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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPB Minutes 2016-06-21TOWN OF ITHACA PLANNING BOARD Shirley A. Raffensperger Board Room, Town Hall 215 North Tioga Street Ithaca, New York 14850 Tuesday. June 21. 2016 AGENDA 7:00 P.M. SEQR Determination: Therm Incorporated Manufacturing Expansion, 1000 Hudson Street Extension. 7:00 P.M. PUBLIC HEARING: Consideration of Preliminary and Final Site Plan Approval for the proposed Therm Incorporated Manufacturing Expansion project located at 1000 Hudson Street Extension, Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No. 54-2-1, Light Industrial Zone. The proposal involves the construction of a new 20,000 +/- square foot manufacturing building along with associated access, utility, and drainage improvements. The project will also involve the demolition of an existing structure (Ceramics Building) to accommodate the new building. Therm Incorporated, Owner/Applicant; Adam M. Fishel, PE, CPESC, Marathon Engineering, Agent. 7:30 P.M. PUBLIC SCOPING MEETING: The purpose of the Public Scoping Meeting is to consider public comments on the Draft Scoping Document for the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that will be prepared regarding the proposed Cornell University Maplewood Apartments Redevelopment project located between Maple Avenue and Mitchell Street, Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No.'s 63.-2-10.2, 63.-2-1, 63.-2-2, 63.-2-14, and 63.-2-3, High Density Residential Zone. The proposal involves demolishing the existing Maplewood housing complex and redeveloping the +/- 17 acre site with up to 500 residential units (studios and 1-4 bedroom units) in a mix of townhomes, stacked flats, and multi-family apartment buildings. The project will also include some small retail, new interior streets, parking areas, pedestrian facilities, open spaces, stormwater facilities, and a community center. Cornell University, Owner/Applicant; EdR Trust, Applicant; Scott Whitham, Whitham Planning & Design, LLC, Agent. Copies of the Draft Scoping Document are available at the Town of Ithaca Town Hall, 215 North Tioga Street, Ithaca, NY (call 607-273-1747), or on the Town's website: www.town.ithaca.nv.us. 4. Persons to be heard 5. Approval of Minutes: June 7, 2016 6. Other Business 7. 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 SPOLCE@TOWN.H HA( A.NV.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 (http://ww w .town.ithaca.nv.u-s/meetinti-auendas). TOWN OF ITHACA PLANNING BOARD NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARINGS Tuesday. June 21.2016 By direction of the Chairperson of the Planning Board, NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a Public Hearing will be held by the Planning Board of the Town of Ithaca on Tuesday, June 21, 2016, at 215 North Tioga Street, Ithaca, N. Y., at the following time and on the following matter: 7:00 P.M. Consideration of Preliminary and Final Site Plan Approval for the proposed Therm Incorporated Manufacturing Expansion project located at 1000 Hudson Street Extension, Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No. 54-2-1, Light Industrial Zone. The proposal involves the constmction of a new 20,000 +/- square foot manufacturing building along with associated access, utility, and drainage improvements. The project will also involve the demolition of an existing structure (Ceramics Building) to accommodate the new building. Therm Incorporated, Owner/Applicant; Adam M. Fishel, PE, CPESC, Marathon Engineering, Agent. 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, June 13,2016 Publish: Wednesday, June 15, 2016 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 bv the Town of Ithaca Planning Board in the Town of Ithaca Town Hall. 215 North Tioga Street. Ithaca. New York, on Tuesday. June 2L 2016 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: June 13, 2016 Date of Publication: June 15, 2016 Sandra Polce, Senior Typist Town of Ithaca STATE OF NEW YORK) SS: COUNTY OF TOMPKINS) Sworn to and subscribed before me this IS'*^ day of June 2016 PjimJ YiIJl 1, Notary Public - \rt\ uoissiiuujon> v»/iunoo J0iAnMos ui paiiiieho " SZ093093>jL0 'ON- JIJOAM0N p epis 'Ojiqnd Ajbiow A3ii3>i HVdoaaa THE ITHACA JOURNAL WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15^ 2016 T0VSfN0Fmw;4 PLANNI>fG BOAflO NOTICE OF PUgjC ^eAnNGS Tuesday, Jut>e21,2016 By direction oi the Chairper son o( die Planning Board. NOTICE IS HERffiY CaVEN that a PuUic Hearing wil be held by the Planning Board oT the Town of ithaca on Tues day. June 21. 2016. at 215 North Tloga Street. Ithaca, N.Y., at the fbllowing time and on the following matter; 7:00 P.M. Consideration of Preliminary and Finat Site Plan Approval for the pro posed Tberm Incorporated Manufacturing Ei^iansion project iocat^ at 1000 Hud son Street Extension, Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No. 54-2- 1, Light Industrial Zone. The proposal involves the con struction of a new 20.000 4/- pquare foot manufacturing i'builiing along with associated .access, utity. aid drainage ^Improvements. The project HhU also involve the demoli tion of an ejdsdng structure (Cerarrucs BoikUng) to ac commodate the new builttng. Therm Incorporated, Owner/Applicant: Adam M. Fishei, PE, CPESC, Marathon Engineering, Agent. Planing Board will at «ld time and said place he»r persons In suj^rt of such matters or otjections there- :to. Persons may appear byi agent or In person. Indivtdu- bIs with visual impairments, bearing impairments or other special ne^, will be provid ed with assistance as neces sary. upon request. Persons desiring assistance must make such a request not less than 46 hours prior to the lima of the pubSc headng. Susan Hitler {>irector of Planning 273-1747 e/15/3016 Town of Ithaca Planning Board 215 North Tioga Street June 21, 2016 7:00 p.m. PLEASE SIGN-IN Please Print Clearly. Thank You Name Q/f o/c] /^aCsL-^ /- 12-1 VIA "rfawe') HoM fle^0 iV\ 4 (. 3*^ Q if g/-ynj(X P^lc^/s U \ ui-1 h^'SS Address /n iJA K\'n^ yxx u \n wfK.sf a4 •i-) RQ <!/t ^^43^ h/, 71 yq) I I^ZS> 5" /fc/-€(^v //U- lAcVcWil S'V } 00 \J a jl(S^ /\ oaJ j C / iy iq[^oro^3 I Y^-4 ^C>a> <^(^s; uo- f /C2-Y 0^ r //4 (aJ "h/t^ ^ y-/ut,\/i^ ihA iC/ 3^1. V'j \SyiAy^OAn 'Pa^xum. (3 ^ C<9-^ t\jUy S-f i/ds-30^ FINAL TOWN OF ITHACA PLANNING BOARD MEETING Tuesday, June 21, 2016 215 N. Tioga Street, Ithaca, NY 14850 Town Planning Board Members Present: Fred Wilcox (Chair), Linda Collins, John Beach (7:25), Jon Bosak, Katherine Herleman (Alternate) Town Staff Present: Sue Ritter, Director of Planning; Chris Balestra, Planner; Mike Smith, Planner; Dan Thaete, Town Engineer; Susan Brock, Attorney for the Town; Paulette Terwilliger, Town Clerk Call to Order Mr. Wilcox called the meeting to order at 7:03 p.m. AGENDA ITEM SEQR Determination: Therm Incorporated Manufacturing Expansion, 1000 Hudson Street Extension Mr. Fishel said the new building will be built directly behind the existing manufacturing facility. They've made a few revisions to the plan in conjunction with staff. Ms. Brock stated that 25 years ago she represented some property owners who lived below the Therm property and were impacted by one of their spills; the matter was resolved. She also noted that her daughter and Therm CEO Robert Sprole's daughter were friends in school. PB Resolution No. 2016-031: SEQR, Preliminary and Final Site Plan, Therm Incorporated - Manufacturing Expansion, 1000 Hudson Street Extension, Tax Parcel No. 54.-2-1 Moved by Linda Collins; seconded by Joseph Haefeli WHEREAS: 1. This action is consideration of Preliminary and Final Site Plan Approval for the proposed Therm Incorporated Manufacturing Expansion project located at 1000 Hudson Street Extension, Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No. 54-2-1, Light Industrial Zone. The proposal involves the construction of a new 20,000 +/- square foot manufacturing building along with associated access, utility, and drainage improvements. The project will also involve the demolition of an existing structure (Ceramics Building) to accommodate the new building. Therm Incorporated, Owner/Applicant; Adam M. Fishel, PE, CPESC, Marathon Engineering, Agent; and 2. This is a Type 1 Action, pursuant to the Town of Ithaca Code, Chapter 148- Environmental Quality Review; and Planning Board Minutes 06-21-2016 Page 2 of 18 3. At its meeting on May 24, 2016, the Planning Board proposed to establish itself as Lead Agency to coordinate the environmental review of the above-referenced action, and on May 31, 2016, notified potential Involved and Interested agencies of its intent to serve as Lead Agency; and 4. The Planning Board, on June 21, 2016, has reviewed and accepted as adequate a Full Environ mental Assessment Form (EAF) Part 1, submitted by the applicant. Parts 2 and 3 prepared by Town Planning staff, a set of plans titled "Site Development Plans for Therm Incorporated Manu facturing Expansion - 1000 Hudson Street Extension - Situated in: Town of Ithaca - Tompkins County - New York", including a cover sheet, date stamped May 27, 2016, a Topographic Map, dated March 17, 2016, drawings Cl.O, C2.0, C3.0, C4.0, C4.1, C5.0, C6.0, C7.0, C7.1, 07.2, and C8.0, dated April 6, 2016, and drawing O9.0, dated May 19, 2016, prepared by Marathon Engineering and T.G, Miller P.O., building drawings titled "Elevations 1 & 2", "Elevation 3", "Elevation 4", and "Wall Section", date stamped May 27, 2016, and other application materials; and 5. The Town Planning staff has recommended a negative determination of environmental signifi cance with respect to the proposed Site Plan Approval; NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED: That the Town of Ithaca Planning Board, having received no objections from other involved agencies, establishes itself as Lead Agency to coordinate the environmental review of the above-described proposal; AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: That the Town of Ithaca Planning Board hereby makes a negative determination of environmental significance in accordance with Article 8 of the Environmental Conservation Law and 6 NYCRR Part 617 New York State Environmental Quality Review for the above referenced actions as proposed, based on the information in the Full EAF Part 1 and for the reasons set forth in the Full EAF Parts 2 and 3, and, therefore, a Draft Environmental Impact Statement will not be required. Vote Ayes: Wilcox, Collins, Haefeli, Bosak, Herleman AGENDA ITEM Public Hearing: Consideration of Preliminary and Final Site Plan Approval for the proposed Therm Incorporated Manufacturing Expansion project located at 1000 Hudson Street Extension, Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No. 54-2-1, Light Industrial Zone. The proposal involves the construction of a new 20,000 +/- square foot manufacturing building along with associated access, utility, and drainage improvements. The project will also involve the demolition of an existing structure (Ceramics Building) to accommodate the new building. Therm Incorporated, Owner/Applicant; Adam M. Fishel, PE, CPESC, Marathon Engineering, Agent Mr. Wilcox opened the public hearing at 7:28 p.m. Planning Board Minutes 06-21-2016 Page 3 of 18 Ms. Herleman stated that she's grateful in terms of energy use that they're installing an LED light fixture, but noted that the American Medical Association just issued a determination that LED lights cause issues with melatonin. Mr. May said they have no workers who will be exposed to it - it's in a parking lot and they have no third shift. Mr. Bosak read from the Town of Ithaca's environmental review committee memo regarding the use and conservation of energy. The planning board has no leverage to require the applicant to follow any of the suggestions, but he said that in terms of public perception, the applicant might want to consider the suggestions. A woman who lives contiguous to the Therm property pointed out that they have to dig to lay pipes ■in order to get water and sewer to the building. Only a few inches of soil are on top of the bedrock and whenever there's digging, it brings water into people's basements. Mr. Thaete said it's not a unique situation for the Public Works Department. There will be a sewer main relocation that will be fairly deep. It will happen on the south side of the new building. The resident of 145 Pearsall Place said she has a drainage ditch between her property and her neighbor that has lost its effectiveness over the years. It started to happen five or six years ago when there was work on the South Hill Rec Way. Now water is coming into the neighbor's basement significantly; he had to install a new, very expensive system. In a heavy rain, the ditch no longer can hold the water and it's threatening to reach her garage. She wondered what the changes in drainage will mean for that tributary between the yards. Mr. Thaete responded that the facility they're building will drain more towards the northeast. As far as the current drainage issues, he urged her to lodge a complaint with the Public Works Department so they can look into it. The applicant is proposing stormwater management on site that meets state regulations. Mr. Wilcox closed the public hearing at 7:40 p.m. Mr. Wilcox said he walked the site extensively and was mostly interested in screening. On the upper side, the screening is magnificent; the evergreen trees really block the views from Kendall Avenue. On the lower, Pearsall Place side, most of the screening is vines that have grown up along the fence, along with a few trees. Only a couple properties aren't screened - one in which the screening was removed to allow solar panels to have full access to the sun. He's impressed by the screening and doesn't think it needs more. The site is also very clean. He also listened to the noise and heard some air condition ing and exhaust fans. He walked down Pearsall Place and heard nothing except construction from State Street and noise from the Montessori School at the end. It's very quiet. PB Resolution No. 2016-032: Preliminary and Final Site Plan, Therm Incorporated - Manufacturing Expansion, 1000 Hudson Street Extension, Tax Parcel No. 54.-2-1 Planning Board Minutes 06-21-2016 Page 4 of 18 Moved by Joseph Haefeli; seconded by Katherine Herleman WHEREAS: 1. This action is consideration of Preliminary and Final Site Plan Approval for the proposed Therm Incorporated Manufacturing Expansion project located at 1000 Hudson Street Extension, Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No. 54-2-1, Light Industrial Zone. The proposal involves the construction of a new 20,000 +/- square foot manufacturing building along with associated access, utility, and drainage improvements. The project will also involve the demolition of an existing structure (Ceramics Building) to accommodate the new building. Therm Incorporated, Owner/Applicant; Adam M. Fishel, PE, CPESC, Marathon Engineering, Agent; and 2. At its meeting on May 24, 2016, the Planning Board proposed to establish itself as Lead Agency to coordinate the environmental review of the above-referenced actions, and on May 31, 2016, notified potential Involved and Interested agencies of its intent to serve as Lead Agency; and 3. This is a Type 1 Action, for which the Town of Ithaca Planning Board, acting as lead agency in coordinating the environmental review with respect to this project has, on June 21, 2016, made a negative determination of environmental significance, after having reviewed and accepted as ade quate a Full Environmental Assessment Form Part 1, submitted by the applicant. Parts 2 and 3, prepared by Town Planning staff, and other application materials; and 4. The Planning Board, at a public hearing on June 21, 2016, has reviewed and accepted a set of plans titled "Site Development Plans for Therm Incorporated Manufacturing Expansion - 1000 Hudson Street Extension - Situated in: Town of Ithaca - Tompkins County - New York", includ ing a cover sheet, date stamped May 27, 2016, a Topographic Map, dated March 17, 2016, draw ings Cl.O, C2.0, C3.0, C4.0, C4.1, C5.0, C6.0, C7.0, 07.1, 07.2, and O8.0, dated April 6, 2016, and drawing O-9.0, dated May 19, 2016, prepared by Marathon Engineering and T.G. Miller P.O., building drawings titled "Elevations 1 & 2", "Elevation 3", "Elevation 4", and "Wall Sec tion", date stamped May 27, 2016, and other application materials; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED: 1. That the Town of Ithaca Planning Board hereby waives certain requirements for Preliminary and Final Site Plan Approval, as shown on the Preliminary and Final Site Plan Checklists, having determined from the materials presented that such waiver will result in a significant alteration of neither the purpose of site plan control nor the policies enunciated or implied by the Town Board, and 2. That the Town of Ithaca Planning Board hereby grants Preliminary and Final Site Plan approval for the proposed Therm Incorporated Manufacturing Expansion project, located at 1000 Hudson Street Extension, Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No. 54 -2-1, as shown on the submitted plans refer enced in Whereas number 4 above, with the following conditions: a. submission of a revised "Lighting and Landscaping Plan" (O6.0), satisfactory to the Town Director of Planning, showing the replacement of the two proposed Norway Spruce trees with a similar, non-invasive tree species, prior to the issuance of a building permit; and Planning Board Minutes 06-21-2016 Page 5 of 18 submission of a cut sheet for the proposed exterior pole light, prior to the issuance of a build ing permit; and submission of revised Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan and associated drawings for re view and approval by the Town of Ithaca Public Works Department, as outlined in the "Stormwater Management" and "SWPPP" sections of the Engineering Memorandum from Daniel Thaete, PE-Engineering, dated 6/15/2016, prior to the issuance of a building permit; and submission of updated materials regarding the water system plans, as outlined in the "Water" section of the Engineering Memorandum from Daniel Thaete, PE-Engineering, dated 6/15/2016, prior to the issuance of a building permit; and submission of revised plans showing the relocated sanitary sewer line, as outlined in the "Sew er" section of the Engineering Memorandum from Daniel Thaete, PE-Engineering, dated 6/15/2016, prior to the issuance of a building permit; and submission of one set of the final site plan drawings, modified as required above, on mylar, vellum, or paper, signed and sealed by the registered land surveyor, engineer, architect, or landscape architect who prepared the site plan material, prior to the issuance of a building permit; and submission and full execution of a stormwater "Operation, Maintenance, and Reporting Agreement" between Therm Incorporated and the Town of Ithaca, satisfactory to the Attor ney for the Town and the Town of Ithaca Public Works Department, prior to issuance of any building permits; and submission and full execution of a drainage easement or other mechanism to assure the Town of Ithaca access to all stormwater facilities, satisfactory to the Attorney for the Town and Town Public Works Department, prior to issuance of any building permits; and submission and full execution of an updated sanitary sewer easement for the relocated sanitary sewer line, between Therm Incorporated and the Town of Ithaca, satisfactory to the Attorney for the Town and the Town of Ithaca Public Works Department, prior to any certificates of occupancy being issued; and submission and full execution of a water easement, if necessary, between Therm Incorporated and the Town of Ithaca, satisfactory to the Attorney for the Town and the Town of Ithaca Public Works Department, prior to any certificates of occupancy being issued; and submission of available following information for each of the four spills listed in the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Spill Incidents Database for the pro ject site: i. identification of the chemicals/substances. Planning Board Minutes 06-21-2016 Page 6 of 18 11. iii. iv. V. the specific locations affected, quantities spilled, cleanup activities, and any soil, water, or soil vapor test results; and 1. submission of proof of receipt of all necessary permits from county, state, and/or federal agencies, prior to any certificates of occupancy being issued. Vote Ayes: Wilcox, Collins, Haefeli, Beach, Bosak, Herleman AGENDA ITEM Public Scoping Meeting: The purpose of the Public Scoping Meeting is to consider public comments on the Draft Scoping Document for the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that will be prepared regarding the proposed Cornell University Maplewood Apartments Redevelopment project located between Maple Avenue and Mitchell Street, Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No.'s 63.-2-10.2, 63.-2- 1, 63.-2-2, 63.-2-14, and 63.-2-3, High Density Residential Zone. The proposal involves demolishing the existing Maplewood housing complex and redeveloping the +/-17 acre site with up to 500 residential units (studios and 1-4 bedroom units) in a mix of townhomes, stacked flats, and multi- family apartment buildings. The project will also include some small retail, new interior streets, parking areas, pedestrian facilities, open spaces, stormwater facilities, and a community center. Cornell University, Owner/Applicant; EdR Trust, Applicant; Scott Whitham, Whitham Planning fit Design, LLC, Agent. Copies of the Draft Scoping Document are available at the Town of Ithaca Town Hall, 215 North Tioga Street, Ithaca, NY (call 607-273-1747), or on the Town's website: www. town, ithaca.ny.us Mr. Wilcox opened the pubic scoping session at 7:51 p.m. Thomas Trubiana, president of EdR Trust, said that six months ago, their company was selected by Cornell to redevelop the Maplewood housing complex, which has outlived its useful life. EdR is a real estate investment trust that is solely dedicated to providing collegiate housing on college campuses across the country. They own and operate 80 communities with 42,000 students. They're a long-term owner-operator; they still manage their first property, which was built in Chapel Hill in 1964. They are good community stewards in the communities that they serve. Jeffrey Resetco, EdR's vice president of real estate and construction, outlined the main benefits of the project. The main purpose of the redevelopment is to provide graduate and professional students the housing they need at a price they can afford. The affordability is the main driver of the development. The first benefit is to create a neighborhood - a true community that's integrated and that works well in the surrounding Belle Sherman neighborhood. EdR wants the grad students to feel they're home in Ithaca. In addition to having the appropriate housing, the students need to be close to campus. Other benefits include: 1) Quality: they plan to keep the property in superior condition for the life of the project. 2) Open space: for the community and the neighborhood in general. 3) Sustainability: they're adding over 500 new residences; many of those people are living in residences now that have Planning Board Minutes 06-21-2016 Page 7 of 18 outdated plumbing and lighting fixtures. They're driving to campus. Those 500 residents that are living in a less sustainable space that are moving to the site will represent a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. EdR plans to measure and maintain sustainable goals that can be tracked. The community will be walkable to campus. The water and light fixtures will be extremely efficient. Units will have operable windows and ceiling fans. 4) Focus on electricity as the primary source of energy: this will open up possibilities in the future for renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, and hydro power. 5) Economic: not only will the housing be affordable, it will also allow students living there to spend some of their additional resources in town. The project will create 300 new opportuni ties for construction workers on the site and at least 10 new full-time employees on the site when it's finished. They plan to work with LeChase Construction, the largest employer of union construction in upstate New York. They will rely on them heavily to work with local union labor. 6) Intent for the project to contribute to the tax rolls: a conservative estimate is that it will contribute over $1.5 million annually to the tax base. Mr. Resetco also stated that they plan to address concerns they've heard from community members about building height and density. Mr. Wilcox noted that Ms. Herleman recused herself from the discussion. He stated that the purpose of the scoping process is to enumerate the potential environmental impacts that will be studied in preparation of the draft environmental impact statement, which will be reviewed by the public and by the board and which will help inform the board's decision as to whether there are any environmental impacts and whether they can be sufficiently mitigated before we move on to consider the proposed site plan. Mr. Bosak said he was concerned that the public would spend their time telling the board what they like and don't like about the project, and this isn't the place for that. Mr. Wilcox instructed the public that comments should be limited to what needs to be studied. Elmer Ewing asked whether the board has the power to require non-fossil fuels as a source of energy. Mr. Wilcox responded that the board can look at the environmental impacts of the proposed energy usage. Mr. Ewing provided the following written statement: "My name is Elmer Ewing. I have been a resident of the Town of Ithaca since 1954, and I am an Emeritus Professor at Cornell. My wife and I own an 1840 farm house, containing two small rental units. After testing for air leaks, we had the house insulated and tightened; had solar hot water and PV panels put on the roof; and last January had a ground-source heat pump installed. This has been expensive, but eventually it will pay for itself. More important ly, when we think of the disasters that loom ahead for our planet in terms of climate disrup tion, having taken these measures makes me sleep a little better. You may question the practicality of going to all this expense for an 1840 farmhouse, but there is every reason to believe it is the right approach for Maplewood. New construction offers the opportunity to design and build structures that require minimal energy for heating and cooling, and to equip them with high efficiency heat pumps. The payback on investment Planning Board Minutes 06-21-2016 Page 8 of 18 will be rapid, and for a company like EdR—a company that will own and operate the buildings as well as build them—the savings will go to them, not to a future owner. Furthermore, this would set a precedent for new construction in the town, would be an ex ample to other jurisdictions, and would provide the occupants of the apartments with an appreciation of the advantages of "living green." Need I add that it will help the Town of Ithaca meet its goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions as set out in our Comprehensive Plan, while doing the same for Cornell and its plan? I respectively urge you to require in your SEQR Scoping Document for Maplewood that EdR do at least the following: • Describe and quantify the amount and type of energy to be used • Quantify the greenhouse gas emissions expected to be generated, given the plans for con struction and energy sources • Describe ways to mitigate these effects Three days a week I bicycle past Maplewood on my way to campus. It would make me enjoy my rides much more to see the buildings constructed to the highest green standards, and equipped with high efficiency heat pumps instead of gas. And if you can help make this hap pen, I think it might make you sleep better at night, too. Thank you for the opportunity to express my views." Wendy Wallitt, a resident of Valley Road, stated that under Transportation and Circulation, there is a plan to do a traffic study. She wanted to make sure it would be done when Cornell and the school are in session, and that it focuses especially around the school when teachers arrive and leave. Pedestrian traffic in the same area has to be addressed. Under Construction and Demolition, she hopes the plan will specifically address bicycle and pedestrian access during construction periods. On both Maple Avenue and Mitchell Street, pedestrians need to cross the street to stay on a sidewalk, and for bicycle riders traveling west on Mitchell, the street is narrower near the Mitchell-Cornell intersec tion, so bikes and cars need to share that space. It's manageable now, but might be worse with more traffic. Under Water Resources, they are planning to have the new project equal the amount of porous pavement that's in the existing project. She questioned why the amount of porous surfaces are not being increased. Under Aesthetic Resources and Neighborhood Character, regarding the height of the buildings currently proposed for Mitchell Street, she doesn't understand why the developer keeps saying they're listening to the public, and yet, except for moving those building up a bit, have not addressed the wishes of the residents. There are still tall buildings right on Mitchell Street. That part of the neighborhood has the lowest density zoning right now, and the city's comp plan recom mends it stay that way; and yet, the town's comp plan calls for more density near the city line so town residents can take advantage of buses and walking, but there needs to be respect on the part of the town when that's being done. There needs to be more attention paid to the visual impact of the new project in an area that's very low density. David Marsh, president of Tompkins-Cortland Building Trades Council, said he just heard the news that they've selected LeChase Construction, which works closely with the local trades. He thinks it's very important that the planning board think about construction. By using local labor, you're employing people living in the community and paying taxes in the community. He's happy to hear that EdR will work with local labor. They live here, care about the community, and don't drive as far to get to the job site. Planning Board Minutes 06-21-2016 Page 9 of 18 A Mitchell Street resident echoed what Ms. Wallitt said. He finds it hard to understand why the developer has not reacted to all the comments about the buildings on Mitchell Street. The original plan was nice, except for the buildings on Mitchell Street. Now it's separated into three projects: two apartment complexes on either end and a townhouse complex in the middle, separated by the main street that runs through. There was lots of talk about how wonderful it was to have parking along the street and to not have parking lots, and now it's full of parking lots. Residents were told that the reason they wanted buildings on the end is to preserve the view from the middle. Whose view is being preserved? He attended a meeting they held with Cornell graduate students, where they were selling the view that they're taking away from the residents of Snyder Hill Road and Pine Tree Road and Ellis Hollow, who drive down Mitchell Street into Ithaca, and instead of looking across the valley, they'll be confronted by this block of four-story buildings. He brought up the "road to nowhere": the road that stops at the border of what used to be Maple Hill. The Cornell Master Plan shows the Maple Hill property and Maplewood property having two roads that meet in Maplewood and exit onto Mitchell Street. He views this whole project, especially the buildings on Mitchell Street, as a foot in the door. He walks through Maplewood. There are two paths: the old railroad bed on the lower end, and from that, you see nothing; from the upper path, there is some view, and that view is there because there are one-story buildings. The only view is on top of this hill. The view that will be lost is if you drive down Mitchell Street. He wondered why East Hill Plaza, particularly the intersection of Pine Tree Road and Mitchell Street, is not included in the study. This is a major intersection and major commuting road. He thinks it's important that the impact on that intersection be studied. The high-voltage lab has been an eyesore since 1953. It hasn't had a coat of paint in decades and never had the advantage of the wonderful Cornell landscaping that would hide it. Maybe Cornell can do something to make it more presentable. Mr. Wilcox pointed out that the Pine Tree Road and Mitchell Street intersection has been added. Krys Cail, Town of Ulysses, is very interested in the project because we're being confronted with a part of a much larger project. She enjoyed hearing from the applicant, because they made it very clear that this is a long-term partnership between Cornell and EdR. She thinks it's important for the scoping to look at the section about project need and benefit. Staff has recommended against some of the recommendations made by the board. If you're going to do an accurate assessment of the environmental impacts, it's important that you look carefully at the long-term plans for the increase in student population on the part of Cornell and the long-term plans to establish a walkable, multi-use neighborhood in that part of town. It will impact traffic, the schools, water and sewer, and the electric lines or gas lines coming in. There are a large number of impacts that can't be looked at incremental ly. There are places in the U.S. where it's incumbent on those entities that are building schools or adding students to a community to first do scoping for environmental impacts and be sure that the community facilities are capable of accommodating the increase in the number of students before they expand. We don't have control over Cornell's expansion plans, but they do have plans for the buildout they plan in this part of the town. It makes sense for scoping to outline those plans for the future and make clear what's going to be required. That will make it much easier to make effective mitigations. If we're going to need three water towers, it makes sense to know that up front, instead of buying one that will accommodate a third of the project and later buying another one. In the scoping document, it would be good to make clear what the project is in terms of this component as well the continued buildout. Planning Board Minutes 06-21-2016 Page 10 of 18 John Dennis thanked the board for serving the public. He's not impressed with the scoping docu ment. Doing a quick search, he didn't come up with any of the buzz words that one would associate with construction done by Cornell University - like LEED, passive house, impervious - that has a large endowment. Their projects don't need to be lean and mean in order to be affordable. Cornell is very capable of subsidizing things, making things right as an example to the community. Without a doubt, this housing will be better, but the town should realize when there are concerns from the public. As an example, Cornell had Savage Farm on Triphammer Road, about 300 acres; they've had it tax free for many decades, and they proposed to sell it off for high-density housing. Some residents living in Cayuga Heights at the time didn't think it was a reasonable project. Cornell listened, pulled the project, and came back with a Kendall. Projects can be pulled by Cornell and this one deserves it. When the gentleman said the energy would come from electricity - we all know that electricity comes from a mix of coal, nuclear, and natural gas, so that was not particularly inspiring. Nowhere is the idea that solar panels will be on any of the buildings; they could be producing electricity locally. Similarly, there's no mention of geothermal. So Cornell is proposing going down six or seven miles to pull in heat for buildings on campus, and yet they are outsourcing a housing project to a company. Their mention of LED lighting is not very inspiring. The scoping should look at energy issues - if you double the housing density without having green roofs and permeable pavement, you'll be generating more runoff. They should be looking at ways to reduce runoff from what it is already. They should be looking at ways to be producing electricity and selling it to the grid. At his house in the Village of Lansing, it produces 150 percent of what it needs, so he's selling it back to the grid. The scoping document needs a lot of work, but the project itself needs to be scrubbed, and Cornell should be encouraged to go back to a different business model. Brian Eden, chair of the energy committee of the Tompkins County Environmental Management Council, said some people will be responding to the document that's been on the web for the last two weeks instead of the one posted today. His remarks would have been quite a bit different if he had seen that earlier. He thinks it's a greatly improved document. His written statement is shown below: "1 have spoken before the Town Planning Board previously on matters of energy policy and energy action planning. 1 will be guided in my remarks tonight by the Town's policies on greenhouse gas emissions reduction and climate protection as set forth in the Comprehensive Plan. Town of Ithaca Comprehensive Plan (2014) 2.4 Energy and Climate Protection The transition to a more sustainable future for the Town of Ithaca goes beyond the work of government. Residents, business owners, and organizations each have a part to play in creat ing the community we aspire to live in. Though the Town government cannot do it alone, it will provide leadership to the community as we move forward. The long-term goals articulated here support the guiding principles and provide a framework to advise future decision-making and policy development. The actions that accompany these goals are specific activities to be implemented to achieve the long-term goals. Goals and Recommendations Goal EC-1: Incorporate sustainability and climate protection into long-term planning. Planning Board Minutes 06-21-2016 Page 11 of 18 EC-l-B Conduct greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories at regular intervals to assess emissions from government operations and from the community at large. Streamline and facilitate data collection. EG-1'D: Set short- and long-term goals for community-wide GHG emissions reductions. De velop and implement a Community EAP to meet reduction goals, and update Plan on a regu lar basis. Maintain a citizen committee to advise on the implementation and update of/the community EAP and other sustainability related issues. Goal E-C-2: Reduce energy consumption and GHG emissions in buildings and infrastructure. EC-2-A: Consider using policy instruments and regulations to reduce energy use in existing buildings. For example, building owners could be mandated or encouraged to perform energy audits and energy efficiency improvements, and to track energy usage. EC-2-B: Consider adopting a building code to require all new construction projects and major renovations to incorporate green building techniques and achieve specific energy efficiency standards. EC-2-C: Partner with local organizations and businesses to create, promote and maintain incentives, financing options, and education and outreach campaigns that support energy efficiency in new and existing buildings. These products could be marketed to building own ers, tenants, developers, builders, code enforcement officers, and other populations. Goal EC-5: Encourage and facilitate the production and use of renewable energy. EC-5-A: Adopt renewable energy goals for the community and for government operations, to guide decision-making (e.g. meet a certain percentage of the Town government's energy needs with renewable energy sources by 2025). EC-5-B: Revise Town regulations to facilitate local renewable energy production and use (e.g. revise Town Code, streamline the permit process, reduce permit fees). EC-5-C: Work with other municipalities, local utility companies, businesses and organizations to develop financial incentives for the installation and use of renewable energy systems. Ex plore models for community-owned renewables. EC-S-D: Partner with local organizations and businesses to support programs that provide resources and information on renewable energy technologies, installation, and financing. Goal EC-7: Build a resilient community by preparing for and adapting to the unavoidable impacts and costs of climate change. EC-7-A: Work with the Tompkins County Planning Department and other municipalities in the County to develop a county-wide climate change adaptation plan. Develop a climate change adaptation plan that provides specificity under the County-wide framework to prepare for the impacts and costs of climate change within the Town of Ithaca. With its April 2009 resolution to participate in the New York State Department of Environ mental Conservation "Climate Smart Communities Initiative" the Ithaca Town Board recog nized that climate change is a threat not only globally, but also locally, and likely to affect our water supply, food sources, infrastructure, sensitive ecosystems, economy, and quality of life. The Town Board resolved to promote sustainability, reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and adapt to climate change by implementing the following strategy: Implement land use planning that supports Smart Growth principles and GHG emissions reductions. Planning Board Minutes 06-21-2016 Page 12 of 18 The Town's goal is to reduce both governmental and community greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80% below 2009 levels by 2050. The Planning Board is responsible for implementing these policies. Despite recommendations to upgrade their planning tools in the Comprehen sive Plan, little appears to have changed in the past 10 years with regard to the environmental review of projects. Given the dire reports issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the Paris Climate Conference (COP 21), and local scientists on the accelerating pace of climate change, the most important element of a project's environmental review should be an assessment of its greenhouse gas emissions and plans to mitigate them. For example, the Full Environmental Assessment Form, Part 2, #14 Impacts on Energy only asks questions related to the sufficiency of the existing electric and gas transmission lines to meet the needed capacity for the project. The Town's Preliminary Site Plan Review Checklist requests no in formation regarding the energy model for the project. The Town has the ability to adopt local laws requiring these forms to be more explicit with regard to energy use. I hope that with this 17 acre multiple building project, the Planning Board is prepared to address the challenges of supporting the Town's aforementioned policies. I have been participating with several local energy engineers, architects, and policy experts in meetings with developers to discuss their energy models for their proposed projects. We have learned what return on investment over what time period that developers expect and we have provided data analysis and case studies to demonstrate that constructing a green building and earning a profit on that building are not mutually exclusive. We are frequently exposed to the mantra from many who support renewable energy and energy efficient buildings that they are not currently technologically feasible or cost effective. Despite the facts that neither of these are factually correct, and haven't been for some time, the myths live on. We had hoped to meet with the developers of this project to engage in a conversation and share information. We first asked staff at Cornell who we have worked with in the past for an Introduction to the developer. They would not provide that opportunity for us. About a month ago we contacted Jeffrey Resetco to request a meeting with the EdR energy modeler and he indicated that he would get back to us but that conversation has not yet occurred. Our proposal is that the Planning Board require a study of technical feasibility and the costs associated with high energy performance buildings. The developer has requested a major zon ing change as well as an expedited review process which provides the Town with the leverage to request greenhouse gas emission mitigations to support Its Comprehensive Plan goals. If EdR were to conduct such a study for building design and construction with 16-18 LEED points (Platinum) or to Passive House standards, I'm sure that they are aware that NYSERDA has programs to offset some portion of the incremental capital costs expended. $19M is avail able to purchase and install energy efficient equipment from the Commercial New Construc tion Program. Funding is also available from NYSERDA's Energy $mart New Construction Rebate Program. In a previous appearance before the Board I discussed my participation in the Tompkins County Energy Road Map Steering Committee. That Committee determined that 50% of fossil fuel energy consumption in Tompkins County is used in existing building operations. New construction offers the best near-term opportunity to address the Town and County's greenhouse gas emission reduction goals. "New buildings can incorporate energy efficiency directly in their design and construction. It is more technically feasible and economical to design and build an energy efficient building Planning Board Minutes 06-21-2016 Page 13 of 18 than to retrofit that building at a later point in time. Buildings can also be designed to be more suitable for renewable energy Integration. For example, siting a building to have a south- facing roof that is wide, sturdy and gradually pitched, will allow for easier solar PV Installa tion. A bouse that meets rigorous "passive bouse" standards for Insulation and air sealing will reduce beat losses to an absolute minimum." (TCERM p. 146) New construction to a superior energy efficiency standard may be accomplished by a 5-10% cost premium. Some of this increased cost may be recovered by the developer through state and federal incentive programs and a small increase to the renter. The renter then recovers part of this increased cost through lower utility bills. It has been demonstrated that residing in a green building is attractive to the occupants. Locally PPM Homes and Ithaca College have collaborated on a bousing sustainability program. South Hill Outreach for the Rental Experi ence, to highlight to students the benefits of living in a green building. Cornell could institute a similar program with its graduate students who may rent at Maplewood. The goal of at least an 80% greenhouse gas emissions reduction by 2050 will require us to be carbon neutral by 2050, only 34 years away. On the other band, many of the recently ap proved local building projects will have a life span of 75+ years and will be relying almost entirely on natural gas. The Energy Use Intensity (EUI) is the net energy per square foot per year (energy consumption) minus the on-site energy generation. Contributions to the EUI reflect design choices for the building envelope, HVAC/mechanicals, lighting, appliances and other devices, and on-site energy generation. Complementary renewable energy technologies to be considered for Maplewood might be on or off-site solar pv and air-source and ground- source beat pumps. The developer should be required to produce an energy model with a low EUI to compare with that EdR intends to propose. The Planning Board, the developer, and the general contractor would all prefer a business as usual scenario. They have experience with existing processes and the outcome is more predict able. I'm fully confident that all participants can adjust to meet the challenges of climate change and they must. If with our current state of awareness on the existential threat that we face, it would be a major backward step if the Town's fossil fuel infrastructure was expanded to meet the needs of this project." Katbryn Russell, Snyder Hill Road, stated that the whole East Hill neighborhood is very much a part of her daily life, so she feels very connected to this project. Since the scoping document must consider other development contemplated, she asked to what extent that includes the whole of Cornell's South Campus Precinct Development Plan that includes the Humphries Maple Avenue complex, Maplewood Park, the East Hill Plaza area, the existing Research and Agricultural Support Services field, and the athletic fields on Game Farm Road. That's what the Cornell Master Plan is looking at, and the partnership between EdR and Cornell as well as the Town of Ithaca, all with commitments to sustainability, should be looking at the future development of that whole area from the Maplewood development to Game Farm Road. She bad the following questions regarding energy use: 1) How can EdR make a specific commitment to the Town of Ithaca's greenhouse gas reduction goals and its commitment to renewable energy buildings that can be formally quantified and as sessed as we move into the future? She understands that EdR is moving away from natural gas, but electricity is currently produced by fossil fuels, so that seems shaky to her. Planning Board Minutes 06-21-2016 Page 14 of 18 2) How can the whole carbon footprint of the energy used in the construction and maintenance of the project be measured and quantified? She understands the scoping document can look at how EdR plans to mitigate the carbon footprint it's responsible for. Fred Chaps noted that even though the term passive house is in there, as the town, you're at the forefront in the nation in terms of energy-efficient buildings. You just completed one of the largest passive-house developments, which is in the process of being reviewed as net zero. So there is already precedence in terms of expectations and future buildings. The scoping document has the ability to bring that stuff out. He'll be interested to what extent the energy elements you build-in are in a clean and true fashion. LEED is the baseline now. The scoping document refers to bedrooms. Mr. Tru- biana referred to students. More interesting to him in terms of quality of life are the number of people who will live there, not the stock of bedrooms. It appears that the scoping document will require the sponsor to bring forward a high-density residential as well as a PDZ plan. If there's a reason for a PDZ to be granted, he hopes the document explains why, since there's only 1000 square feet of retail space out of 50,000. Regarding transportation, from a county perspective, the manage ment of cars and the mix of cars and bicycle and foot traffic is an essential piece. He thinks the town has the opportunity to look for powerful things in the scoping. Is there clarity around transportation management as part of the development plan, not just the number of parking spaces, but also how they're located in terms of maximizing green space? Creating density is important, but so is giving back green space. Stacey Black, business development coordinator for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 241, commended the developer on the use of local workers. Regarding Chapter 5 of the document, he wanted to emphasize the investment in alternative energy in the project to help offset the added consumption to our electrical network. If we can reduce the number of power plants that are on fossil fuels, that helps our environment quite a bit. Also, if that equipment is going in locally - whether it be ground source heat pumps, air source heat pumps, solar, wind - those are renewable resources that are good for our environment and won't affect us having to build new power plants that aren't. A woman from 305 Walnut Street, on the other side of the chain link fence from Maplewood, said she had several concerns: 1) Environmental safety regarding the swales: currently, the swale area is protected by the chain link fence. She would like safely issues to be evaluated for those swales because there's the potential for skating on thin ice, mosquitos, skinny dipping, etc. 2) Light and sight lines: when you consider the higher elevation and location of the property relative to its neighbors down hill, she hopes the loss of light and view will be documented should multi-story buildings be pursued. They also want to understand the impact of installed lighting as well as natural light. 3) She wants to know how they will quantify how the population increase will influence noise, parking, and traffic. 4) She didn't hear anything about sanitation. Right now, the dumpster pickup process and the general lack of tidiness by some of the Maplewood residents attracts skunks and possum and makes an unsightly mess. A large population increase will probably increase those problems, so what is anticipated from a sanitation perspective? 5) The bulldozer approach to construction: the plan is to tear out all the landscaping and replant. She wants to know the rationale for doing that and what it means to the environment in terms of wildlife as well as planting. 6) The rationale for putting the development here as opposed to another site and why the number that's on the table. 7) The rationale for high-rise versus low-rise buildings at Maplewood in the context of student needs for a Planning Board Minutes 06-21-2016 Page 15 of 18 quiet academic environment and a setting for grad students with families. She would like to under stand the gain from living in a high rise if you're a graduate student. Bill Evans, member of Tompkins County Environmental Management Council, said he would like the DEIS to look in more depth at the issue of artificial light that escapes into the environment related to sky glow and ecological and human health. He's not sure the current Town of Ithaca code is up to speed on LEDs, for example. LED is not just one animal: there's a whole spectrum of LEDs. Depending on the type of LED used, the sky glow emanating from a project can vary from two times to ten times, half an order of magnitude. He lives in Danby, and they see the sky glow from Ithaca. He's concerned that over the next ten or so years, depending on the type of attention we put to lighting now, it could greatly vary the amount of sky glow for the surrounding towns. There's an issue of human health from certain types of the spectrum, specifically blue wavelengths, short wavelengths. The AMA has just come out with a paper on how this potentially affects melatonin production and disrupts sleep cycles. There's also a well-documented environmental impact from short wavelength lights. He doesn't see anything in the Ithaca lighting code about spectrum. Tessa Rudan, resident of Belle Sherman in the city, said she appreciates that this is an exercise in intermunicipal planning, so it needs to be a shared process between the city and the town. The current zoning in the city along the city-town border is currently Rl, which is low density. The Collegetown plan was a very important focus for Belle Sherman and the city. It calls for preserving the character, which is low density, including along Mitchell Street. In 2014, she was invited to a focus group that included East Hill stake holders, at which time they were shown sketch plans for East Hill Plaza, but Maplewood was not included. In terms of environmental impacts, she thinks that East Hill is already under intense pressure. In terms of community character, she thinks it's about design. She would beseech the board not to use the high-voltage lab as an example of anything but deferred maintenance. It is a chronic eyesore and is completely anomalous on Mitchell Street. If the scoping is going to refer to the city and town architecture, have the developer do an inventory of the buildings along Mitchell Street. Typically, it is single-family homes. Along Mitchell Street, they should be looking at the through views: every 30 to 50 feet, you see in between houses and detached garages. You have pitched roofs, front porches and stoops, generous setbacks. This is the type of character that can be referred to in the architecture of the Maplewood buildings. You don't have to copy that style, but be sympathetic to it. She thinks the focus is on being urban. There are many ways to be urban and many ways to be urbane. This is a stone's throw away from an elementary school, and she sees the largest, monolithic building put along a road that feeds into a school zone. We have to be careful of offloading people and cars into this area. The school zone has no speed control - no traffic light, no speed bumps. There are two intersections by the school. The nearest campus and the nearest students to Maplewood are from the elementary school. Joe Wilson, Hunt Hill Road, said he drives down Mitchell Street multiple times per day. Many of us in the community have begun to be heard by EdR and that is gratifying. But the purpose for those of us focused on energy is that this project and the others that come after are built in a way that vindicate and further the town's goals for energy use, greenhouse gas emissions reduction, and the fostering of onsite renewable energy. The newest scoping is a much better document than when it originated. His specific comments on the scoping document are as follows: 1) Transportation and existing conditions: The comp plan for the town and the energy roadmap for the county include goals for reducing energy and greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation Planning Board Minutes 06-21-2016 Page 16 of 18 sector. The DEC guide "Assessing Energy Use and Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Environmental Impact Statements" includes describing, analyzing, and proposing how to mitigate the emissions and increased energy use created by project residents' use of automobiles for commuting. The guide provides a protocol for that quantification and analysis. Given the pertinent goal of the comp plan and energy roadmap with regard to the transportation sector, a discussion in the scop ing document should include the matters of the energy use and emissions to be generated by commuter traffic. 2) Utilities: Dr. Tony Ingraffea has described to members of the planning board in submissions recently sent to them a leaking natural gas system operating in Ithaca. Given the potential signifi cance of a problematic gas pipe system locally - for greenhouse gas emissions, for air pollution, for public safety and public health -there should be discussion of these matters in the scoping docu ment so EdR will be sure to address that. In the same regard, there should be a requirement in the scoping document for proposals to mitigate the significant leaks, including an inspection regimen and a safety and evacuation plan for residents to be served by natural gas. 3) Construction and Demolition Activities, pages 27 and 28: He believes that more than one board member noted that the choice of construction materials would affect energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. This is what the DEC guide says as well, and that guide provides protocols for an analysis of those matters. He believes board members requested that EdR be required to address these issues, so there should be language to that effect in the scoping document, including appro priate citations to the DEC guide. And EdR should be required to describe and propose mitiga tions for the increased uses of energy and greenhouse gas emissions that result from construction traffic. 4) Reasonable Alternatives, pages 29 and 30: Cornell will retain ownership of the land for the Maplewood Apartments and will receive benefits based on the ownership. Cornell also owns virtually all the adjacent lands to the Dryden town line. Given Cornell's ability to control the use of these lands as owner, the limitations of responsibility and control that appear in this section that EdR describes as theirs ring hollow, and, if accepted, will hinder the town in determining the best ways to mitigate the impacts of the larger development and the related Cornell land projects. The paragraph should be rewritten to recognize the realities of Cornell's control and responsibility for what appears on the lands it owns that they designate as the South Campus Precinct. A resident of Belle Sherman said that the Belle Sherman neighborhood is under siege. Over the last year and going forward, there have been 2500 new beds constructed bordering the Belle Sherman area. The additional rumored beds for the East Hill area are between 500 and 1500. This is a very small community neighborhood. Jim Hogg, 921 Mitchell Street, said he lives across the street from Maplewood. He shares the concerns of most of the people who have spoken. This will impact his family's life tremendously. His family is one of the few that own property not owned by Cornell for a long distance. Chapter 4 about the construction and demolition: noise, dirt, trucks, traffic, staging areas are all of great concern. His home was built in 1930 and he's worried about the vibrations from construction, the pilings. He'd like to see the scope reduced. His sightline from being able to see across the valley will now be a four- story building with glass. Planning Board Minutes 06-21-2016 Page 17 of 18 Joel Harlan, Newfield, spoke in favor of the project and of building taller buildings because there's no space anymore. Sarah Hess said she would like to make written comments and wondered what the deadline would be. Ms, Ritter said it would be best to get them by the end of June. Ms. Balestra pointed out that the scoping period needs to be finalized within 60 days of the submis sion of the draft, which will be July 23rd. John Dennis, Tompkins County Environmental Management Council, said that one sentence did not change in the newest scoping: "Reasonable alternatives are limited to parcels owned by, or under option to, the Project Sponsor, as the Project Sponsor cannot commit to the control of sites that it does not own." He doesn't understand that sentence. Can you imagine a Cornell astronomer saying that be will not study the solar system or the Milky Way or anything beyond it because be does not control it? He said be would expect that a curious, thoughtful, scholarly, competitive corporation would want to study projects beyond the scope of the ones they've already done. This doesn't sound like a forward-thinking company to be that blinded and say. We're only going to talk about projects we've already done. With climate change, this is a time we have to be pivoting - Cornell is pivoting. The board discussed bow to proceed with the scoping document. They agreed that staff should leave the document as is, and that by the meeting of July 5tb, board members and staff will have bad time to consider the public comments and be ready to discuss revisions to the document. AGENDA ITEM Persons to be heard - No one came forward to address the board. AGENDA ITEM PB Resolution No. 2016-033: Minutes of June 7, 2016 Moved by Fred Wilcox; seconded by Linda Collins RESOLVED, the Planning Board approves the minutes of June 7, 2016 as submitted. Vote Ayes: Wilcox, Collins, Haefeli, Beach, Bosak AGENDA ITEM Adjournment Upon a motion by Mr. Wilcox, the meeting adjourned at 9:40 p.m. Planning Board Minutes 06-21-2016 Page 18 of 18 Respectfully submitted,