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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPB Minutes 2013-01-15TOWN OF ITHACA PLANNING BOARD 215 North Tioga Street Ithaca, New York 14850 Tuesday. January 15. 2013 AGENDA 7:00 P.M. Persons to be heard (no more than fiye minutes). 7:05 P.M. SEQR Determination: Town of Ithaca Salt Storage Shed, 106 Seyen Mile Driye. 7:05 P.M. PUBLIC HEARING: Consideration of Preliminary and Final Site Plan Approyal for the proposed new salt storage shed at the Town of Ithaca Public Works Facility located at 106 Seyen Mile Driye, Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No. 33-2-6.1, Low Density Residential Zone. The proposal inyoWes demolishing the existing salt storage building (24' high with an 800 ton capacity) and adjacent shed and replacing them in the same location with a new larger salt storage shed (40' high with a 2,000 ton capacity) with an attached lean- to for additional material storage. Town of Ithaca, Owner/Applicant; Creig Hebdon, P.E., Town Engineer, Agent. 7:20 P.M. Consideration of a sketch plan for the proposed Hawk's Nest at Springwood project located at 123 King Road East, Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No. 43-2-8, Multiple Residence Zone. The proposal inyoWes the construction of a 3-story, 87,469 +/- gross square foot apartment building on the eastern side of the Springwood Townhomes property. The new apartment building will contain 49 two-bedroom apartments, a three- bedroom maintenance manager apartment, on-site manager/concierge office, library, common Hying rooms, and club space. The project also includes an outdoor recreational community area, walking trails, 62 new parking spaces, stormwater facilities, and landscaping. Springwood Townhomes, LLC, Owner/Applicant; Ainslie Design Architecture + Interiors, PLLC, Agent. 5. Nomination and Election of Vice Chairperson for 2013. 6. Approyal of Minutes: December 4, 2012 and December 18, 2012. 7. Other Business: 8. 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. (A quorum of four (4) members is necessary to conduct Planning Board business.) TOWN OF ITHACA PLANNING BOARD MEETING Tuesday,January 15, 2013 215 N. Tioga Street, Ithaca, NY 14850 Board Members Present: Fred Wilcox(Chair), Linda Collins,John Beach, Diane Conneman, Yvonne Fogarty,Jon Bosak, Hollis Erb,Joseph Haefeli (Alternate) Staff Present: Sue Ritter, Director of Planning; Chris Balestra, Planner; Bruce Bates, Director of Code Enforcement; Creig Hebdon, Civil Engineer; Susan Brock, Attorney for the Town; Deb DeAugistine, Deputy Town Clerk Call to Order Mr. Wilcox called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. and accepted the secretary's posting of the public hearing notice. AGENDA ITEM Persons to be heard - No one came forward to address the Board. AGENDA ITEM SEQR Determination: Town of Ithaca Salt Storage Shed, 106 Seven Mile Drive Creig Hebdon stated that this has been an ongoing project at Public Works as part of their master plan. They have a lean-to off the side of the salt storage shed that holds material for water and sewer maintenance.As part of the annex program, they moved materials from different parts of the site to the annex to have it all in one location. The existing salt storage shed was put up in the early 1970s; it is basically a silo onto which a roof was eventually added. It's too low to allow trucks to drive in to dump the salt, so they dump it outside. The shed is too small to store an entire year's worth of salt on site. The new shed will allow them to store all materials inside, dump it inside, and fill the plow trucks up inside. It will accommodate tractor trailers, which might allow them to get a better price on salt.A positive impact of the new shed is being able to store a full year's worth of salt inside. They hope to have it up by next season.At the end of this year, if the shed is not empty, they will need to truck the remaining salt to Newfield or Ulysses for storage. Demolition of the existing shed will re- quire five or six dumpsters. The new building will be constructed mainly of wood. Because of the slope of the site, two sides will be a concrete wall on which they'll set the structure; the other two sides will be all wood. The floor is asphalt. The anticipated life span is 50 to 60 years with little main- tenance. PB Resolution No. 2013-001: SEQR, Preliminary and Final Site Plan Approval, Town of Ithaca Public Works Facility, 106 Seven Mile Drive, Tax Parcel No. 33:2-6.1 Moved by Hollis Erb; seconded by Linda Collins WHEREAS: 1. This action involves consideration of Preliminary and Final Site Plan Approval for the proposed new salt storage shed at the Town of Ithaca Public Works Facility, located at 106 Seven Mile Drive, Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No. 33.,2,6.1, Low Density Residential Zone. The proposal in- Planning Board Minutes 0145.2012 Page 2 of 8 volves demolishing the existing salt storage building (24' high with an 800-ton capacity) and adja- cent shed and replacing them in the same location with a new, larger salt storage shed (40'high with a 2,000-ton capacity) and attached lean-to for additional material storage. Town of Ithaca, Owner/Applicant; Creig Hebdon, P.E., Town Engineer, Agent; and 2. This is an Unlisted Action for which the Town of Ithaca Planning Board is acting in an uncoor- dinated environmental review with respect to Site Plan Approval; and 3. The Planning Board, on January 15, 2013, has reviewed and accepted as adequate a Short Envi- ronmental Assessment Form Part I, submitted by Town Public Works Department staff; a Part II prepared by Town Planning staff; site plans prepared by the Town of Ithaca Public Works De- partment, entitled "Town of Ithaca Public Works Facility," including sheet GP-1, titled "Site Lo- cation," dated 12-542, sheet GP-,2, titled "Existing Site Map," dated 12-12-12, sheet GP-3, titled "Demolition Plans," dated 12-12-12, sheet GP-4, titled "Proposed Site Plan," dated 12/26/2012 and revised 1/8/2013, and sheet SE4, titled "Building Elevation," dated 12/12/12, and other application materials; and 4. The Town Planning staff has recommended a negative determination of environmental signifi- cance with respect to the proposed site plan; NOW THEREFORE BE IT 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 EAF Part I and for the reasons set forth in the EAF Part II, and, therefore, a Draft Environmental Impact Statement will not be required. Vote: Ayes - Wilcox, Collins, Beach, Conneman, Fogarty, Bosak, Erb AGENDA ITEM Public Hearing: Consideration of Preliminary and Final Site Plan Approval for the proposed new salt storage shed at the Town of Ithaca Public Works Facility located at 106 Seven Mile Drive, Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No. 33-2-6.1, Low Density Residential Zone. The proposal involves demolishing the existing salt storage building(24' high with an 800 ton capacity) and adjacent shed and replacing them in the same location with a new larger salt storage shed (40' high with a 2,000 ton capacity)with an attached lean-to for additional material storage. Town of Ithaca, Owner/Applicant; Creig Heb- don, P.E., Town Engineer,Agent Mr. Wilcox opened the public hearing at 7:25 p.m. and closed the public hearing at 7:26 p.m. PB Resolution No. 2013-002:Preliminary and Final Site Plan Approval, Town of Ithaca Public Works Facility, 106 Seven Mile Drive, Tax Parcel No. 33.-2-6.1 Moved by Hollis Erb; seconded by John Beach Planning Board Minutes 0145.2012 Page 3 of 8 WHEREAS: 1. This action involves consideration of Preliminary and Final Site Plan Approval for the proposed new salt storage shed at the Town of Ithaca Public Works Facility, located at 106 Seven Mile Drive, Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No. 31-2-6.1, Low Density Residential Zone. The proposal in- volves demolishing the existing salt storage building (24' high with an 800-ton capacity) and adja- cent shed and replacing them in the same location with a new, larger salt storage shed (40'high with a 2,000-ton capacity) and attached lean-to for additional material storage. Town of Ithaca, Owner/Applicant; Creig Hebdon, P.E., Town Engineer, Agent; and 2. This is an Unlisted Action for which the Town of Ithaca Planning Board, acting in an uncoordi- nated environmental review with respect to this project has, on January 15, 2013, made a negative determination of environmental significance, after having reviewed and accepted as adequate a Short Environmental Assessment Form Part I, submitted by Town Public Works Department staff, and a Part II prepared by Town Planning staff; and 3. The Planning Board, at a Public Hearing held on January 15, 2013, has reviewed and accepted as adequate site plans prepared by the Town of Ithaca Public Works Department, entitled "Town of Ithaca Public Works Facility," including sheet GP-1, titled "Site Location," dated 12-542, sheet GP--2, titled "Existing Site Map," dated 12-12-12, sheet GP-3, titled "Demolition Plans," dated 12- 12-12, sheet GP-4, titled "Proposed Site Plan," dated 12/26/2012 and revised 1/8/2013, and sheet SE-1, titled "Building Elevation," dated 12/12/12, 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 de- termined from the materials presented that such waiver will result in neither a significant altera- tion of 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 grants Preliminary and Final Site Plan Approval for the proposed Public Works Facility Salt Storage Building Replacement, as shown on the site plans noted in Whereas #3 above, subject to the following conditions: a. Submission to the Planning Department of one original large-size set of the approved draw- ings on mylar, vellum, or paper, signed and sealed by the registered land surveyor(s), engi- neer(s), architect(s) or landscape architect(s)who prepared the site plan materials, prior to the application for any building permits, and b. Granting of any necessary variances from the Zoning Board of Appeals. Vote: Ayes - Wilcox, Collins, Beach, Conneman, Fogarty, Bosak, Erb AGENDA ITEM Consideration of a sketch plan for the proposed Hawk's Nest at Springwood project located at 123 King Road East, Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No. 43-2-8, Multiple Residence Zone. The proposal in- Planning Board Minutes 0145.2012 Page 4 of 8 volves the construction of a 3-story, 87,469 +/-gross square foot apartment building on the eastern side of the Springwood Townhomes property. The new apartment building will contain 49 two- bedroom apartments, a three-bedroom maintenance manager apartment, on-site manager/concierge office, library, common living rooms, and club space. The project also includes an outdoor recrea- tional community area,walking trails, 62 new parking spaces, stormwater facilities, and landscaping. Springwood Townhomes, LLC, Owner/Applicant; Ainslie Design Architecture + Interiors, PLLC, Agent Evan Monkemeyer and Alton Ainslie were present. Mr. Monkemeyer gave a brief history of the Springwood property. His family purchased the farmland in 1943. The old farm homestead still exists as a property called the Hayloft Art Studios. This particular 151/2-acre parcel sits by itself and slopes from east to west. In the 1970s, they proposed that the parcel be rezoned multiple residence. The Town approved a plan for a modular housing concept of 111 units with a density of 71/2 units per acre. The project was scrapped because modular design didn't fly with financing - the units were too boxy. (Mr. Monkemeyer passed around a model of that project.) It was later redesigned as a mixture of one- and two-story units. The first two buildings,A and B, are being renovated with energy-efficient windows and doors and Tyvek siding. They're looking at the rest of the lands for future uses. The top portion of the site is about five or six acres on which they're proposing to build units for active adults (55 and over). The three-story structure will take advantage of the views to the west and north. It will be tucked up into the corner of the property to leave room for a greenbelt out front along the high- way and other recreational spaces between it and the existing Phase I. Mr.Ainslie said that the building will be located at the far east end of property. The six existing one- and two-story apartment units are centered on the site, along with another one-story building. There's an existing drive into the Springwood Apartments with parking primarily in the center. There is space for future development for a pool and tennis courts. The new facility will have a total of 66 parking spaces, with 4 of them being handicapped accessible.The existing plus new parking spaces will total 104 for the 75 units. The gravel drive off King Road will be improved with asphalt. A walking trail will come around the new building on the east end and run along the southern border through the woods and back up the west side to access to Mr. Monkemeyer's commercial development on the corner of King Road East and Route 96B. Mr. Wilcox inquired about the status of College Crossings. Mr. Monkemeyer responded that both a national and a regional tenant are interested, and if one of them signs, the project will get started this spring. Ms. Erb asked whether the drive was intentionally kept from being drivable in one big U as a traffic, calming measure. Mr. Monkemeyer responded that they wanted to keep the types of housing separate. The existing Springwood townhouses are a mixed age group. The new development with active sen- iors might not have as many cars. They decided to maintain three curb cuts: one for each phase.The bus stop is probably about 1200 to 1500 feet from the new development. Ms. Erb said she loves to see lots of landscaping. She's glad there will be some concentrated addi- tional housing in this location since this is clearly already a disturbed site. She drove by on Saturday and saw there were almost no cars. She asked whether units will have a patio or balcony - some sort of private outdoor space. Mr. Monkemeyer replied that they will. Ms. Erb said she likes the buffer space and some active recreation space. She asked about community garden space. Mr. Monkemeyer Planning Board Minutes 0145.2012 Page 5 of 8 said he had not thought of a community garden. They have plans for common interior spaces, such as a living room with a library setup. They had not planned to integrate this phase with the existing units; this is planned as a separate element to stand on its own.A pool or tennis courts wouldn't be implemented until the last phase and would be for everyone's use. Ms. Collins said she is pleased to see someone building housing for this demographic and also to hear them say how the building will look. She hopes when they come back for site plan, the project will reflect those balconies and landscaping Mr. Monkemeyer talked about and be more architecturally interesting. She wondered whether the building could be sited so there's not a giant parking lot right in front; she'd prefer something more homey or resort-like. Mr. Monkemeyer replied that there are two things they're juggling: getting the right number of parking spaces,while also preserving the greenbelt out front - the first 100 feet between the road and the building. They did that in the first phase and decided to maintain that strip of land as open space, so they crunched up the parking and lost a few of the islands to break them up. They will try to massage the layout to break it up more. Ms. Collins finds pod-like parking more appealing. Mr. Bosak said he was concerned that space be provided for gardening because it's the perfect kind of recreation for active elderly. He suggested they think about trading the pool and tennis court in the perpetual future for a garden in the present. Mr. Monkemeyer agreed that it's a good place for a gar- den because it's out in the open and not in the shadow of a building; it gets southern light. Ms. Erb added that it should have a little cabana, someplace to sit. Mr. Bosak said they will need to discuss traffic. This is a general concern of sticking people in places where there's no public transport - of increasing density in a place where in reality nobody will walk to the bus without sidewalks, and even possibly with sidewalks. Board members agreed. Mr. Monkemeyer said that at one point, the bus did go down King Road; he will check with TCAT about possibly altering the route. Mr. Ainslie said den- sity might bring service, but Mr. Bosak doubted that. Every time he has brought it up, TCAT has pointed out that they are financially unable to increase their service anywhere, regardless of ridership; they're operating at a shortfall Ms. Erb pointed out that sidewalks that go to the west, to Danby Road, and the retail development at that corner would make this development more desirable. It would provide a place for people living here to go, and sidewalks would make it safe to get there and might encourage a few more people to pick up the bus. Mr. Monkemeyer said the determination needs to be made to put a sidewalk on the north side or south side - people will have to cross the road either way.There's a crossing at Montes- sori School, and on the north side, he owns frontage only up to that crossing. Mr. Bosak pointed to Mr. Marx's comment regarding sidewalks, saying that the Board will forever be told that "this is a piece of it, so it wouldn't make sense to put in a sidewalk here because it doesn't connect over there." That means nothing will ever happen. He thinks Mr. Marx is saying that the only way to solve this is to start right now, to require every applicant to put in their piece of sidewalk. Mr. Bosak will urge a sidewalk even if it's a sidewalk to nowhere. Ms. Erb agreed, adding that the residents at this development will have to cross anyway to get to the commercial area. So what's being suggested is providing this piece that gets them safely down to where there's a school crossing; then they can pick up the other piece of sidewalk that's going to come.This allows them to be able to walk all the way down to Ithaca College. Mr. Wilcox added that the trail system might include a trail across the front of the property that could serve as a sidewalk-like conveyance. Planning Board Minutes 0145.2012 Page 6 of 8 Mr. Bosak said the number of parking spaces is being tied to the concept of limiting residents to 55 and older. He wondered whether it is legal for a rental property to force an age limit. His concern is not about the business model or who they're renting to, rather that the Board will be making specific decisions based on the assumption that these are active elderly. Ms. Brock said she would have to look into it; the project might have to meet certain federal guidelines and something might need to be changed in the Town law. Mr.Ainslie said that parking for the entire project meets the standards required in the ordinance. Mr. Bosak noted that there's also the overall representation where the Board is invited to see extra points of public good in providing senior housing, and he wants to make sure the Board is not asked to do that unless there's some assurance that it actually is senior housing. Ms. Erb said they would also want assurance that it will not be student housing. Mr. Bosak asked them to clarify the reference about the height not being an issue because it will be disguised. Mr. Ainslie responded that the property slopes from the high side on the west; they'll exca- vate and drop the building down into the site so it's below the elevation of the property at the prop- erty line. This will allow the parking to be at grade with the first floor so there aren't ramps and stairs. Mr. Bosak commented that inclusion of affordable units will be an issue. Ms. Ritter responded that the Town Board has no actions on the table regarding affordable housing in new subdivisions; there's been a desire to do something, so they're exploring the issue. It may be that they can't do a lot until they begin implementing the comp plan, because it's so ingrained with subdivision and other zoning regulations. Keeping units affordable can be a challenge for municipalities. Mr. Wilcox said he walked the upper portion of the site and noticed that there's a lot of standing water. Stormwater management will be of concern. Regarding parking spaces, he noted that there are surplus spaces on the existing portion that could be used to mitigate a deficit of spaces on upper por- tion, but that the two aren't accessible. Without proper circulation between the two, he would not be comfortable counting spaces from Phase I as usable by residents of Phase II. He noted that this Board has historically granted reductions in the number of parking spaces with good cause. He pointed out that in Deer Run, where he lives, people have two cars. He would have to see convincing data show- ing that many of the residents would not want or need two cars. Some people need only one car, but have two; in such a case, maybe they could store the extra car in the other parking lot. Ms. Erb re- sponded that she would find that rude if she lived in one of the lower buildings. Ms. Erb said that residents of the new building should easily be able to access to the trail at the back or it won't be used. The tree island on the plan is not wide enough and will not support a nice shade tree long term. She suggested they use permeable asphalt anywhere they can. If the walking trail is going to be part of the connectivity to the corner, she doesn't think going the long way around the back of the property will do it. She likes Mr. Wilcox's suggestion of having a walking trail out front and wants to hear how it would be maintained in the winter. She would love for the trail to have a couple places for a bench or two. Mr. Monkemeyer explained that he has plans for this. Mr. Wilcox was thinking about stone dust for the sidewalk trail that would run through the green space instead of along the road. Ms. Erb agreed that this would solve something for Mr. Monkemeyer's residents, but not for the growing neighborhood down the road. Mr. Monkemeyer said the units will be handicapped adaptable. It will start as rental property and may convert down the road to ownership. Planning Board Minutes 0145.2012 Page 7 of 8 Andrea Ettinger and Donald Werder live directly across the street at 130 East King Road. They moved in this summer and didn't know this project was being planned. Ms. Ettinger said their main concern is the height of a three-story building - looking out at something that looks like a prison. She would not have bought the property if she knew she was going to be looking at a three-story building. It will kill her property value. She's concerned about the traffic it will create. She pointed out that a parking lot for an apartment building as opposed to townhouses is rather large and loses its neighborhood residential feeling. Having been a property manager for 15 years, she's learned that parking is always an issue. In two-bedroom units, it's one of the biggest issues because they're usually allotted one and a half spaces, and it's never enough. She's afraid that the green space will become additional parking. Unless it gets designated as a 55 and over property, fair housing is not going to let the applicants discriminate and tell people they can't live there. They can try and get that designation. She said she would be in favor of it being 55 and over. She pointed out that rentals need to provide reasonable accommodation if a handicapped person wants to rent. Mr.Werder said he would love to have sidewalks. Joel Harlan spoke in favor of the project. Mr. Monkemeyer said that they're calling it the Hawk's Nest because, as a kid, he used to watch the hawks flying around. He thought it would be nice to make it part of the element of the building by building a nest, in cooperation with someone at Sapsucker Woods, for one the hawks. They could put in a couple of web cams and watch every day. Mr. Wilcox made a general comment about parking lots: parking in front evokes big box stores; park- ing in back puts buildings too close to the road (e.g., Hampton Inn). Ms. Erb said that's why the buffer strip in front is so nice. Ms. Collins said that the parking issue doesn't have to be black and white;with some thought, they can make it economical but more appealing. Mr. Monkemeyer said that by excavating the land and tucking the building into the corner and having a pitched roof, it will be an attractive building. Ms. Fogarty asked about the exterior material. Mr. Monkemeyer replied that the exterior on the first level will probably be masonry; the upper floors will be a horizontal siding that doesn't need to be maintained. Ms. Erb reminded the applicant that the Board likes to see material swatches. Ms. Fogarty asked whether some of the units look over the parking lot. Mr. Monkemeyer responded that half units will be oriented out toward the parking lot, which will be to the views to the west and north. The other half will be oriented to the woods. Ms. Conneman noted that they did a good job on College Crossings with the different roof levels; she thinks the mass can be alleviated using the same techniques for the facade of this building. Board members agreed. AGENDA ITEM PB Resolution No. 2013.003: Nomination and Election, Planning Board Vice Chairperson 2013 Moved by Fred Wilcox; seconded by John Beach Planning Board Minutes 01-15-2013 Page 8 of 8 RESOLVED, that the Town of Ithaca Planning Board does hereby nominate and elect Hollis Erb as Vice Chairperson of the Planning Board for the year 2013. FURTHER RESOLVED, that said election shall be reported to the Town Board. Vote Ayes: Wilcox, Collins, Haefeli, Beach, Conneman, Fogarty, Bosak Abstentions: Erb AGENDA ITEM PB Resolution No. 2012-004: Minutes of December 4, 2012 Moved by Fred Wilcox; seconded by Linda Collins WHEREAS, the Town of Ithaca Planning Board has reviewed the draft minutes from the meeting on December 4 2012; now therefore be it RESOLVED, the Town of Ithaca Planning Board approves the minutes, as amended, to be the final minutes of the meeting on December 4. Vote Ayes: Wilcox, Collins, Beach, Bosak, Erb Abstentions: Conneman, Fogarty AGENDA ITEM Adjournment Upon a motion by Hollis Erb, the meeting adjourned at 8:39 p.m. Respectfully submitted, A XJb,(^ ^ l^bra DeAugiWii^ Deputy TowrKClerk