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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPC Packet 2022-12-15 DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING 215 N. Tioga St 14850 607.273.1747 www.town.ithaca.ny.us TOWN OF ITHACA PLANNING COMMITTEE THURSDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2022 at 4:15 P.M. Meeting Location: Ithaca Town Hall, 215 N. Tioga Street, Aurora Conference Room (Enter from the rear entrance of Town Hall, adjacent employee parking lot.) Members of the public may also join the meeting virtually via Zoom at https://us06web.zoom.us/j/6750593272. AGENDA 1. Persons to be heard. 2. Committee announcements and concerns. 3. Consider approval of November meeting minutes. 4. Consider request for a Limited Historic Commercial Overlay District for 130 Forest Home Drive. 5. Staff updates and reports. 6. Discuss next meeting date and upcoming agenda items. A quorum of the Ithaca Town Board may be present, however, no official Board business will be conducted. 1 Town of Ithaca Planning Committee Thursday, November 17, 2022 (3:00 PM Aurora Conference Room and on Zoom) Draft Minutes Committee members: Rich DePaolo, Chair; Rod Howe & Margaret Johnson Board/Staff members: Director of Planning, Susan Ritter; Director of Code Enforcement, Marty Mosely, Mike Smith, Planner; Justin McNeal, Town Civil Engineer. Guests: None 1. Persons to be heard: None 2. Committee announcements and concerns: None 3. Approval of October meeting minutes: Rod moved; Margaret seconded. The October 20, 2022, minutes were approved as presented. 4. Consider Solar Law draft amendments: Sue referenced the memo she prepared which summarized three outstanding issues to be addressed. The committee agreed to changing back the large-scale solar installation threshold to 10 acres. There was discussion on ensuring an adequate setback in the LDR zones, no changes to the language were proposed. Reference the NYS Ag & Markets Solar Project Guidelines document or simplify and include specific town-tailored provisions within the law itself, similar to what the Town of Victor did? The Committee was comfortable with the town-tailored draft provisions (4 pages) being included within the law for full- scale projects. Members requested the more detailed Environmental Monitor (EM) description from the Ag & Market document be included in the proposed section L with the added phrase “at the discretion of the town” after shall hire or designate in the first sentence (rather than adding the EM definition into the zoning chapter). The decommissioning provisions (from the Ag & Markets guideline) may be duplicative of Section H. (Decommissioning) and can be removed if so after comparing to the language already outlined. The committee asked that the Ag & Markets reference be removed in the decommissioning section. They will still become involved if an issue arises where its deemed necessary by the EM, but leave the County Soil and Water agency reference. A map showing important agricultural soils along with the underlying Town zoning districts was provided for reference for the committee. It was agreed to delete G.(2)(d)[5] (restricting solar installations where important ag soils exist) in the design standards for full-scale photovoltaic solar energy systems due to adding the more robust language as described above. The committee was comfortable with the language and amendments moving forward to the attorney for legal review along with a copy to the Planning and Conservation Boards for information 5. Added to agenda- consideration of amendments proposed to the building height and size of detached garage/accessory buildings: Marty prepared a memo which outlined an outstanding request 2 made to the Town Management Team to investigate if the maximum height and size of detached garages/accessory buildings should be increased given the frequent appeals coming before the ZBA and being granted. Proposed modifications to increase the height of detached garages/accessory building limitations from 15 to 20 feet in height (25 proposed in some zones but 20 was ultimately decided on) and increasing the yard regulations total footprint for detached garages/accessory from 600 to 780 were presented and approved by the committee. These would apply to certain zones as outlined in the staff memo (Conservation Zone, Lakefront Residential, Low Density Residential, Medium Density Residential and High Density Residential). Rich had some clarifying language he would share with Marty for the Ag zone excerpt that was included for reference. The revised language does not need to come back to the Planning Committee again before it goes for action at the town board. 6. Staff updates and reports: Sue reported: The Limited Historic Commercial Overlay District law amendments are moving forward to the town board level. Three property owners have expressed interest in applying for the zoning in the near future. There is still potential interest of a seasonal lodging development to replace a portion of the expired Holochuck subdivision on Trumansburg Road. The apartment complex project on the northeast side of the town, off Arrowood Drive, is still interested in developing once the sewer issues are resolved. The Chain Works property is anticipated to change ownership (from Emerson) to a multi- owner/partnership arraignment, and the name has changed to South Works. 7. Next meeting date and upcoming agenda items: December 15th, 2022. The Planning Committee meeting concluded at 4:57 pm. 130 Forest Home Drive Town of Ithaca, New York Date: 2022.12.08 Project Description The project involves finish upgrades and the addition of a tenant laundry room in an existing mixed-use building that has an office suite on the first floor and 4 apartments on the 2nd and 3rd floors. The building is in an MDR residential zone where the existing office use is no longer allowed, though this office use has existed for many years. As such, a use variance or zone change would be required to allow continued use of the existing office space. The applicant wishes to change the zoning to the “Limited Historic Commercial Zone”, for which the property is eligible per 270-142. (see zoning discussion below) Zoning Requirements: MDR Uses: The building is currently in the MDR residential zone which allows one and two-family dwellings, parks, utilities, day-care homes, community residences and small wind facilities as principal uses. An office use is not among the uses allowed by special permit. MDR Area Regulations: Front yard depth is 25’ min, side yards 15’ min, and rear yard 30’ min. Height 36’ from lowest exterior grade Lot coverage allowed is 20% Minimum lot size is 15,000sf with a 60’ width at the street line and 150’ depth from the street R.O.W. line. Parking: 4 dwelling units require 6 spaces, and the 2010sf office space requires 11 spaces, for a total of 17 spaces. Existing conditions: Front yard depth from Forest Home Dr R.O.W. is 0’ and from The Byway centerline (no R.O.W. is shown on survey) is 12.5’. The side yard is +/-45’, and the rear yard is +/-28’. Height is +/-36’ from lowest exterior grade to ridge. Exceeds 38’ from basement floor. Lot coverage is 23.5% Lot area is 8,537sf There are currently 9 parking spaces in an existing gravel parking lot. Proposed Use and Area Conditions: It is proposed that the property zoning be changed to Limited Historic Commercial (LHC). This changes some of the use and area requirements: Use: Professional office is a use allowed by special permit in the LHC zone. The first floor of the existing building previously housed the offices of the Ramin Administration Center (Cornell University) in approximately 1760 net sf of space, which included 4 individual offices (3 of which are large enough for 2-3 people), a front reception/office area, meeting room, break room, storage spaces and toilet rooms. The new owner (applicant) proposes to use the space differently. One part of the space on the first floor would be converted into a laundry room for the residential tenants, reducing the square footage dedicated to the office use. The plan shows one possible laundry location; however the final laundry room location is yet to be determined. The office suite will be arranged to allow for the care of the owner’s 2 young children, with one former individual office being converted to a playroom/break room. This arrangement would result in a lower intensity of commercial use than the previous office space. 130 Forest Home Drive - 2 of 4 Area: Front yard and rear yard may be reduced to 15’. This will bring the existing rear yard of 28’ into compliance, though the front will remain deficient. The other existing area and parking deficiencies will remain since there are no site changes or major building changes proposed. Eligibility for Limited Historic Commercial Zone designation: Per section 270-142.3A(3), the building qualifies for rezoning by being a contributing building to the Forest Home Historic District, which was identified in the Town of Ithaca Historic Resources Survey. As a contributing building to an historic district, it is eligible to be listed in State and National historic registers, though it is not currently. The new owner intends to maintain the building in accordance with the historic standards of the district, and in compliance with the proposed zone designation. The building is a 2-1/2 story wood framed structure with a stucco exterior on the first floor and painted wood shakes on the upper stories, similar to many buildings in the district dating from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The street-facing facades are symmetrically organized and well balanced, and the steeply pitched roof features two prominent dormers on the east and west roof faces. A later one-story addition (meeting room in plan) and a steel fire escape on the east side facing the parking lot, though not particularly attractive, are innocuous enough to allow the original building to be discerned and appreciated. Similarly, a 2-story addition off the back (north side) is minimally visible from Forest Home Drive and does not detract from the original building. The existing exterior appears to have been well maintained and is in good condition. Alternatives to the proposed rezoning: Alteration of the existing building to convert the first-floor office use to a residential use would be an excessive financial burden to the applicant, both in terms of construction cost (+/- $350,000 based on a $200/sf) and the acquisition of a different property in which to locate her office. Furthermore, a conversion to residential would likely result in some modification of the exterior which may compromise the historic integrity of the building, and the building would still require a use variance (or rezoning from MDR to MR) to allow a multiple-residence to exist in this location. Rezoning to LHC would ensure that the exterior remains in its present condition and would preserve the applicant’s financial resources for ongoing maintenance of historic features. A use variance (either for a multiple-residence or office use), or rezoning to MR, would not offer the protections that rezoning to LHC would grant to the community with regard to protecting a building that contributes to the historic district at a significant street intersection. Stormwater No changes are proposed that would alter stormwater flows. Site and Landscape No site layout or major landscape changes are proposed, except for the removal of a row of shrubs which are internal to the site, just outside the east facing meeting room windows. Traffic As mentioned in the zoning discussion above, the proposed office use is less intensive than the existing office use, both in terms of square footage and number of staff occupying the space. As such, the proposed conditions will not increase traffic above that generated by the previous office use. 130 Forest Home Drive - 3 of 4 Site Photos Figure 1: Google Earth view of site. Figure 2: View of building from Forest Home Drive. 130 Forest Home Drive - 4 of 4 Figure 3: View of building from The Byway. Figure 4: View of building from parking area.