be performed. IDG tech stands for infectious disease genomics and that area is where researchers will be fully gowned to protect from biological contamination while in the lab. Mr. Wilcox recalled discussion during vet school construction that there is a method for eliminating bio-hazardous materials such as burning. How are level 3 biohazard materials dealt with in this lab? Mr. Venkat responded that the majority of the labs are BSL2 and will use the same ventilation, exhaust and air handling system outfit in the basement. The other labs are BSL3 which require their own air handling and exhaust system which will be in the alternate space on the roof mentioned earlier. Ms. Meier Swain noted that Cornell's Environmental Health and Safety Department with very robust protocols and a Safety Officer in charge of compliance. There is a lot of information available on the website under that department. Ms. Vanucchi asked about the constructed wetlands and what keeps the wetlands wet and how they are constructed. Mr. Cutter responded that the wetland soil is a constructed soil, and they are looking at having a mulch of river rocks in some areas so in the lower water level areas, a river rock bottom will be seen as opposed to a muddy bottom. He added that civil engineers did a hydraulic analysis and determined there will always be enough water to keep the area wet. Mr. O'Shea mentioned the plan shows a deduct for bio-retention in that area and if that was correct. Mr. Venkat responded that it is not a deduct. The constructed wetland was being considered for a location for a bio-retention basin in the original cost estimating exercises and some of the confusion may be coming from details of the 2019 packet when the project was on hold. Mr. O'Shea asked for clarification that sheet L302 will not be used. Ms. Vanucchi spoke to Mr. Cutter's mention of another bio-retention and smaller constructed wetland in the front of the building; the planting plan shows a lot of Sara Monica which the City of Ithaca and Cornell wanted to back off the use of. She wondered if that had changed. Mr.Cutter replied that that is an old 2019 planting plan. PB 2021-06-01 (Filed 7/13) Pg.4 Mr. Lindquist asked about parking. Mr. Cutter replied that they have done a parking study and the 90 spaces at the visitor booth have not been used for over a year and there are plenty of spaces within walking distance in seven surrounding lots. Ms. Meier Swain noted her concern for the number of times it has been stated that the 2019 materials were not reviewed properly and that needs to be done now. Ms. Balestra replied that if the Planning Board approves the project for site plan review, there will be conditions for submission of a revised planting plan and any other drawings needed to reflect the current project, not the project as is from 2019. Mr. Lindquist asked if there has been any response from the NYS Preservation Office regarding Rice Hall. Ms. Balestra replied that the Town has not received a response other than acknowledgement of receipt of materials and their window of opportunity to respond has expired, adding that early on, the applicant received notification that an archaeological study would not be necessary. Ms. Fogarty referred to drawing(p 11 E2e) and the poor drainage for 50%of the site and asked how, in terms of construction, will that impact the site itself and the botanic gardens beneath it? Mr. Hamer stated that the existing soil conditions on the site are 50%moderately well drained and 50% poorly drained. During construction, any necessary dewatering processes will be done on site to remove sediment before being discharged downstream. Ms. Brock added that the last sentence on pg. 31 under Site Plan Review regarding suitable topsoil on site being retained and stockpiled for reuse should be deleted according to statements tonight and Mr. Venkat confirmed that would happen. Ms. Brock referred to the potential NIH grant that, if awarded, certain programs may come into the building and two exhaust stacks added on the roof. In the materials it states that if this happens the project team will evaluate the impact the additional program will have on overall energy use and the impacts of exhaust stacks, if added, will be studied further to limit visibility and noise transmission, but elsewhere in the EAF it states the projected impact is included. Mr. Vankat responded that the very preliminary design they have done for the grant application does not include an analysis of energy impacts or noise increases due to additional equipment. NIH has very strict design and review requirements, and so we are hesitant on designing too soon and are holding back on the fit out. We have oversized the base [exhaust and ventilation] system to accommodate future growth. PB 2021-06-01 (Filed T'13) Pg, 5 He added that the BSL3 portion has an added requirement of a separate air handling unit and separate exhaust system, but it is a minimal footprint and they do not have the data for the added energy use yet. Ms. Brock asked for the square footage of the lab requiring additional air handling that is pending grant award for fit out and if it is just the air handling energy use not yet modeled or is the heating and cooling also not modeled yet, as well as the incremental noise with the additional air stack this lab requires. Mr. Venkat replied that approximately 2500 sq ft of the heating and cooling is incorporated in the model and compared to the overall design with the other stacks in place, additional noise will be minimal. Ms. Fogarty and Mr. Wilcox commented that all the unknowns are concerning. Ms. Carney agreed there is uncertainty about the basement build out with the pending grant but they are confident the grant will come through and the likelihood is high that we would go ahead with the build out. Ms. Meier Swain stated that if the likelihood of going ahead with full build out anyway is so high, it should have been modeled and included in the application so that the board could have considered all of the environmental factors. Ms. Balestra summarized the revisions and additional information requested so far. Mr. Venkat stated that it will take some time to do all of that, especially the energy audit. Ms. Balestra reviewed the publication timelines. Mr. Venkat requested a postponement to allow for additional information and revisions to be made. 2. PERSONS TO BE HEARD None 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - None 4. OTHER BUSINESS —Ms. Balestra reviewed upcoming appearances. Meeting was adjourned at 9:21 p.m. upon a motion by Mr. Wilcox, seconded by Ms. Meier Swain, unanimous. Submitted by � fy Becky J an, Deputy Town Clerk PB 2021-06-01 (Filed 7113) Pg. 6