HomeMy WebLinkAbout01252016minutes.pdf1
Village of Cayuga Heights Planning Board
Meeting #59
Monday, January 25, 2016
Marcham Hall – 7:00 pm
Minutes
Present: Planning Board Members Chair F. Cowett, G. Gillespie, S. Cunningham,
R. Segelken, D. Hay and Alternate M. McMurry
Deputy Clerk Podufalski, Code Enforcement Officer B. Cross, Attorney R. Marcus
Members of the Public
Item 1 – Meeting called to order
• Chair F. Cowett opened the meeting at 7:02 pm.
Item 2- November 23, 2015 Minutes
Motion: S. Cunningham
Second: R. Segelken
RESOLUTION No. 174
APPROVING MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 23, 2015
RESOLVE, that the written, reviewed and revised minutes of the November 23, 2015
meeting are hereby approved.
Aye votes – Chair F. Cowett, S. Cunningham, G. Gillespie and R. Segelken
Absent – D. Hay
Opposed- None
Item 3- Public Comment
• No members of the public wished to comment.
Item 4- Kim Michaels - Trowbridge Wolf Michaels Landscape Architects
Informal Presentation on Proposed Corners Community Shopping Center Project
• G. Gillespie recused himself from the discussion as he is an employee of HOLT
Architects. Chair F. Cowett appointed Alternate M. McMurry as a voting member for
the meeting.
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• Kim Michaels of Trowbridge Wolf Michaels Landscape Architects introduced herself,
lead ar chitects Paul Levesque and Tom Covell of HOLT Architects, and Corners
Community Shopping Center owner Tim Ciaschi. She then provided a power point
presentation including sketch drawings pertaining to a new medical office building
proposed for the Corners Community shopping center and requested feedback from
the Board before making a formal application to the Board for site plan approval.
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• K. Michaels stated the following:
The project proposes to (a) remove a former drive-through bank and a one
story building (b) construct a new three story medical office building located
primarily where the one story building currently exists (c) improve parking
and vehicular and pedestrian circulation in the shopping center, and (d) create
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a central axis extending south from Hanshaw Road to the proposed new
building.
The height of the proposed new three story building would be fifty (50) feet.
This height is roughly equal to that of the Village’s fire house when taking into
account a change in elevation between the fire house and the site of the new
building.
The footprint of the new building is larger than the footprint of the one story
building to be removed.
The architecture of the new building, with its sloping roof and dormer
windows, is intended to be harmonious with the existing architecture of the
shopping center.
Cayuga Medical Center would be the new building’s primary tenant. The first
floor would be dedicated to cardiac medicine and the second floor would be
dedicated to internal medicine. The type of medical care that would occur on
the third floor has not yet been determined.
The central axis extending south from Hanshaw Road to the proposed new
building would allow in the future for the narrowing of road pavement and
the planting of street trees to create a Main Street feel, but this is not part of
the current project.
T.G. Miller, Engineers and Surveyors, has been asked to develop a stormwater
management plan (SWPP) for this project.
The project is consistent with the Village’s 2014 comprehensive plan.
• D. Hay arrived.
• The Board asked whether the sketch drawings correctly show loss of access from the
middle of the shopping center to an existing driveway exiting onto Pleasant Grove
Rd. K. Michaels stated that access to this driveway from the middle of the shopping
center would be eliminated.
• The Board asked about the height of the proposed new building which is mostly
forty-five (45) feet except for the building’s southern portion which is fifty (50 feet).
P. Levesque and T. Covell explained that the additional height accommodates a
stairway and building mechanicals on the roof.
• The Board noted the proposed project would likely bring an increased number of
vehicles to the shopping center, expressed concerns over the adequacy of the number
of parking spaces shown in the sketch plans, and questioned how calculations were
made for the number of spaces that would be needed both for the project and for the
entire shopping center, including the number of doctors and patients anticipated for
each floor in the proposed new building. K. Michaels stated that she would provide
the Board with materials explaining the parking space calculations.
• The Board discussed the proposed loss of access to exit onto Pleasant Grove Rd and its
possible impact on fire safety. K. Michaels stated that she had spoken about this with
Fire Chief G. Tamborelle and that the Fire Chief did not have a problem with the loss
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of access with regard to fire safety. R. Segelken requested that input be obtained from
the Village of Cayuga Heights Police Chief regarding this portion of the project
proposal.
• The Board noted that the sketch drawings show access between the shopping center
and Carriage House Apartments has been eliminated and access to the apartments is
reduced to a single driveway adjoining Pleasant Grove Road. Code Enforcement
Officer B. Cross stated that there is no legally recognized right-of -way providing
vehicular access between the shopping center and Carriage House Apartments.
• S. Cunningham questioned whether the increased building height associated with this
project, which would require a zoning variance by the Village’s Zoning Board of
Appeals, would facilitate requests for similar expansion elsewhere in the shopping
center. Code Enforcement Officer B. Cross and Attorney R. Marcus explained that
any zoning variance associated with this project would not set a precedent for future
requests. Any such requests would need to be considered on a case by case basis. T.
Ciaschi stated that he has no current plans to increase the height of adjacent shopping
center buildings.
• The Board requested K. Michaels to provide the following information: (a) the
footprint area of the existing one story building to be removed (b) the footprint area
of the proposed new three story building (c) the floor area of each floor of the
proposed new building and the total floor area of the entire building (d) a plan
showing the location, number, and dimensions of all parking spaces, existing and
proposed, in the entire shopping center, and (e) a plan showing the location and
dimensions of existing and proposed yards, and any yard and setback variances
requested. K. Michaels agreed to provide this information.
• The Board discussed whether a SEQR Long Form or Short Form should be used in
conducting a SEQR review for this project.
• M. McMurry asked whether a traffic study was part of SEQR and whether a traffic
study had been conducted. K. Michaels stated that she had contacted Amy Dake from
SRF Associates, Transportation Engineering and Planning Consultants, who has
performed traffic studies in Tompkins County. K. Michaels further stated that she
received a letter from Amy Dake stating that in her opinion the proposed project
would not have enough of an impact on traffic to warrant a full traffic study. The
Board requested a copy of this letter and K. Michaels agreed to provide it.
• Attorney R. Marcus informed the Board that the NYS Department of Environmental
Conservation (DEC) strongly recommends that municipal Boards acting as lead
agencies in a SEQR review use the SEQR Short Form and that the Short Form is
sufficient in most cases. He offered a perspective between the Short Form and Long
Form.
• Attorney R. Marcus disclosed to the Board that he has had a working relationship
with Trowbridge Wolf Michaels Landscape Architects and HOLT Architects. He has
no working relationship with the property owner. He asked if any Board members
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objected to his providing counsel regarding the proposed project. No members of the
Board objected.
• Chair F. Cowett noted that the Village’s 2014 comprehensive plan recommends the
“redevelopment of the Community Corners area as a dynamic mixed-use commercial
and cultural center,” and questioned whether this project is consistent with this
recommendation. Attorney R. Marcus reminded the Board that the professional
offices contemplated in this project are a permitted use in the Village’s Commercial
Zone under current zoning.
• S. Cunningham asked T. Ciaschi whether he had considered providing retail space on
the proposed new building’s first floor. T. Ciaschi replied that providing such retail
space might be a good idea, but he does not have any plans to pursue this and intends
to proceed with the project as currently proposed. He further described the process by
which he was approached by Cayuga Medical Center to locate the proposed new
building in the shopping center.
• Chair F. Cowett asked whether the proposed parking and vehicular circulation layout,
including a roundabout located at the building’s entrance, were adequate to handle
both emergency medical vehicles and truck deliveries. K. Michaels stated that the
parking and vehicular circulation layout provided adequate access to emergency
medical vehicles and that the turning radii associated with the roundabout could
accommodate delivery and fire trucks.
Item 5- Other Business
• S. Cunningham informed the Board that he is moving out of state, his term on the
Board expires in March of this year, and he will not seek to be reappointed. Chair F.
Cowett thanked S. Cunningham for his many years of service.
• Deputy Clerk Podufalski informed the Board that she will be on maternity leave
starting in February and will therefore not be in attendance for the February, March,
or April meetings. Clerk Mangione will attend the meetings in her place to record the
minutes.
Item 6 – Adjourn
Meeting adjourned at 8:35 pm.