HomeMy WebLinkAbout19-12 NYSDOT - Warren Road Subresidency-Towc� C�rtr�
RESOLUTION PB 19-12
RESOLUTION APPROVING NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT
OF TRANSPORTATION FACILITY CONSTRUCTION AND
PUBLIC WORKS PROJECT FOR WARREN ROAD SUB -RESIDENCY,
APPLYING GOVERNMENTAL BALANCING TEST AND
APPROVING SUBDIVISION AND SITE PLANS FOR THE SAME
8WHEREAS, the County of Tompkins ("County") and New York State Department of
Transportation ("NYSDOT") began an application process in September of 2019 in relation
to the NYSDOT facilities relocation project, with the County involvement being triggered as
the County owns the land upon which the proposed NYSDOT facilities are proposed to be
situated, such lands being approximately 15 acres within larger County -owned parcels of
land (TPNs 44.-1-47 and 44.4-20.1, plus a small parcel acquired from Cornell University,
p/ o 44.4-18) located along the westerly side of Warren Road, between Cherry Road and
Hillcrest Road, in the Town of Lansing IR (industrial -research) Zone and, as such, this is a
permitted use under zoning (to the extent zoning applies to NYS); and
WHEREAS, NYSDOT became the lead applicant and throughout October, November, and
December of 2018, NYSDOT appeared before various Town boards and committees to have
initial plans reviewed, stormwater issues examined, sewer district extensions reviewed and
approval processes started, and to fulfill steps needed for project approval and funding,
including NEPA and SEQRA reviews, including as coordinated between NYSDOT and the
FAA; and
WHEREAS, throughout this period the County and NYSDOT were advised that, because
this was a governmental subdivision and a governmental/ public safety and public works
project, that the subdivision and site plan reviews may be required to be ministerial reviews
under the NYS County of Monroe standard, but that to so proceed, given the sewer extension
process, the Town would need: (i) letters of consent from the Village of Lansing and Village
of Cayuga Heights to extending sewer service areas, as required by an intermunicipal
agreement governing the transportation and treatment of Town sewage and wastewater
flows; (ii) applications for site planning and subdivision review, with mappings sufficient
as to be approved and sealed; and (iii) proper conclusion of a coordinated environmental
review addressing the project (the "Project Receivables"); and
WHEREAS, a required NYSDOT public hearing was held in the Lansing Town Hall on
January 16, 2019, which hearing was conducted pursuant to 40 CFR 1506.6(c) and which
public hearing took comment upon the project, duly supplementing comments the Town
had already received at Planning Board and other meetings concerning site and locational
issues; and
WHEREAS, the Town regularly followed-up throughout December of 2018, and into
January, February, and March of 2019 in order to obtain the Project Receivables, and in late
January and through March, 2019, the Town received the following documents, including:
(i) a letter from NYSDOT confirming completion of a SEQRA review and an environmental
determination preliminarily dated January 23, 2019; (ii) a County of Monroe letter from the
County dated January 25, 2019, which was determined not to have provided the underlying
Page 1 of 7
application materials or to have completed proper analysis under the 9 -point test for
governmental exemptions and immunity; (iii) more detailed survey and subdivision
mappings, upon maps dated 12/12/18; (iv) more detailed site plan mappings were
delivered on or about January 29, 2019, upon drawings dated 11/18/18; (v) a SEQRA
Determination Of No Significant Effect (DONSE) letter dated February 25, 2019, bearing
approvals from the NYSDOT Region 3 Regional Director; and (vi) the County withdrawal
of its request for sewer services dated March 2, 2019, which reversed a prior request for
including, and which withdrawal helped answer the long-standing, multi -month question
of "what land" for the sewer service area questions, including but not limited to the sewer
map, plan and report ("MPR") and the Village approvals needed; (vii) on or about March 6,
2019 a signed survey/plat map; (viii) on or about March 6, 2019, a complete set of project
and site plans, being 74 pages long and containing the NYSDOT Project Scoping
Report/ Final Design Report (PIN): 3M00.18 and related data; and (ix) on or about March 12,
2019, an analysis letter of the 9 -factor balancing test for governmental immunity/review
exemptions under the County of Monroe standard replacing, and not supplementing, the
prior County letter; and
WHEREAS, as some of the Project Receivables had started arriving, in March 2019 the Town
coordinated receipt of other needed documents, including approval letters from the Villages
as requested at the time of initial discussions in 2018 (including as requested by the water
and sewer advisory board ("WSAB")), applications to go along with what had been
identified as final subdivision and site plan mappings and documents, as well as
confirmation of the completion of the NEPA-SEQRA process, given that the Town was an
involved agency therein and had made numerous site plan and project buffering comments
and demands; and
WHEREAS, in mid -to late March, the Town followed-up directly with NYSDOT regarding
what was needed for a County of Monroe exemption/ immunity review, as well as what is
involved in a service area extension for sewer services under NYS Town Law Article 12-A,
as well as advising that a WSAB meeting had been re -scheduled for March 20, 2019 to
consider the request for a MPR for the NYSDOT project service area; and
WHEREAS, by said WSAB meeting date the Village consents and letters had finally arrived,
and a recommendation was forwarded from the WSAB to the Town Board to authorize the
MPR for the sewer service area extension, and the Town Board duly authorized the same by
Resolution #19-65, dated March 20, 2019; and
WHEREAS, applications for subdivision and site planning were duly and thereafter
received on March 29, 2019, together with fully updated drawings dated March 15, 2019,
and the Planning Department needed time to review the various submissions requested in
November and December and delivered by the end of March 2019, and the Planning
Department found the submissions substantially complete and referred the matter to the
Planning Board with its recommendations, which scheduled this matter for review upon
April 8, 2019; and
WHEREAS, NYSDOT submitted a proposed final subdivision map for sealing entitled
"Survey for Proposed Ithaca Sub -Residency," dated November 8, 2019, as updated by data
Page 2 of 7
additions and surveyor's signature in March, 2019 (the "Plat Map"), which map has been
found sufficient for a two -lot subdivision; and
WHEREAS, the developer has further submitted final site plan drawings and data
consisting of drawing sheets MJ -1 Sheet No. 13, GP -1 Sheet No. 30, GP -2 Sheet No. 31, GP -3
Sheet No. 32, LAP -1 Sheet No. 38, LAP -4 Sheet No. 41, LAP -5 Sheet No. 42, and UTP -1, Sheet
No. 57, each dated as a March 15, 2019 Permit Set, along and together with the March 2019
Final Scoping Report/Final Design Report, consisting of 74 pages describing the project and
project plans (all herein and together, the "Site Plans"); and
WHEREAS, the Town, the WSAB, and the Planning Board, among others, have reviewed
the various project documents as first submitted in 2018 and the final design projects as
submitted in late March 2019, duly noting the building relocations on the site, additional
project buffering and berming, as well as the relocation of fueling facilities to the nearby
airport property, and the Planning Board having also sought professional and legal advice
concerning the County of Monroe submissions and rules, as applied, and counsel having duly
opined that both the subdivision and site plan processes appeared to meet the
exemption/ immunity standards and were not subject to discretionary review, subject to the
Planning Board, being the authority with jurisdiction within the host community, to make
this determination; and
WHEREAS, the Planning Board having weighed the several factors of the County of Monroe
test, and having considered the Plat Map and the Site Plans, as well as stormwater issues
and the reviews and recommendations of the Town Engineer related thereto, the roadway
and design plans, development schedules, and NYS funding deadlines, including a related
multi -million -dollar airport grant; and
WHEREAS, the subdivision of County -owned land for governmental purposes, and the
related NYSDOT site plan, have been determined by the Town Planning Board to be exempt
and immune from discretionary subdivision and site plan review under NYS law, including
for the following reasons as set forth in the analysis after each of the 9 -points of such
balancing test, as follows:
1. The nature and scope of the instrumentality seeking immunity - This favor weighs
in favor of applicants as (i) the County is a sovereign municipal government of which the
Town is a part, and (ii) NYS is a superior sovereign with privileges and immunities that
can extend well beyond the County of Monroe standard when addressing public interest -
based, governmental and emergency service facilities such as this project, such that the
factor is found to weigh in favor of applicants.
2. The encroaching government's legislative grant of authority - While the County has
no legislative grant of authority to undertake land uses within the Town, NYS certainly
does, and NYS and NYSDOT have already duly determined and declared the public
interest being served by this facility. While the County does not have this authority, the
Town recognizes that the County Planning and Sustainability Department is charged with
examining overall regional and county -wide planning, and is charged with weighing and
balancing impacts on an intermunicipal and county -wide level. Given all alternatives and
Page 3 of 7
options the County approved this specific site as being the best of several considered sited,
given its proximity to state highways, important industrial and commercial facilities, the
site having available infrastructure, being located upon one of the busiest streets in the
County, as well as several other factors, such that this factor also weighs in favor of a grant
of immunity.
3. The kind of function or land use involved - The land use involved is essentially to
provide and promote the delivery of state -mandated services relating to highway
maintenance and snow removal, considered an emergency service under NYS law. The
functions involved are quintessentially governmental in nature, and this is deemed a
weighty factor that weighs heavily in applicants favor.
4. The effect local land use regulation would have upon the enterprise concerned -
Local discretionary land use reviews could enhance the project, but the review and siting
processes and public hearings from NYSDOT, as well as changes as reflected in Site Plans,
shows that, to the extent discretionary review may have affected any site changes upon
this allowed use in the zone, improvements have already been made. As well, counter-
balanced against discretionary review are the governmental standards this test weighs, as
well as millions of dollars in needed airport and related funding that could be negative
impacted by any additional project delays. Thus, the Planning Board finds this factor to
only slightly tip towards the applicants, mainly due to the site changes already made,
specifically (but not limited to) relocating fuel facilities, additional buffering areas and
berms, reduced lighting, and the relocation of building locations upon the lot.
5. Alternative locations for the facility in less restrictive zoning areas - Alternative
locations, as noted, have already been examined and there is hardly a less restrictive or
more appropriate zone for this project than an IR Zone, including due to the County land
surrounding the same which acts as additional open space buffering for some areas,
business parks to the north and the south, apartment buildings nearby, commercial
facilities nearby that already produce truck traffic, such as USPS, UPS, and Global Phoenix,
among others, an airport located proximally adjacent to the site, and industrial and
commercial zoning throughout this Warren Road Corridor, such that this factor weighs in
favor of applicants.
6. The impact upon legitimate local interests - Relative to subdivision no significant
local interests are deemed triggered. However, as to site planning some local issues are
triggered, such as airport hazard reviews (though mainly these are within the jurisdiction
of the FAA and NYSDOT) and site impacts to neighboring properties, particularly a few
residential units which, although located in the Warren Road corridor, are none -the -less
implicated in any impact review under site planning reviews. While some site changes
have occurred that address or lessen these impacts, the Towns interest in such, including
as set forth in Town Law § 274-a, being a delegation of legislative authority from the State
of New York itself, causes this factor to be, in the end, neutral.
7. Alternative methods of providing the proposed improvement - There are no real
alternatives, other than complete relocation of the facility, which only begs the question
when this very issue arises at such alternative location. In any event, this factor is not really
Page 4 of 7
relevant as NYS has delegated to NYSDOT the authority to designate and choose the
locations for the facilities it needs to serve the public, including to maintain important state
roads, including snow removal and managing or remediating other emergencies, whether
related to accidents, regional events, weather, or just needed maintenance and
improvements to help assure safe travel on public highways. Thus, this factor weighs
slightly in favor of applicants as, of course, different on-site layouts could still be
considered which could provide less impactful alternatives to providing the needed
improvements and services.
8. The extent of the public interest to be served by the improvements - This factor
weighs heavily in favor of applicants and is deemed an important factor deserving of
weight, as the providing of suitably improved and safe highways for travel and commerce
are quintessentially at the core of public safety and governmental purposes.
9. Intergovernmental participation in the project development process and an
opportunity to be heard - This factor is neutral. To the extent that this has been a multi-
year, multi -governmental process with public hearings and opportunities to be heard
within the Town, as well as there having been intergovernmental coordination relative to
environmental review and Town -provided input on utilities and site impacts, there has
also been a long history of rejected requests, inaction and an un -willingness to provide
Project Deliverables. Even a simple request for sufficient subdivision platting maps were
summarily rejected by the County (see letter from County, dated 2/22/19), though
thankfully such refusal, among others, was overruled by NYSDOT and such mappings
supplied; and
WHEREAS, as the balancing test favors immunity for both subdivision and site plan
approvals for this project, and as the environmental review process has been duly
completed and a negative declaration, or its equivalent, duly issued, and as this matter also
underwent NYSDOT and County reviews relative to siting and locational impacts, and both
such agencies have significant experience with land uses and land use planning, the Town
Planning Board determines that the County of Monroe factors weigh in favor of the granting
of immunity or an exemption from formal subdivision and site plan review for the creation
of the two -lot subdivision for this NYSDOT project; and
WHEREAS, the Planning Board has considered this project in light of the location and
zoning within the Town, and the nearby natural and man-made features surrounding the
project, as well as siting issued as being related to the areas of the Town where such facilities
should be sited based upon access to utilities, water, sewer, and roadway networks that
could carry such traffic and are designed to do so, and the Planning Board also considered
site drainage, lighting, landscaping, parking, buffering, screening, driveways and traffic,
and other impacts in its immunity balancing test review and its prior project -based reviews
of materials as periodically submitted by the public and the applicants, and even though the
project is immune from discretionary local review such review occurred and is permitted
by the host community in order to undertake the balancing test and, as show above the site
changes and communications as made to -date, these changes and communications in
Page 5 of 7
context were weighed in the overall balance of factors under the County of Monroe balancing
test; and
WHEREAS, upon deliberation upon the foregoing, the Planning Board of the Town of
Lansing has duly RESOLVED as follows:
1. The Plat Map shall be sealed and filed, and all formal requirements for further
mapping for plats be and hereby is waived for good cause shown, including as this project
is immune, this is a two -lot subdivision of vacant land, and all infrastructure will be installed
by, maintained by, and be owned and managed by NYS, such that there are no public lines
or roadways to dedicate or review.
2. The Site Plans be and hereby are approved, and construction may commence upon
compliance with all permitting and stormwater requirements, and upon the issuance of a
curb cut permit for access by the County. All buildings and structures shall be built to NYS
building code requirements, and Certificates of Occupancy ("CO"), if required, may be
issued once the standards required to be met are demonstrably met, including compliance
with building permits and building codes.
3. The site shall be developed in substantial conformity with the Site Plans as submitted,
and parking and driveway layouts, screening, dark sky lighting, and other site conditions
listed or shown in the Site Plans shall be adhered to, with the exemption of the removal of
the Fuel Station from the site plan as that will be located off site per Kathleen joy
representative for NYSDOT. All existing or previously required vegetative buffers
(including as shown on the site plans described above) shall be maintained as healthy and
natural non-invasive vegetation designed to provide both visual and sound buffering.
Emphasis shall be placed upon solid cover barriers as set forth in the Site Plans, such as
hedges and offset rows of evergreen trees, or deciduous trees of variable heights
interspersed with evergreens or other plants as provide for such cover. All buffers shall be
properly maintained and any dead, diseased, or dying trees or plants shall be promptly
replaced, and any tree or plants that, whether singularly or in combination, due to lack of
growth, death, recession, disease or other cause, cease to function as buffers shall be
replaced in a manner as promotes the goal of such buffer as stated in the Site Plans.
4. The Town Zoning Officer and Code Enforcement Officer shall review any changes in
plans or as -built plans under the Town standards for amended site plans, and upon any
determined or required referral to the Planning Board under such rules, the Planning Board
shall examine whether such changes alter the County of Monroe balancing test. If not, then
no review shall be conducted or required, and if so, then the Planning Board shall determine
whether, under all attendant circumstances, any site plan review should be undertaken, as
well as the proper scope of any such updated or other review.
5. All stormwater facilities shall be designed, constructed, managed, and maintained in
accord with all applicable stormwater requirements, including the Town of Lansing
Stormwater requirements. Stormwater SPDES permits and MS4 acceptance letters, to the
extent required, shall be processed and reviewed as required by law.
Page 6 of 7
6. The project, as currently proposed based upon the Plat Map and Site Plans, is granted
immunity from discretionary local review under subdivision, site planning, special
permitting, and any discretionary or general zoning reviews and accordingly, given this
immunity, the 3 -year sunset of approval rules for site plans as set forth in the Town's Land
Use Law at § 701.10 is hereby declared inapplicable.
Dated: April 8, 2019
Motion By: Dale Baker
Seconded By: Jerry Caward
VOTE AS FOLLOWS:
Al Fiorille - Aye
Larry Sharpsteen - Abstain
Dean Shea - Aye
Thomas Butler, Alternate - Abstain
Dale Baker, Alternate - Aye
Jerry Caward, Chair - Aye
Received and filed in the Lansing Town Clerk's Office on
(seal)
Debbie Munson
Town Clerk
Town of Lansing
Tompkins County, New York
Page 7 of 7