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W ITH CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS SUGGESTED BY J.G.S.:
Proposed deleted language shown in purple strikethrough type;
proposed new language shown in red type.
(Some minor non-substantive improvements to grammar or wording
with no effect on sentence meaning are not highlighted.)
Special Planning and Development Board Meeting
Minutes
June 30, 2015
Board Members Attending: Garrick Blalock, Chair; Jack Elliott; McKenzie Jones-Rounds;
Robert Aaron Lewis (arrived 6:18 p.m.); C.J. Randall;
John Schroeder
Board Members Absent: Mark Darling
Board Vacancies: None
Staff Attending: JoAnn Cornish, Director,
Division of Planning and Economic Development;
Megan Wilson, Senior Planner,
Division of Planning and Economic Development;
Charles Pyott, Office Assistant,
Division of Planning and Economic Development
Chair Blalock called the meeting to order at 6:01 p.m.
1. Agenda Review
There were no changes to the agenda.
2. Privilege of the Floor
Ashley Miller, 126 Sears Street, spoke about removing the Ithaca Community Gardens site
from the designated “Enterprise” area on the draft Comprehensive Plan’s Future Land Use
Map. She said none of the Future Land Use Map categories accommodates the community
gardens, which she characterized as a valuable community feature. She suggested adding a
category for “Urban Agriculture.” She sees a conflict between the Comprehensive Plan’s
goals of sustainability and equity, on the one hand, and including the community gardens in
an area designated for future development, on the other.
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Dick Feldman, 311 Willow Avenue, remarked he finds an inconsistency between the draft
Comprehensive Plan and the proposed 210 Hancock Street project. The Future Land Use
Map designates the project site as medium-density residential, to which he said the
aforementioned project does not conform. He stressed he does not unilaterally oppose higher-
density projects, as long as they are designed in a thoughtful manner.
3. Special Order of Business ― Review of Draft Comprehensive Plan
& Consideration of Recommendation to Common Council
Wilson recapitulated the salient details provided an overview of the draft Comprehensive
Plan. While the plan is divided into different chapters, she said, it is important to note these
are interconnected (e.g., Housing and Land Use). At various points in the document, she
added, the reader will see icons referring them to another section of the plan regarding a
related topic. Wilson noted much of the plan relates to the Land Use chapter, and said the
Comprehensive Plan Commmittee Committee spent a considerable amount of time on that
particular chapter. She noted the City strived to offer numerous public outreach
opportunities, including surveys, public meetings and open houses. As a result, she said,
there was a robust amount of public involvement in the plan’s development, including
thousands of comments from hundreds of people on a variety of subjects. A significant
amount of the She said the original draft document was significantly changed as a result of
public comments.
Jones-Rounds asked if the Planning Board would have another opportunity to review the
document, if / when alterations are made by Common Council. Cornish replied, yes;
however, once the Planning Board formally recommends adoption to Common Council, that
recommendation would essentially be final and Common Council would then be responsible
for hearing comments, organizing discussion and editing the document.
Elliott said that everything in the Comprehensive Plan is predicated on the notion of growth;
however, growth in and of itself, he said, is not always desirable or beneficial. He said
people’s quality of life is not necessarily diminished merely because of a lack of growth. He
characterized “development,” on the other hand, as good, as distinguished from “growth.” He
suggested tempering the use of the term “growth” and using the word “development.”
Elliott also noted there is a whole section in the Comprehensive Plan about infrastructure and
how those kinds of hidden services need to be updated, since the City is behind in that area.
However, no mention is made about the fact that increased density will place more strain on
City infrastructure.
(Robert Aaron Lewis arrived at 6:18 p.m.)
Cornish noted that one section of the Comprehensive Plan does address the strain on
infrastructure from new development, so Elliott’s concerns should probably be addressed
there in some way.
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Randall strongly agreed with Elliott, saying this is also something the Planning Board has
discussed in the context of the City’s environmental review process. She said simply
accounting for a marginal increase in existing infrastructure is shortsighted.
Jones-Rounds noted that under “Energy Recommendations” in Chapter 8, there is a reference
to implementing City design standards to accommodate new energy technologies. She would
be curious if that could not be taken a step further to specify where and how that would
happen (e.g., “the Site Plan Review process will incorporate specific requirements for ‘x’
percentage of renewable energy.”). She worries there may be missed opportunities for
improvement if the language in the Comprehensive Plan is left too vague.
Schroeder noted he has advocated for some time that the Full Environmental Assessment
Form (FEAF) Part 1 be more specific about green building technologies and practices,
pedestrian access and amenities, green space, etc. He supports adding more specific language
under “Energy Recommendations.”
Elliott remarked the City also needs to actively incentivize developers to include green
building technologies and practices in their projects.
Blalock agreed incentives should be pursued, stating that the greatest incentive the City can
probably provide developers would be, for example, to permit them to build another story for
a building, or build closer to the sidewalk. These are examples of concessions the City could
make that would not necessarily require sacrificing tax revenue, he said. He added that it
would also be helpful if Planning Board and Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) requirements
could be harmonized.
Cornish responded the BZA has very specific criteria which it needs to evaluate for must
apply to Zoning Appeals, but the Planning Board has a very different set of powers and
duties.
Schroeder questioned the assumption that the City necessarily needs to give anything to
developers, in the first place. For example, he noted, the City does not incentivize the
construction of sidewalks along street frontages during Site Plan Review; rather, such
construction is simply a requirement. He said many cities across the country have progressive
green building standards, so he would suggest exploring possible measures Common Council
could pass include as a formal part of the Site Plan Review process.
Elliott observed that the sustainability section of the Comprehensive Plan only refers to
energy; however, the City should really consider all sustainable building technologies and
practices. Some important issues are not energy-related, but more broadly ecologically-
oriented.
Blalock asked where the stronger language about green building technologies and practices
should be inserted.
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Wilson responded that the issue sounds like it would fit well into the Land Use chapter, since
that chapter covers all the issues that have been raised at this meeting. Jones-Rounds and
Elliott both agreed.
Elliott remarked that while he really enjoyed the historic preamble, it seemed rather
Eurocentric. People lived in the Ithaca area before Europeans ever arrived. Cornish replied
that staff would incorporate some of that earlier history into the document.
Jones-Rounds suggested that the Housing section’s goals and recommendations should be
more strongly worded than to merely “encourage” affordable housing. She believes it is
something the City should start requiring, since this would help prevent the complications
associated with siting affordable housing projects in certain neighborhoods. She said all new
projects above a certain size should be required to have a defined percentage of affordable
housing; otherwise, the City risks encouraging segregated neighborhoods. Elliott agreed.
Schroeder responded he totally supports that goal, but he wonders if it would be legal.
Randall indicated a policy like that could be configured in multiple ways to conform to legal
requirements. Schroeder recalled there being some obstacle to requiring affordable housing
in private development projects under New York state law. Cornish replied, at this point we
are only dealing with a recommendation, so it can simply say something along the lines of
“develop policies.” A legal mechanism for such a requirement could be identified later.
Wilson remarked that one of the plan’s recommendations is to develop a more detailed
housing policy as part of Phase 2 of the Comprehensive Plan development process.
Randall asked how the range of dwelling units (DUs) in the Future Land Use Categories
section was developed. Wilson replied that the Committee examined the map of the City in
the context of various neighborhoods and then identified the neighborhoods where
maintaining the existing character was appropriate. Planning staff then performed a variety of
DU-per-acre counts in a variety of areas, Wilson said, to identify generally representative
blocks. Wilson stressed the average DU designation for each area should by no means
suggest some blocks or areas could not exceed that threshold.
Schroeder remarked he does not believe the proposed 210 Hancock Street project conflicts
with the Comprehensive Plan (as has been suggested by some community members). He said
the plan calls for maintaining the existing character of this neighborhood, and that the 210
Hancock Street site has been zoned commercial for many decades. It is a long-standing
commercially-zoned block. Furthermore, he added, the 210 Hancock Street project design is
far below what this zoning would allow.
Jones-Rounds suggested it would still make sense to include some outlier, non-representative
blocks. It would help people to visualize what higher-density blocks actually look like in
various neighborhoods.
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Elliott asked what the typical DU-per-acre is for the R-2 Zoning Districts (e.g., R-2c). Wilson
replied that has not yet been measured, but it would vary considerably. Some such zones
have single-family homes, she explained, while others may have two duplexes on the same
site parcel.
Elliott said that the Comprehensive Plan may be citing numeric density goals that could risk
radically changing the quality of a given neighborhood (especially for infill sites).
Schroeder emphasized that the areas intended for densification are areas like the Urban
Mized-Use category. The yellow-shaded areas, on the other hand, are intended to be
preserved ― taken as a whole ― with “no significant changes.”
Schroeder added that current 210 Hancock Street site conditions (with a large abandoned
commercial structure and parking lot) are anomalous; and that the proposed project (with
occupied residences) would actually make it more compatible with the rest of the
neighborhood than its current state.
Cornish observed there is also a strong distinction between land use plans and zoning. Land
use plans constitute guiding principles, while zoning is an established legal framework.
Wilson indicated the next phase of the Comprehensive Plan process will be to generate the
neighborhood plans, which will drill down into those kinds of details, by establishing goals
and then defining the required zoning regulations for achieving those goals.
Jones-Rounds said the Comprehensive Plan could benefit from a further definition of
“character” and the preservation of character. Elliott remarked he would also like “small-city
character” defined.
Jones-Rounds suggested adding language explaining / emphasizing that there is a balancing
process for increasing the density of a given area, while preserving its overall character.
Schroeder responded the Comprehensive Plan probably simply needs clarify needs language
clarifying that a figure like 10-20 DUs per acre represents an average of current conditions.
Elliott observed that the city of Freiburg, Germany restricts the use of surface sealing to
protect its aquifers, which is something the City should also consider, at least insofar as
aquifer protection is an explicit goal or principle.
Wilson said all a number of the Planning Board’s suggestions could be integrated into the
Land Use chapter.
Jones-Rounds indicated she would be interested in creating an “urban agriculture” land use
category, as suggested by the Ithaca Community Gardens. Preserving or using land for local
food security is important. Cornish responded that the food systems section already includes
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many recommendations that relate to community gardens. Jones-Rounds suggested it would
also be good to address this in some way in the Future Land Use Map categories.
Wilson explained that the Committee did not want to limit community gardens to a certain
land use category.
Jones-Rounds responded that not giving urban agriculture its own category represents a
lesser level of commitment.
Schroeder remarked he agrees with the goal of promoting and preserving urban agriculture,
but he said unilaterally concluding it belongs in a distinct mapped area of the City could
actually limit it. He suggested the Comprehensive Plan could simply mention that urban
agriculture is an appropriate use in multiple land use areas.
Wilson suggested that under the Future Land Use Categories “Residential” heading, a sub-
heading for community gardens and / or urban agriculture could be added.
Jones-Rounds suggested including a note that as part of Phase 2 of the process the City will
identify some metrics for determining how much acreage it would like to preserve for
community gardens and urban agriculture.
Blalock remarked that since the City would like to discourage empty storefronts, perhaps it
would make sense to identify a mechanism for doing that (e.g., a vacancy tax). Cornish
recalled that when this issue was discussed in the 1990s it was concluded there was no legal
way of doing that.
Elliott suggested including something about exploring whether the two major local
educational institutions could incentivize their employees to live in the City.
Wilson said she would revise the Comprehensive Plan with the agreed-upon changes and the
revised document would be sent to the Planning and Economic Development Committee.
These agreed-upon changes were documented after the meeting in the version of “Plan
Ithaca: A Vision for Our Future” labeled “DRAFT / City of Ithaca Comprehensive Plan /
June 30, 2015.”
On a motion by Jones-Rounds, seconded by Randall:
PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT BOARD RESOLUTION
RECOMMENDING DRAFT PLAN ITHACA
TO COMMON COUNCIL
Adopted at June 30, 3015 2015 Planning and Development Board Meeting
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WHEREAS, the City of Ithaca’s existing comprehensive plan was completed in 1971 and
has since been amended fourteen times by various targeted neighborhood and strategic plans,
and
WHEREAS, while some objectives of the 1971 plan and its amendments are still applicable,
many are not, and both local conditions and broader national and world-wide trends that
affect Ithaca have changed dramatically since then, resulting in a need for an updated
comprehensive plan that addresses present-day issues and anticipates future ones, and
WHEREAS, the City decided to pursue a two-phased approach to its new Comprehensive
Plan, where Phase I entails the preparation of an “umbrella” plan that sets forth broad goals
and principles to guide future policies throughout the city and where Phase II will include the
preparation of specific neighborhood and thematic plans, and
WHEREAS, in accordance with the City of Ithaca Municipal Code and New York State
General City Law, the Planning and Development Board is responsible for preparing and
recommending a new Comprehensive Plan to the Common Council for adoption, and
WHEREAS, the Planning and Development Board established the Comprehensive Plan
Committee (“the Committee”) by resolution in July 2008 and charged the Committee with the
following responsibilities regarding the preparation of a proposed, new comprehensive plan:
a) Preparing and approving a request for qualifications (“RFQ”) for a consultant team to assist
with Phase I of the development of the proposed, new City of Ithaca comprehensive plan;
b) Reviewing the responses to the RFQ, conducting interviews of consultant teams, and making
a recommendation of a consultant team to the Planning Board, Mayor, and Common Council
for their respective approvals;
c) Overseeing the preparation of a draft of Phase I of the proposed, new comprehensive plan, by
coordinating the work of staff and the selected consultant team, ensuring the level of public
outreach and engagement necessary to reflect community goals, and making progress reports
to the Planning Board and Common Council (periodically and as requested); and
d) Approving a draft of Phase I of the proposed, new comprehensive plan for review and
acceptance (with possible modification) by the Planning Board, recommendation by the
Planning Board to Common Council, review and approval (with possible modification) by
Common Council’s Planning and Economic Development Committee, and adoption by
Common Council, and
WHEREAS, public input has been a priority for the Committee throughout the planning
process, and the Committee has made efforts to gather community input at various stages of
the plan’s development, and
WHEREAS, the Committee worked with a consultant on the initial phase of public outreach
and on the preparation of two background reports that would inform the preparation of the
new plan, but following the completion of these tasks, the City decided to move forward
without the consultant team; the remaining work on the draft plan was completed by the
Committee and staff, and
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WHEREAS, using comments from the initial public outreach, as well as data on existing
conditions and trends, subcommittees of the Committee (known as “chapter groups”) and
staff created an overall vision for the City and goals for the sections of each chapter, and
WHEREAS, a series of focus group meetings were held to get comments on the goals for
each section of the plan, as well as ideas for implementation, and the chapter groups and staff
used this feedback to draft each of the plan’s chapters, and
WHEREAS, at the same time, the full Committee prepared the plan’s land use chapter and
held public workshops in April 2014, and
WHEREAS, the complete draft Phase I plan, Plan Ithaca, was made available for public
review in April 2015, and the Committee held eight open houses to get public comments on
the draft plan, and
WHEREAS, following its review of the comments, the Committee revised the draft Plan
Ithaca to incorporate new public input, and
WHEREAS, at its meeting on June 15, 2015, the Comprehensive Plan Committee voted to
recommend the draft Plan Ithaca, dated June 15, 2015 for review and consideration by the
Planning and Development Board•••s••• as Phase I of the Comprehensive Plan, and
WHEREAS, the Planning and Development Board held a public comment hearing on the
draft Plan Ithaca at its meeting on June 23, 2015 and reviewed the draft plan at a special
meeting on June 30, 2015; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, that the City of Ithaca Planning and Development Board recommends the
revised draft Plan Ithaca, dated June 30, 2015, as further revised by the Planning and
Development Board on that date, for review and adoption by the Common Council as Phase I
of the Comprehensive Plan, and be it further
RESOLVED, that pending a recommendation from the Comprehensive Plan Committee, the
Planning and Development Board will recommend implementation priorities, including a
prioritized list of neighborhood and thematic plans to be completed as part of Phase II of the
Comprehensive Plan.
In Favor: Blalock, Elliott, Jones-Rounds, Lewis, Randall, Schroeder
Opposed: None
Absent: Darling
Vacancies: None
4. Old / New Business
A. Proposal to Amend Collegetown Area Form Districts (CAFD) to Remove 20’
Minimum Spacing Between Primary Structures on Same Parcel ― Discussion
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Schroeder said he thought certain provisions of the new Collegetown zoning were
creating unnecessary difficulties in site planning for projects located in block interiors.
As an example, he cited the existing CAFD requirement in CR zones for 20-foot
minimum spacing between primary structures on the same parcel.
He said this requirement makes sense for projects along a street frontage, but for projects
interior to a block (and hence not visible from the street), it only diminishes flexibility for
producing an attractive design. Schroeder pointed to the 2012 107 Cook Street project,
where two duplexes were successfully backed up against each other on a long narrow lot
extending into the block; this elegant solution would now be prevented by the 20-foot
rule.
Wilson responded that the 20-foot spacing requirement only applies to the CR-1 and CR-
2 Zones. She said the original Collegetown Area Form Districts Working Group did not
want additional buildings on the same parcel to appear and feel as though they were too
close to each other.
Randall said the principal factor that restricts a property’s site plan design is the
minimum parking requirements.
Schroeder said another obstacle to good site design on block interiors is the requirement
to place parking behind the building; this makes sense on a street frontage, he said, but
not interior to a block. Wilson replied that is an interesting point, and may be worth
considering.
Cornish noted the Planning Board could certainly recommend to Common Council that it
eliminate minimum parking requirements.
Schroeder suggested that: (1) the minimum parking restriction requirement be
reconsidered in CR zones; (2) the requirement that parking be placed behind buildings be
eliminated for block interiors; and (3) the Planning Board be given flexibility to reduce
the 20-foot spacing requirement to 10 feet for block interiors.
Cornish indicated that Planning staff would work to address Schroeder’s
recommendations.
B. Proposal to Reduce Width of E. Seneca Street in Downtown Core ― Discussion &
Potential Resolution to Board of Public Works (BPW)
Schroeder observed that if one stands in front of Breckenridge Apartments and looks east,
one sees that the sidewalk on E. Seneca Street (east of Cayuga Street) is significantly
wider than W. Seneca Street. Also, there are street trees on Seneca west of Cayuga Street,
but virtually none east of it. He suggested it would be wonderful if the City could use this
extra width on E. Seneca Street to widen its sidewalks and establish continuous rows of
street trees.
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Cornish replied she could draft a resolution for the Board of Public Works for the
Planning Board to review.
C. Planning Board Recommendation to Tompkins County Legislature Regarding
Proposals to Redevelop Old Library Site
On a motion by Schroeder, seconded by Lewis:
WHEREAS: Members of the City of Ithaca Planning and Development Board recognize
the importance of choosing an appropriate development for the Tompkins County owned
site located at 310-314 N. Cayuga Street in the City of Ithaca, home to the former
Tompkins County Public Library, and
WHEREAS: the site occupies a prominent corner in the DeWitt Park Historic District
and is in a transition zone from commercial to residential, and
WHEREAS: the Ithaca Landmarks Preservation Commission identified the Franklin
Properties / STREAM Collaborative Proposal as the clear preference to maintain the
physical and cultural integrity of the neighborhood, and
WHEREAS: the City of Ithaca Planning and Development Board has reviewed the
proposals for the site and feels the Franklin Properties / STREAM Collaborative
Proposal, from an urban planning and design perspective, is the most appropriate for the
site, WHEREAS: whereas the other projects as presented would likely require substantial
design changes, and
WHEREAS: the Franklin Properties / STREAM Collaborative Proposal is the only
current proposal to combine highly desirable condominiums, community space, a café
fronting the street, and healthcare facilities, and
WHEREAS: avoiding demolition of the existing structure in its entirety and avoiding
disposal of thousands of tons of debris is the most sustainable option, and
WHEREAS: the Franklin Properties / STREAM Collaborative Proposal would reduce
greenhouse gas emissions by 70 percent in accordance with Architect 2030 guidelines,
and
WHEREAS: reuse of the existing building will be the least disruptive to the surrounding
neighbors, because it has the shortest timeline for demolition and construction and avoids
any disruptive pile driving that could also damage historic structures in the surrounding
DeWitt Park Historic District, and
WHEREAS: renovating the existing building pays homage to, and improves upon, the
original architecture, a part of Ithaca’s history, and
WHEREAS: the Franklin Properties / STREAM Collaborative Proposal preserves
existing green space, maintains wide sidewalks and pedestrian amenities fronting the
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building, and features carefully considered architectural detailing, all in a manner
appropriate to its setting across from DeWitt Park and within the historic district, and
WHEREAS: this proposal, compared to the others, best balances multiple provisions of
the City of Ithaca’s draft Comprehensive Plan, by increasing downtown residential
density and restoring downtown medical services in a manner that best respects the City’s
historic resources and best reflects its sustainability goals, now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED: that the City of Ithaca Planning and Development Board recommends to
the Tompkins County Legislature that the Franklin Properties / STREAM Collaborative
Proposal be chosen for 310-314 N. Cayuga Street in the City of Ithaca.
In Favor: Blalock, Elliott, Jones-Rounds, Lewis, Randall, Schroeder
Opposed: None
Absent: Darling
Vacancies: None
Blalock recalled there had been some discussion at an earlier Planning Board meeting about
including language in the Site Plan Review application requiring or strongly encouraging
applicants to actively engage with community members and neighbors about proposed
projects. Cornish replied that Planning staff could draft something to address that.
5. Adjournment
On a motion by Schroeder, seconded by Jones-Rounds, and unanimously approved, the
meeting was adjourned at 8:21 p.m.