Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutZBA Minutes 2006-03-20 TOWN OF ITHACA ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS MONDAY, MARCH 20, 2006 7:00 P.M. PRESENT: Kirk Sigel, Chairperson; Harry Ellsworth, Board Member; Ronald Krantz, Board Member; Dick Matthews, Board Member; Jim Niefer, Board Member; Susan Brock, Attorney for the Town; Christine Balestra, Planner; Steven Williams, Code Enforcement Officer; John Coakley, Deputy Town Clerk. ABSENT: None OTHERS PRESENT: Anton J. Egner, 408 W. State St, Ithaca; Gordon Nickerson, 522 Sheffield Rd, Ithaca, Genex; Jamie Baker, 380 Bostwick Rd, Ithaca; Bert Gildersleeve, Hector, NY; Richard Mennen, 997 Taughannock Blvd, Ithaca; Sally Mennen, 997 Taughannock Blvd, Ithaca; Jason Demarest Chairperson Sigel opened the meeting at 7:02 p.m. Chairperson Sigel —Welcome to the March meeting of Town of Ithaca Zoning Board of Appeals. Tonight we have three appeals, that of Jamie Baker, that of Anton Egner, and that of Richard and Sally Mennen. APPEAL of Jamie Baker, Appellant, requesting a variance from the requirements of Chapter 270, Article VI, Section 270-32 of the Town of Ithaca Code to be permitted to construct a 14-foot high roof over an existing barnyard located at 380 Bostwick Road, Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No. 32-1-15, Agricultural Zone. Proposed structure is located within the required 30-foot front yard setback. Chairperson Sigel — Mr. Baker, if you would like, you could come sit here at the microphone and please just begin with your name and address. Mr. Baker - OK, my name is Jamie Baker, and I live at 380 Bostwick Road, Sweyolaken Farms is the name of the farm that our family owns. Chairperson Sigel —And it seems pretty well explained in your packet. You're covering this barnyard area. Mr. Baker - Yeah, basically what the deal is about 20 years ago, soil and water had cost- shared a concrete barnyard so the cows weren't standing in mud. And since then we've done a Nutrient Management Plan, which kind of addresses the place that we have runoff, and come to find out that was one of the main problems is they built that concrete barnyard and it slopes towards that road ditch. So when we get a heavy rain it washes the barnyard. So we're trying to comply with what the plan says, so soil and water actually has cost-shared some money to cover it, so that's why we're covering it. TOWN OF ITHACA ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS MARCH 20,2006 APPROVED MINUTES Chairperson Sigel —And, so it says, it will get as close as about 7 feet within the setback. Anyone have any questions? Ron said he was going to... Mr. Krantz—Abstain. Chairperson Sigel - ...going to abstain because you're Mr. Baker's neighbor. OK. [pause as Ms. Balestra hands out papers] Chairperson Sigel—Anyone have any questions? Mr. Matthews —It's a working farm, right? Chairperson Sigel—It's a working farm. Mr. Baker- It's a working farm. We milk 165 cows. The only dairy farm in the Town of Ithaca. Chairperson Sigel—Any comments on any environmental...? Ms. Balestra—There's actually not an environmental assessment for this. The applicants tend to fill out the short form whether there's a review required or not. So this is a setback lot line issue, so it doesn't require an EAF. Ms. Brock—It's type II. Chairperson Sigel — OK, we'll open the public hearing. Does anyone wish to speak regarding this appeal? If not, we'll close the public hearing. Chairperson Sigel opened and closed the public hearing at 7:05 p.m. Chairperson Sigel—And should we attempt our expanded findings? [pause as papers are handed out] Chairperson Sigel —We're going to try to attempt to make more... fuller findings in our variances, based on the advice of our counsel. And this is just a form that sort of gets you thinking about what the different criteria are for an area variance and what the findings might be. Sort of steer you in that direction. I have to admit, I didn't really give this too much thought on this one, but we'll give it a try. I will move to grant the appeal of Jamie Baker requesting a variance from the requirements of Chapter 270, Article VI, Section 270-32 of the Town of Ithaca Code to be permitted to construct a 14-foot high roof over an existing barnyard located at 380 Bostwick Road, Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No. 32-1-15, Agricultural Zone, with the condition that the roof be no closer to the front lot line than 22 feet. And with the findings that the requirements for an area variance have been satisfied, specifically: 2 TOWN OF ITHACA ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS MARCH 20,2006 APPROVED MINUTES finding that the requested variance is not substantial being an 8 foot encroachment in a 30 foot setback in a largely rural area. It doesn't really do any good to just recite these, right? Ms. Brock — Well, what you should do it say, there would be no undesirable change in the character of the neighborhood, or detriment to nearby properties because it's in an agricultural area, and whatever your reasons, you need to sort of state the analysis. Chairperson Sigel —Having found that the applicant does not have a feasible alternative, because the concrete pad is already existing, it would be unreasonable to expect the applicant to move or rebuild the concrete pad. And the impact on the conditions in the neighborhood is not substantial given that it's a rural district. The difficulty was not self- created, in that the applicant is trying to comply with... Ms. Brock—Nutrient Management Chairperson Sigel—a Nutrient Management Plan program. [inaudible comments by Ms. Brock] Chairperson Sigel — OK, finally finding that the benefit to the applicant does outweigh the detriment to the neighborhood or community. Second? Mr. Niefer—Second Chairperson Sigel—All in favor? ZB RESOLUTION NO. 2006- 015: Jamie Baker, 380 Bostwick Rd, Tax Parcel No. 32.-1-15 MOTION made by Kirk Sigel, seconded by Jim Niefer. RESOLVED that this Board grants the appeal of Jamie Baker, Appellant, requesting a variance from the requirements of Chapter 270, Article VI, Section 270-32 of the Town of Ithaca Code to be permitted to construct a 14-foot high roof over an existing barnyard located at 380 Bostwick Road, Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No. 32-1-15, Agricultural Zone. FINDINGS: The requirements for an area variance have been satisfied, specifically: • The requested variance is not substantial being an 8 foot encroachment in a 30 foot setback in a largely rural area • Having found that the applicant does not have a feasible alternative, because the concrete pad is already existing, it would unreasonable to expect the applicant to move or rebuild the concrete pad. 3 TOWN OF ITHACA ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS MARCH 20,2006 APPROVED MINUTES • The impact on conditions in the neighborhood is not substantial given that it is a rural district • The difficulty was not self-created in that the applicant is trying to comply with a Nutrient Management Plan program. • The benefit to the applicant does outweigh the detriment to the neighborhood or community. CONDITIONS: Roof be no closer to front lot line than 22 feet. The vote on the MOTION resulted as follows: AYES: Sigel, Ellsworth, Niefer, Matthews NAYS: NONE ABSTENTIONS: Krantz The MOTION was declared to be carried. Chairperson Sigel—Thank you. Mr. Baker- Thanks, thank you. Mr. Krantz—I abstained. Chairperson Sigel—Oh, sorry, yeah. APPEAL of Anton Egner, Appellant, requesting a variance from the requirements of Chapter 225 of the Town of Ithaca Code, to be permitted to construct a 10,000+/- square foot building addition to the existing Genex Monsanto Production Center #2, without the installation of a Town required sprinkler system. The New York State Building Code would not otherwise require such an installation. The property is located at 521 Sheffield Road, Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No. 24-5-1, Agricultural Zone. Chairperson Sigel—Hello. Mr. Egner - Hi. I'm Tony Egner, I have with me Gordon Nickerson who represents Genex. As you know we're trying to add to the existing building that we built about 20 years ago I guess. And at that time we had a waiver for sprinklers because there was not enough water in the area. We drilled wells, we got five wells producing somewhere between one and one and a half gallons per well per minute, right? So, we determined that was about what we needed for domestic and for the animal use on the farm. We have the addition is for additional research on the sperm and the semen developed from the prize bulls. The existing building already contains the same kind of spaces, the uses that we anticipate that are programmed for the new addition. And so we, the conditions 4 TOWN OF ITHACA ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS MARCH 20,2006 APPROVED MINUTES are being the same, we could not provide the amount of water, and there is no public water system there, to provide the kinds of pressures and the amount of water that we would need for sprinklers. That's the case, I'll be ready to answer any of your questions if you have them right now. Chairperson Sigel —We have a letter here from Mr. Parsons, and I guess I would just ask you. He has listed four suggested conditions that we impose. Mr. Egner- I've seen it. Chairperson Sigel—And I guess I'd just ask you to go through those and indicate whether you agree to those conditions or are planning to implement those or not. Mr. Egner - he's making this as a recommendation of the fire department. Number 1, we have in the new addition, we have a fully addressable alarm system with digital panel. We're replacing the existing panel in the existing building, which will have the digital display on it and will become the center display area for the entire facility. Mr. Niefer—May I ask a question about that point? Mr. Egner- Yes. Mr. Niefer—Will that be tied in directly to the fire station? Mr. Egner- Yes, it's on a dial-up right now. Mr. Niefer—A dialer? Mr. Egner - Yeah, so it'll continue that way. The, providing, the existing building is a zone system on the panel, but all the new stuff will be on a digital room by room display panel. It hadn't been the intention to replace the entire system in the old building, and I was surprised to see this recommendation. Because we've already got it programmed for the new building, I was surprised to see this extension to the existing building. Chairperson Sigel—The condition 2? Mr. Egner - No. Condition 2, I'll go to condition 2: upgrade and install additional fire and smoke detection so that there is full coverage throughout the entire building. And last week, Dick Schrinka went up to determine and do an inspection of the existing building. We have in the bull barn part of the building which houses the 24 prize bulls, we have additional detection system, which is a fire detection system, beyond the smoke, this is in the existing building now, beyond the smoke and the heat detection system. That part of the building is also completely behind the firewall with fire doors. The question of upgrading the additional fire and smoke detection, I understand that Dick discovered that one smoke detector in the corridor had either been [inaudible] removed or wasn't installed in the first place. So that one, I would have to consult with Tom and find 5 TOWN OF ITHACA ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS MARCH 20,2006 APPROVED MINUTES out what he means by full coverage throughout the existing building, beyond the one that... And I've asked for Dick Schrinka's report on that. Number 3, separate the space where the flammable liquids and the acids are stored from the rest of the occupied space with a minimum top one-hour fire barrier. We've already done this, so it was determined that these flammable liquids and acids are going to be stored in the production preparation room which already had an hour separation for the exit corridor that we're putting in, and we added the other two walls, it's on an outside wall, so we added the other 2 walls to complete the hour fire barrier around this room. So that's already shown on the drawings that you have. Well, you don't have. That's shown on the new drawings that are going to the planning board for review in two weeks. Require that all flammable liquids and large quantities of acids not in use be stored in fire rated cabinets or installed per the standards of the building code in New York State. They're already doing that. As I say, we're doing that in the old building and the area that Monsanto is now using, you can see the two storage cabinets which are typical acid [inaudible] storage cabinets which you see in a laboratory already there, and they will be moved to this production prep area when the addition is completed. And that's covering those four items. Chairperson Sigel —OK, so to summarize for... you're not exactly sure what's meant by the full coverage, number 2, and your proposal is to have the existing system be, remain zoned instead of fully addressable, and the new would be addressable. Mr. Egner- Fully addressable in the new. Chairperson Sigel — OK. And maybe it would make sense now to have Mr. Parsons come and maybe explain your letter a little more. Mr. Parsons - Sure, for those of you who don't know me, my name is Tom Parsons, Assistant Fire Chief, City of Ithaca Fire Department. Tony and I have had several conversations about this, and as far as the addressable system in the existing building, I didn't realize he was going to leave that as remained zoned, and that's fine with us. What we're looking for is a new fire alarm panel, master control unit that's going to control the building. One of the problems we have up there right now, and I think Genex will confirm, anytime we have a lightning storm in the area, we're responding up there on false alarms. We believe it's because the fire alarm's panel that's there right now is pretty sensitive to lightning surges. One of the things we've talked to them about with the new panel installation that we're trying to reduce the number of false alarms because of electrical disruption. So that was the basis for our request. Upgrade and install additional fire and smoke detection so there is full coverage throughout the existing building. I talked to Tony about this today, on Friday I sent our fire alarm superintendent up there to walk through the existing building, and he noticed there was about four or five locations where he thought that coverage was lacking and that they should increase coverage. The corridor is one area. And we're certainly willing to walk through with Tony and get that coverage. What we're trying to do is ensure that we have total coverage in the building. Our intent is in lieu of a sprinkler system, we're 6 TOWN OF ITHACA ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS MARCH 20,2006 APPROVED MINUTES trying to compensate by having other means to reduce the likelihood of a fire that's going to consume the building or cause harm. One of the means is having a very effective fire detection and smoke detection system. And that's what we're trying to do here, make sure that we've got a good system that's going to work, we got early notification. Items three and four, one of the other concepts that we use if we don't have the suppression system there is trying to isolate those things which, even though we don't call these high hazards, the hazards are a little bit above the ordinary, in the sense that flammable liquids and the acids which are using are more contributory to injury to people and fires in the buildings, so what we're trying to look at is where they're storing the majority of the quantities because not everything they have in the building is actually in use in hand, a lot of it's in storage cabinets. So what we're trying to do is suggest ways of isolating those so that if we have a problem somewhere else in that new occupied space that these areas don't become involved. Or, vice versa, if there's something involved in those spaces, those other areas which are in separate very close proximity though, are not immediately effected. It gives the fire department time to responds to make sure that we don't have this communication between these spaces in a fire situation. It reduces the fire load that we deal with the building. So what I did was looking at ways of mitigating the lack of a sprinkler system. I'll answer any questions anybody might want to have. Chairperson Sigel —So then, so just to be clear, I have a little trouble following all of this stuff, so you are planning to put in a new panel. Mr. Egner - Yeah, we already, we've already done that work, so he knows. We had to put in a new panel because the old panel doesn't have enough space to put the circuits on for the digital system for the addressable thing. So it will be a whole new panel. Chairperson Sigel—OK, OK. And that was your main concern under number 1? Mr. Parsons - Yup, that was out main concern. Chairperson Sigel — OK, and do you have a problem with installing any addition sensors recommended by the fire department? Mr. Egner - It doesn't sound like there is much. This afternoon when he called me it sounded like the one in the corridor was the apparent one, and there may be others, and that kind of thing. But as far as changing the whole system, I think the cost is questionable of the whole picture. Chairperson Sigel—You indicated maybe four or five locations? Mr. Parsons - Yeah, I think there was about four or five locations, and I told Tony when I talked to him today we could go through and bring the [inaudible]. Mr. Ellsworth — So that's all you're talking about. You're not talking about upgrading the existing system, you're just talking about getting it all covered. 7 TOWN OF ITHACA ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS MARCH 20,2006 APPROVED MINUTES Chairperson Sigel—They would just go in existing zones. Mr. Parsons - Yeah,just add a couple some devices in there. Again, the intent is to make sure we don't have something slip through the cracks so to speak. Mr. Matthews —What is the reason why a sprinkler system can't be put up there? Mr. Egner- Do you want to answer that? Mr. Parsons - There's no water up there per se to get, there's no fire hydrant system up there, I think the closest large quantity of water supply was a fire pond up over to the Town of Enfield which is on the other side of Sheffield Road. In fact, that would be what the Fire Department would have to use to get water down there, we'd have to lay a long hose and provide a pump. It's not the most reliable source of a fire pond. To do a sprinkler system you'd need to have a elevated tank and gravity. Mr. Matthews —Of a fire pump. Mr. Parsons - Probably a fire pump to boost the pressure. It would be quite an expensive proposition to go there. Mr. Williams - If I could answer that, further answer that, I'm Steve Williams, Code Enforcement for the Town. And basically it would be a very large expense for them to put the amount of water that they would need to put into either a tank or an underground facility, you're talking in the neighborhood of thousands of dollars in order to install the amount of water. They would need to provide enough water for the fire department to get there, maybe 45 minutes at the maximum, and that would be very expensive. Mr. Matthews —OK, the danger if there was a fire to human life is... high, low? Mr. Nickerson - I think we're just talking about the occupants. The danger, because we have a full detection system, is probably pretty low, because we'd have early notification and people would be able to evacuate, and there's nobody sleeping there. Mr. Matthews —There's nobody sleeping there? Mr. Nickerson -No. Mr. Matthews —They work there. Mr. Nickerson - They work there, they're awake. Mr. Niefer—24 hours a day? 8 TOWN OF ITHACA ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS MARCH 20,2006 APPROVED MINUTES Mr. Egner - Not really, but the animals are... actually the animals are protected quite well, I have to chuckle with that because some of them are worth a million dollars or more, and it would be very great if we could afford or whether we had enough water to sprinkler that space and protect those animals. And there are only right now, and I'll defer here a little bit, right now in the existing building there are about 6 full time barn employees that have separate facilities within the existing building. And then there are, I believe, two full time lab employees and two part time lab employees, so making a total of, a variable total of from 10 to 13 people. Mr. Matthews —Egress is easy? Mr. Egner- I beg your pardon? Mr. Matthews —Egress is easy from the building? Mr. Egner- Egress is plentiful, yes. Mr. Matthews —plentiful. Are there any homes surrounding that facility? Mr. Egner - Well we located the building here after thorough study because they didn't want to be bothered by people around them and we had, when we did the initial building we had this criteria of 1400 feet away from any other animals or any other kind of facility as well. They own 1100 acres on the other side of Sheffield Road, but this was a nice discrete parcel which gave us the 1400 square feet, or 1400 feet circle around the building that we knew we wouldn't be bothered and they would continue to farm as it was farmed all along. So it is farmed, it's farmed for hay. I don't know whether you guys use it, or... Mr. Nickerson - Yeah, we do all the farming. Mr. Egner- They do all the farming, and there is another farm manager type house on the property, but there's no neighbor so to speak of, they're all on the other side of Hayts, Corners Road or Burdick Road or whatever that... it's Bundy Road, yes. Mr. Matthews —So in your opinion the residential hazards are low, a minimum? Mr. Nickerson - There are no residential... Mr. Matthews —There are no residences... Mr. Nickerson - residential hazards. The farm house is a distance away where the manager lives. Mr. Egner- Yeah, their farm house is out of the 1400 foot circle. Mr. Nickerson - It's basically a big barnyard with a production facility there. 9 TOWN OF ITHACA ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS MARCH 20,2006 APPROVED MINUTES Mr. Matthews —OK, thank you. OK. Mr. Niefer — This is a fairly large facility with a fairly large number of people there, toilets and... the animals consume quite a bit of water. What's the size of the water tank that presently exists on site. I know also there is some provision for drilling further wells in the immediate vicinity. Would you expand on number 1, the size of the water tank that's currently there, the size of the water tank that'll be when this addition is built, and further the wells that are going to be drilled, and what your anticipated gallons per minute capacity will be from the wells that are there. Mr. Egner - OK, let me take it backwards. They anticipate drilling another well, a sixth well sometime in 2006. That would even it to one a half to two gallons, let's hope for. If they don't get that, they'll end up drilling five more wells like we did before. That's to supplement the addition. The present water system from the five wells comes down from the hillside into an underground tank. Mr. Niefer—How many gallons? Mr. Egner- I don't really know the size of the thing. Mr. Nickerson - 5,000. Mr. Egner - 5,000 gallon tank. And from there, it's chlorinated before it goes into the tank, the tank then becomes the reservoir for the domestic water use as well as the animal use. The animal use has it's own tank flow, it's a horizontal open tank in the barn, separate from the animals and it has a float on it so anytime an animal pushes a little valve, that pushes, that lets the float come up and it draws from the tank. And actually the animal use is not as large as you might think. I guess we use what, 3,000 gallons...? Mr. Nickerson - 1,000 gallons a day. Mr. Egner - 1,000 gallons a day of water for the total facility. It's a simple straightforward system out of five wells. Mr. Niefer—And as far as the water reservoir after the completion of the project, it'll still be basically 5... Mr. Egner - 5,000 gallon tank will stay, we'll be moving the chlorinator up into the new wing because it was recommended by the... well, first of all, you couldn't do it now because of the enclosed space requirements of the... Mr. Nickerson - Confined space. Mr. Egner - Confined space requirements. So we pulled that up and we put it into the new wing so that they can check the chlorination without going down into the pit. 10 TOWN OF ITHACA ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS MARCH 20,2006 APPROVED MINUTES Mr. Niefer — Just a matter of interest, do you have any type of, for the lack of better description, garden hose connections in the farm area where straw or so on are apt to be, where the bulls are, or you use it for wash down purposes. Mr. Egner - I'm going to let Gordon answer that because I don't know the protocol for operation like that. Mr. Niefer — What I'm thinking of is a standpipe and hose system, but a smaller scale standpipe and hose system in those areas where we have all those straw and animals. Mr. Egner- I'm pretty sure we have hose outlets, but I'll let protocol take it. Mr. Nickerson - All through the building we have some hose outlets for washing down... it's all a concrete building so it's not your typical barn and we keep it pretty hygienic in there. But there are a lot of hose bibs around that we hook a hose too, but again we don't have a lot of water so we conserve when it comes down. We have pressure washers that use less water, gallons per minute, and we conserve water pretty well. Mr. Williams - Yeah, I don't really think that the building code would allow them to go half measure on a sprinkler system. Either they would have to build a sprinkler system or a standpipe system that would meet the code... that would meet an FPA 13 or 14 from a standpipe, or they would have to not be able to build a sprinkler system. Mr. Niefer — I know you wouldn't meet an NFPA or FM approved standpipe and hose system, but sometimes in risk management, you do things with what you have available, even though it doesn't come up to FM or NFPA standards, but it does supply an additional supplement greater than a 2 and a half gallon pressurized water extinguisher. That's all I'm saying. But, I mean it's your risk, your million dollar bulls, and as far as fire safety for the public or your employees, why I don't have any problem with it. Mr. Nickerson - Well, our facilities are all built of non-combustible materials, either concrete or steel. We keep all hay or bedding on carts so if anything did happen, the hay caught on fire, the bedding caught on fire in some way, we could hook onto it and get it out of the building. We only keep one wagon of hay in the building at one time, and a small amount of bedding, and the rest of the bedding we keep, which is all sawdust, kiln- dried sawdust. We use, we keep in big storage buildings and we replenish it on a daily basis. And all of our facilities have been built with fire safety in mind, so that's why they are the materials they've been built of. Chairperson Sigel—Any other questions? Mr. Williams - I did notice one thing, I don't know if I should indicate it. When I was going through the plans for the old building, Tony and I talked earlier today about that, I noticed that the old building, when it was constructed, the existing building that has the cider barn and the office complex... II TOWN OF ITHACA ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS MARCH 20,2006 APPROVED MINUTES [Tape is flipped] Mr. Williams - ...based on the limitations in the building code, and I'm not 100% sure if it has any application in our zoning ordinance, but the limitation in the building code for a non-combustible building of this type is 23,000 square feet, so as they build the new building, they'll have to create some type of separation or they would have to go to the state for a variance, and to avoid that we could go with this, making separations between this building, the existing building, and the walkway that goes to the barn, the open barn. Mr. Egner - What I didn't remember when you got on the phone this afternoon, and looked at the drawing, the animal part of the existing building which is about 78,000 square feet of that total is already rated and has fire doors in that corridor from that other part of the building. Mr. Williams - OK. Mr. Egner - And this is what I was referring to you, I don't think it has a place here at this meeting, and I said I don't want to have to go through a variance at the state, I've been there, and I know it takes up to three months to get there, and that will be the end of the project. I said this right this afternoon, and I think you and I and Bill Stewart can rationalize whatever we want with this, and I think the areas are close enough... the other part of this of this whole thing is, we have access on three sides, so you can actually get a 75% area increase in the code, and I believe that's true of the present code as well, so we could actually build about 43,000 square feet just in round numbers, I figured from the conversation we had this afternoon. So I think that is an issue apart from getting a variance at this point. Chairperson Sigel — I would agree. We don't, obviously this board has no power to deviate state building code, so... Mr. Egner - We're essentially addressing an issue of the Town Board, or the Town ordinance, because the state does not require sprinklers in this kind of building. Mr. Williams - Right, that's absolutely correct. Chairperson Sigel — OK. Thank you. Does anyone have any more questions for Mr. Parsons in particular? If not, we'll thank you very much for your time, and we appreciate it. Mr. Parsons - You're welcome. Chairperson Sigel — OK, we'll open the public hearing. Does anyone wish to speak? If not, we'll close... sir? Did you want? Go ahead... please just begin with your name and address. 12 TOWN OF ITHACA ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS MARCH 20,2006 APPROVED MINUTES Chairperson Sigel opened the public hearing at 7:35 p.m. Mr. Gildersleeve - My name is Bert Gildersleeve. I live in the Town of Hector, but I own the parcel to the east of Genex, down the side of the hill there, part of the old Ainslie farm, and I was just curious to see what was going on. I missed the last two meetings, I was busy with a number of things. I didn't have an exact... and I don't really want to take up your time, it's not your job to explain to me everything that's going on there. I had a sense that the building is located west of the facility now, just up the hill... with enough spacing, you're saying 1400 foot spacing, so it's somewhere between the road, Sheffield, and the pre-existing building. Chairperson Sigel—It actually abuts the... Mr. Nickerson - It's attached. Chairperson Sigel—It's attached to the existing building. Mr. Gildersleeve - Oh, it is attached? Mr. Egner- It's an addition really. Mr. Gildersleeve- OK. So the 1400-foot buffer is on three sides? Mr. Nickerson - Yes. Mr. Gildersleeve - OK. My only concern again is probably also their concern is that the water on the hill is weak, is poor, is unknown as to location, quantity. Go too deep, it looks like you find salt. There's only one strong vein that's down the road a bit that provides any real water, so my concern was again, how many wells were going in, what's the quantity of water available. Because I know my own wells that I drilled below there are pathetically weak and of poor quality also. So, for me it's all about water. I have no particular concern regarding the sprinkler system, I'm just here to throw my two cents in about concerns for water on the hill. I don't know if there is any plan on doing anything about getting, or bringing water up there at some point in time. Probably not, I'm sure. Ms. Balestra—I don't think so. Chairperson Sigel — I'm not aware of anything. So you would actually, I assume, be supportive of their desire to not put in a sprinkler system... Mr. Gildersleeve - Yeah, I guess I would. Chairperson Sigel—Since you don't want them using... Mr. Gildersleeve - The precious water that I could possibly use. I don't know, maybe they'll take my vein away from me with their new well or multiple wells, so I figure if 13 TOWN OF ITHACA ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS MARCH 20,2006 APPROVED MINUTES you can by with less, that's a good thing. So I have no particular input on the particular project or concern, aside from water, aside from concerns of water, that's all. Chairperson Sigel—OK, thank you. OK, We'll close the public hearing. Chairperson Sigel closed the public hearing at 7:38 p.m. Chairperson Sigel — Any other questions or comments? Susan, what — I can never remember—the criteria for a sprinkler variance, they're not the same as an area variance? Ms. Brock— That's right, they're different. It's in section 225-8 of the code. I will read that to you. I'll just read you the whole section, it's not long: "Where practical difficulties or unnecessary hardship may result from the enforcement of the strict letter of any provision of this chapter — dealing with sprinkler systems — applications for variances consistent with the spirit of this chapter, may be made to and acted upon by the Zoning Board of Appeals of the Town of Ithaca. The board is empowered to grant a variance when the board has found, 1. the application of the strict letter of this chapter would create a practical difficulty or unnecessary hardship for the applicant. 2. The omission of an approved sprinkler system from all or part of the building will not significantly jeopardize human life." And then it goes onto say that in granting any variances, the ZBA may impose such conditions as you "may reasonably determine necessary to mitigate the consequences of the omission of an approved sprinkler system... including the requirement that alternative forms of fire extinguishing equipment be provided or a requirement of additional alarms or other devices to ameliorate the effects of having no sprinkler systems." Would it be helpful if we photocopied this page for the ZBA to look at, or do you think we can just proceed and I can perhaps remind you. Mr. Ellsworth —I think most that's been covered in the discussion. All those items have been covered in this discussion. Ms. Brock —Right, we just need to make sure that our findings, that your determination and findings follow these criteria. Chairperson Sigel —Yeah, maybe we should just get a copy of that at some point, maybe before we get the next sprinkler variance. Ms. Balestra—Which is probably at the next meeting. Chairperson Sigel—OK, well, if there are no further questions, I will move to... Ms. Balestra—We need to do a SEQR. Chairperson Sigel—Ah, OK. We need to do a SEQR for a sprinkler variance? Ms. Balestra—I have been told, yes. 14 TOWN OF ITHACA ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS MARCH 20,2006 APPROVED MINUTES Ms. Brock—It does not appear to fall under the type II list. Ms. Balestra—So it's considered unlisted. The Environmental Review Form didn't make it into your packet, so we handed them out today, they should be on your desk. Chairperson Sigel — OK, I will move in regard to the appeal of Anton Egner, to make a negative determination of environmental significance, for the reasons stated in the Part 11 Environmental Assessment form prepared by Town Staff. Second? Mr. Krantz—Second. Chairperson Sigel—All in favor? ZB RESOLUTION NO. 2006- 016 : ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT : Anton Egner, Genex Monsanto Production Center #2, 521 Sheffield Rd, Tax Parcel No. 24.-5-1 MOTION made by Kirk Sigel, seconded by Ron Krantz RESOLVED that, in the regard to the appeal of Anton Egner, this Board makes a negative determination of environmental significance for the reasons stated in the Part II Environmental Assessment Form prepared by Town staff. The vote on the MOTION resulted as follows: AYES: Sigel, Ellsworth, Krantz, Niefer, Matthews NAYS: None The MOTION was declared to be carried. Chairperson Sigel — And I will move to grant the appeal of Anton Egner, requesting a variance from the requirements of Chapter 225 of the Town of Ithaca Code, to be permitted to construct a no more... is it actually going to be a little over than 10,000 square feet, or a little under? Mr. Egner- 85 by 115. 85 by 115. Mr. Nickerson - I think it's just a little bit over. Mr. Egner- It's just a little over. 15 TOWN OF ITHACA ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS MARCH 20,2006 APPROVED MINUTES Chairperson Sigel—85 by 115? Mr. Egner- Yeah. Chairperson Sigel —OK, to construct no greater than an 86 by 116 foot building addition to the existing Genex Monsanto Production Center 42, without the installation of a Town required sprinkler system, at 521 Sheffield Road, Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel 24.-5-1, Agriculture Zone, with the findings that the requirements for a sprinkler variance have been met, specifically finding that it would be an unnecessary, or it would be a difficulty and hardship for the applicant to provide a sprinkler system, given that there is no municipal water in the area, and it is not feasible to supply enough well water to meet the flow needs of a sprinkler system. And also making the finding that based on testimony we've heard from the applicant and also from Mr. Parsons, the City of Ithaca Assistant Fire Chief, that the absence of a sprinkler system would not jeopardize human safety at this facility. And with the conditions that a new addressable fire alarm panel, or I'm sorry, a new fire panel be installed that covers both the existing structure and as well as the new structure and that the portion of the new structure be addressable, and that the portion for the existing structure is permitted to remain zoned, that fire and smoke detection units as recommended by the City of Ithaca Fire Department be installed, that there be separate space for flammable liquids and acids stored from the rest of the occupied space with a minimum one hour fire barrier, and that all flammable liquids and large quantities of acids not in use be stored in fire rated cabinets that are installed per the standards of the Building Code of New York State. Anything else you would recommend, Susan? Ms. Brock—No. Chairperson Sigel—OK, second? Mr. Ellsworth—Second. Chairperson Sigel—All in favor? ZB RESOLUTION NO. 2006- 017: Anton Egner, Genex Monsanto Production Center#2, 521 Sheffield Rd, Tax Parcel No. 24.-5-1 MOTION made by Kirk Sigel, seconded by Harry Ellsworth. RESOLVED that this Board grants the appeal of Anton Egner, requesting a variance from the requirements of Chapter 225 of the Town of Ithaca Code, to be permitted to construct no greater than an 86 by 116 foot building addition to the existing Genex Monsanto Production Center #2, without the installation of a Town required sprinkler system at 521 Sheffield Road, Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No. 24-5-1, Agricultural Zone. 16 TOWN OF ITHACA ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS MARCH 20,2006 APPROVED MINUTES FINDINGS: The requirements for a sprinkler variance have been met, specifically: • It would be a difficulty and hardship for the applicant to provide a sprinkler system, given that there is no municipal water in the area, and it is not feasible to supply enough well water to meet the flow needs of a sprinkler system, and • Based on testimony we've heard from the applicant and also from Mr. Parsons, the City of Ithaca Assistant Fire Chief, that the absence of a sprinkler system would not jeopardize human safety at this facility. CONDITIONS- 1. ONDITIONS:1. A new fire panel be installed that covers both the existing structure as well as the new structure, and that the portion for the new structure be addressable and that the portion for the existing structure is permitted to remain zoned; 2. That fire and smoke detection units as recommended by the City of Ithaca Fire Department be installed; 3. That there be separate space for flammable liquids and acids stored from the rest of the occupied space with a minimum one hour fire barrier; and 4. That all flammable liquids and large quantities of acids not in use be stored in fire rated cabinets that are installed per the standards of the building code of New York State. The vote on the MOTION resulted as follows: AYES: Sigel, Ellsworth, Krantz, Niefer, Matthews NAYS: NONE The MOTION was declared to be carried. Chairperson Sigel—OK. Mr. Egner- It's about 9,900 square feet. Chairperson Sigel—OK. Mr. Egner- You said 116 by 86, it comes out to 9,976, OK? Chairperson Sigel—OK. Mr. Egner- So it's short of 10,000. Thank you. 17 TOWN OF ITHACA ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS MARCH 20,2006 APPROVED MINUTES APPEAL of Richard and Sally Mennen, Appellants, Jason Demarest, AIA, Agent, requesting a variance from the requirements of Chapter 270, Article VII, Section 270-46 of the Town of Ithaca Code, to be permitted to construct an accessory building (garage), located at 997 Taughannock Boulevard, Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No. 21-2-26, Lakefront Residential Zone. Proposed garage exceeds the maximum permitted height for accessory buildings in the Lakefront Residential Zone. Chairperson Sigel—Good evening. Mr. Mennen - Good evening. Chairperson Sigel—Please begin with your name and address. Mr. Mennen - Is this load enough? Chairperson Sigel—It's mainly just recording. Mr. Mennen - OK. I'm Richard Mennen, at 997 Taughannock Boulevard. Chairperson Sigel — And if you could just give us a brief overview of... summarize just what you told us in your packet here. Mr. Mennen - Right, we're constructing this garage with a space above it. And it's primarily to be a storage area, but we were also trying to look at it as a multi-purpose place, and down the road maybe making it a second unit and attaching it to the house. But as an interim position on that, this is Jason Demarest who's our architect, as an interim point for us for a variety of reasons, we were going to kind of create a shell and use it for storage for a variety of reasons. And that was our intention. Chairperson Sigel—And as you explained in your letter, it seemed to end up a little taller than anticipated. Mr. Mennen - Yes, much to our dismay, because it created all kinds of problems. I mean that's why we're here I guess because it got too high. And we're not sure quite why, one problem was the bedrock the excavation hit. The other thing were the arcs blocks themselves. Jason has done some research on this and found out where the few inches kind of crept in as the construction was going on. So it certainly was inadvertent on our parts, for obvious reasons, we did not want to go over the 20 feet height, also because down the road if we go to try and create it as a second unit to attach to the house, that's also could impinge on our height restrictions and limits that are there. Mrs. Mennen - We have letters from our neighbors, saying this is not a problem, saying they have no problem with it. I don't know if that is something you want to see. Chairperson Sigel—Sure. 18 TOWN OF ITHACA ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS MARCH 20,2006 APPROVED MINUTES Mrs. Mennen - And also we have a picture of the house from the road [rest of sentence inaudible]. Mr. Coakley—Can we keep these for the file? Mrs. Mennen - Yes. Chairperson Sigel—Thanks. And you are Sally Mennen? Mrs. Mennen - I'm Sally Mennen. Mr. Krantz — OK, so the problem is probably because of the bedrock, this garage will be a little less than 21 feet, while 20 feet is allowed. Chairperson Sigel—Right. Ms. Balestra—Correct. Mr. Krantz—Looks like a short evening. Chairperson Sigel—Anyone have any questions? Mr. Matthews — There's no one living up the hill further whose view is disturbed by the 1-foot height. Chairperson Sigel—No, it's quite a drop from 89 down. Mr. Matthews —So there's really nobody who's living lower than the peak of the roof. Mr. Mennen - In fact you probably won't be able to see the garage from the lake. Mr. Matthews —I understand. Chairperson Sigel—Yeah. Mr. Matthews — Well, in view of the fact that we don't like to employ bulldozers nowadays... Chairperson Sigel—Chris, any comments on environmental assessment? Ms. Balestra—No. Chairperson Sigel — OK, I'll open the public hearing at this point. There being no one present, I'll close the public hearing. 19 TOWN OF ITHACA ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS MARCH 20,2006 APPROVED MINUTES Chairperson Sigel opened and closed the public hearing at 7:52 p.m. Chairperson Sigel —And I will move to make a negative determination of environmental significance in regards to the appeal of Richard and Sally Mennen, for the reasons stated in the Part II Environmental Assessment Form prepared by Town Staff. Second? Mr. Matthews —Second. Chairperson Sigel—All in favor? ZB RESOLUTION NO. 2006- 018 : ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT Richard and Sally Mennen, 997 Taughannock Blvd, Tax Parcel No. 21.-2-26 MOTION made by Kirk Sigel, seconded by Dick Matthews RESOLVED that this Board makes a negative determination of environmental significance in regard to the appeal of Richard and Sally Mennen, for the reasons stated in the Part II Environmental Assessment Form prepared by Town staff. The vote on the MOTION resulted as follows: AYES: Sigel, Ellsworth, Krantz, Niefer, Matthews NAYS: None The MOTION was declared to be carried. Chairperson Sigel — I will move to grant the appeal of Richard and Sally Mennen, requesting a variance from the requirements of Chapter 270, Article VII, Section 270-46 of the Town of Ithaca Code, to be permitted to construct an accessory building, a garage, at 997 Taughannock Boulevard, Tax Parcel No. 21-2-26, Lakefront Residential Zone, with the requirement that the height not exceed 21 feet. And with the findings that the requirements for an area variance have been satisfied, specifically that an undesirable change in the neighborhood or nearby properties will not happen because it is such a small increase in the allowed height, and is not easily viewable from either the lake or the road or even neighboring properties. There is no reasonable alternative for the applicant, as the structure is already built it would be, or at least partially built, it would be an unnecessary hardship to require them to alter it at this point. The variance is not substantial, being only 1 foot above 20, and while the alleged difficulty was self-created, for the other reasons stated thus far, I believe that the benefit to the applicant does outweigh the detriment to the neighborhood or community. Second? Mr. Krantz seconded the motion. 20 TOWN OF ITHACA ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS MARCH 20,2006 APPROVED MINUTES Chairperson Sigel—All in favor? ZB RESOLUTION NO. 2006- 019: Richard and Sally Mennen, 997 Taughannock Blvd, Tax Parcel No. 21.-2-26 MOTION made by Kirk Sigel, seconded by Ron Krantz. RESOLVED that this Board grants the appeal of Richard and Sally Mennen, requesting a variance from the requirements of Chapter 270, Article VII, Section 270-46 of the Town of Ithaca Code, to be permitted to construct an accessory building, a garage, at 997 Taughannock Boulevard, Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No. 21-2-26, Lakefront Residential Zone. FINDINGS: The requirements for an area variance have been satisfied, specifically: • An undesirable change in the neighborhood or nearby properties will not happen because it's such a small increase in the allowed height and it's not easily viewable from either the lake or the road or even neighboring properties; • There's no reasonably alternative for the applicant, as the structure's already built, or at least partially built, it would be an unnecessary hardship to require them to alter it at this point; • The variance is not substantial, being only one foot above twenty; and • While the alleged difficulty was self-created, for the other reasons stated thus far, the benefit to the applicant does outweigh the detriment to the neighborhood or community. CONDITIONS: The height not exceed 21 feet. The vote on the MOTION resulted as follows: AYES: Sigel, Ellsworth, Krantz, Niefer, Matthews NAYS: NONE The MOTION was declared to be carried. Chairperson Sigel—OK, you're all set. Mr. Mennen - Thank you. Chairperson Sigel—Shall we adjourn or shall we wait to see if something else comes up? 21 TOWN OF ITHACA ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS MARCH 20,2006 APPROVED MINUTES Ms. Balestra — I just want to let the board members know that the Town newsletter just went to print today and in there was a very very very small article that said the Zoning Board is seeking alternate members. Chairperson Sigel—That's great. Chairperson Sigel adjourned the meeting at 7:55 p.m. Kirk Sigel, Chairperson John Coakley, Deputy Town Clerk 22