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PLANNING COMMITTEE
June 19, 1995
Regular Meeting, 7:30 p.m., Common Council Chambers
MINUTES
Present:
Committee Members: John Schroeder, Chair; Rick Gray,Pam Mackesey,Diann Sams.
Non-Voting Committee Member: Benjamin Nichols,Mayor.
Other Common Council Members: John Efroymson,John Johnson.
Staff Richard Eckstrom,Building Commissioner; Charles Guttman, City Attorney; H.
Matthys Van Cort,Director of Planning and Development.
Others: Susan Blumenthal,Betsy Darlington,Shirley Egan,John Gutenberger,Ed
Ritchie,Ken Vineberg,Bill Wendt and Camilla Lappin,press.
• Additions to the Agenda.
With the consent of the Committee, Schroeder added the following items to the
agenda:
* Request by Ithaca Performing Arts Center for State Street bricks.
* Request by Comex Plaza Associates for modification of the
memorandum of understanding between Comex and the City.
I. Rezoning of Cornell University.
a. Presentation: C.U.'s Traffic Demand Management Program. William
Wendt, Cornell's Director of Transportation, gave the Committee a slide
presentation on the Cornell Traffic Demand Management Program
(TDMP). A question and answer period followed. Staff was directed to
give copies of materials provided by Wendt to all Planning and
Development Board members and Common Council members.
b. Committee Discussion. City Attorney Guttman reported on the progress
of the working group which consists of Guttman and Van Cort from the
City and Eric Dicke, Shirley Egan,John Gutenberger and William Wendt
from Cornell University. Guttman explained the modifications to the
Zoning Ordinance which are being considered by the working group.
Planning Committee Minutes 2
June 19, 1995
Some of the measures under consideration by the working group which
would reduce parking demand in the neighborhood surrounding the
University are: measures to further increase the usage of the area's bus
systems,construction of"storage"parking facilities for use by the Cornell
community, some additional parking for visitors at the University and
fmally,the establishment of a resident parking permit system by the City
with authorization from the State Legislature.
Cornell representatives said that several cities in New York State had been
given permission by the Legislature to institute resident parking permit
systems, and that Cornell would support a City application for permission
from the Legislature.
After the conclusion of the Committee's questions and discussion,
questions were taken from the audience. Darlington asked whether there
was a policy at the University to build as much on-campus parking as
possible. Wendt said this was absolutely not true. New parking facilities
which were being added were in compliance with the land use regulations
of the various jurisdictions in which Cornell is located.
Staff was directed to provide an outline of the proposed changes to the
Zoning Ordinance with alternate approaches for the Committee to consider
for each major topic. Staff was also asked to provide further information
on a resident parking permit system.
IL Proposal by Johnson's Boat Yard.
Tom Cleveland of Johnson's Boat Yard made a proposal to the Committee
regarding changes to Cascadilla Creek. Specifically,he proposed the construction
of a seawall along the southern edge of Cascadilla Creek where it enters the
Cayuga Inlet. He suggested that this work could be done in conjunction with
dredging of the creek which is becoming more and more obstructed by siltation.
(Dredge spoils could be put behind the seawall.)
Cleveland said that Johnson's Boat Yard would be interested in cooperating with
the City in such a venture,provided that Johnson's could acquire some rights to
construct and operate boat slips along the southern side of Cascadilla Creek
opposite their marina.
Schroeder said such a project might be desirable if it resulted in provision of an
attractively designed and landscaped walkway and bike trail linking the Willow
Avenue pedestrian bridge over Cascadilla Creek with the Farmers' Market.
Schroeder added that any proposal for a seawall would require careful review,
including early input from City groups concerned about the environment.
Mackesey expressed some concern about construction of a seawall rather than
Planning Committee Minutes 3
June 19, 1995
leaving the bank in a more or less natural condition. It was noted that the whole
proposal was at this point very hypothetical, and completely dependent on whether
DPW had future plans to dredge the creek in the first place. Staff was directed to
ask DPW whether any such dredging plans exist.
M. Zoning Strategies to Promote Affordable Housing.
Schroeder explained that Colin Forth is under contract to work as an intern in
Mayor Nichols' Office during the summer of 1995. The Committee and the
Planning Board would have input into Mr. Forth's work over this summer.
Schroeder said Forth's work would result in specific proposed zoning ordinance
amendments designed to encourage production of affordable housing.
Schroeder gave Committee members copies of a proposed work program for Forth
resulting from a meeting attended by the Mayor,Van Cort,Schroeder, Shari
Woodard(Chair of Rental Housing Advisory Commission), and after input from
David Kay (Chair of the Planning Board). The Committee unanimously consented
to this work program,which is attached to these minutes.
IV. Request by Comex Plaza Associates.
Van Cort explained the request by Comex Plaza Associates for a slight
modification of the agreement between Comex and the City so that one boundary
line delimiting permitted uses in the Rothschild's Building could be moved toward
the north by eight feet. After a brief discussion,a motion by Mackesey, seconded
by Gray,the Committee unanimously recommended approval of this request.
V. Request by Ithaca Performing Arts Center (IPAC).
Camilla Lappin of IPAC appeared before the Committee to request that IPAC be
given permission to use the bricks which were removed from State Street,now
stored in Southwest Park,for a small plaza in the alley off Cayuga Street adjoining
the State Theater. There were two issues which needed to be addressed; one is
whether the BPW had authority to allow IPAC to use these bricks free of charge.
The present policy authorizes BPW to sell the bricks at 25 cents a piece.
Secondly,the Committee wanted to express support for these bricks being donated
to IPAC. The Committee directed that staff prepare two resolutions, one asking
the BPW to consider a policy allowing not-for-profit groups to obtain bricks free
of charge,but subject to the other normal regulations, and a second requesting that
the bricks be given to IPAC at no cost.
VI. Possible Land Acquisition.
Van Cott explained that tax parcel 127-1-3 located along Cayuga Inlet behind the
proposed Wal-Mart site was available for acquisition by the City. Since taxes had
not been paid on this parcel for three years,the City only needed to file a tax deed
in its possession and pay the outstanding county taxes in order to take title to the
Planning Committee Minutes 4
June 19, 1995
parcel. On a motion by Mackesey, seconded by Gray,the Committee unanimously
recommended that title to the parcel be acquired by the City.
Proposed Colin Forth Summer Work Program.
JUNE 15, 1995
1. Overall Goal.
Several major zoning ordinance amendments designed to encourage the creation of
affordable housing in the City of Ithaca will be developed from conceptual form to initial
draft to final perfected draft, such that they will be ready for immediate consideration by
Common Council at the conclusion of the summer's work.
One focus will be the drafting of an entirely new "floating" affordable housing zoning
district, which would include incentive zoning provisions. The summer project would
also entail correcting some long-standing, long-recognized zoning problems now in-
hibiting affordable housing creation — e.g., the currently flawed cluster zoning section
and the well-intentioned but unusable R-2c district.
It is hoped that by the end of the summer the proposed amendments will have been
written with sufficient completeness and care — and with sufficient opportunities for
input from relevant City bodies— that adoption can proceed expeditiously.
2. Specific Work Program Elements.
A. "Floating"Affordable Housing Zoning District.
An entirely new "floating" affordable housing zoning district will be developed from
conceptual stages into a finished proposed ordinance. This would be a zone the Planning
and Development Board could locate anywhere (or most places) in the City to allow the
development of specific proposed affordable housing projects. The developer and the
Planning Board would have considerable flexibility to mold a proposed development to
the particular conditions of the proposed site and neighborhood. The "floating" zone
would include optional incentive zoning provisions.
B. Cluster Subdivision Development.
The current cluster zoning provisions have the dubious distinction of being disliked and
dismissed as unworkable by just about everyone, including developers, environmentalists
and planning department staff. After identification of defects in the current cluster
provisions, and after examining model cluster provisions from other cities, this zoning
code section will be rewritten to promote affordable housing projects that co-exist with •
attractive and usable set-aside green space.
C. R-2c Zero-Lot-Line, Row-House Zone.
In 1990, after months of debate, Common Council adopted language describing a new
R-2c zone that was supposed to promote affordable housing by allowing zero-lot-line
and row-house development. The resulting zone, though, was pronounced unworkable
and has never been placed on the zoning map. The provisions of the R-2c zone will be
rewritten to eliminate current defects. Additionally, locations in the City where the zone
could be established will be identified.