HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-P&DB-1997-08-20 PLANNING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
MINUTES
August 20, 1997
In attendance were: Susan Blumenthal, Chair; John Efroymson; Rick Gray; Torn Hanna;
Pam Mackesey; Jane Marcham; Diann Sams; Pat Vaughan; and Alan.1. Cohen, Mayor
Staff. Matthys Van Cort, Director of Planning and Development; Ruth Aslanis, Doug Foster,
and Jeannie Lee
Members of the Public: Herb Engman; LeMoyne Farrell; Bryna Fireside; Guy Gerard; Fay
Gougakis and Doria Higgins.
Public Comment on Any Planning Issues:
Guy Gerard spoke against the City's adopting the Tompkins County Waterfront Plan. He said the
City should have a"line item veto" over the items in the Plan. He also said that he was opposed
to adoption of the Plan because it recommended that the City transfer the Festival lands to the
State Park System.
Doria Higgins urged the Committee not to adopt but to accept the Plan.
Herb Engman said that the Plan does not balance economic development with environmental
protection and, therefore, the Plan should be received only.
LeMoyne Farrell said that she was opposed to the proposed walking trails in various parts of the
R.H. Treman State Park natural areas. She thought the Council should only accept the Plan.
Fay Gougakis said she was in favor of saving the environment. She also made a number of other
points including that the Public Hearing for the Cornell Lake Source Cooling Project was too
short; she said she does not trust Cornell, and they should have another hearing. Gougakis is
concerned that the proposed skateboard park will make too much noise in Stewart Park. She said
that she believes that the high rents in the new building owned by Jason Fane in Collegetown is
driving students to seek housing in Fall Creek, and that there should be a sidewalk along the
Elmira Road to Buttermilk Park.
Bryna Fireside said that she finds the Tompkins County Waterfront Plan very exciting but she
recommends the City receive the Plan rather than adopt it and use the County wording in any
resolution concerning this Plan.
Committee Members' Reports
Tom Hanna spoke about the new stores on the Commons and a business which began in
Collegetown and has just now gone public with a$20,000,000 private investment. The business
had moved to New York City from Ithaca.
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Director's Report
Van Cort reported that two vacancies in the Community Development Office had been filled.
Katharine Clute has been hired as the Community Development Administrator and Nels Bohn has
been hired as the Community Development Planner. The Department has also filled the vacant
Environmental/Landscape Planner position with the hiring of JoAnn Cornish. A search is
underway for an Economic Development Planner.
Mayor's Report
Mayor Cohen said that he had attended a meeting in Rochester concerning the upcoming Year
2000 Census of Population. Cohen also stated that on Tuesday, August 26th, he would be
meeting with Charles Moynihan, Director of NYS Department of Transportation Region 3 to
discuss a variety of items of interest to the City and DoT.
1. Presentation by Ruth Aslanis on the Geographic Information System
Van Cort introduced Ruth Aslanis who has been working as a consultant on the GIS and
other data management assignments in the Department of Planning and Development as well
as other City departments. Doug Foster said that her presentation would he on a
geographically based data base she created with Leslie Chatterton. This data base stores a
variety of information regarding historic properties throughout the city.
Aslanis demonstrated the processes of inputting data, data searches and the generating of
reports. She also demonstrated the program's ability to map locations of properties and
digitally display photographs of historic properties. This program would be available to all
City employees on the GIS server and eventually much of this data will be made available to
the public.
2. The Tompkins County Waterfront Plan
Chair Susan Blumenthal reported that she had received referrals from the Planning and
Development Board, the Conservation Advisory Council, and the Parks Commission. The
Board of Public Works had not yet reported back on the proposed Plan. Blumenthal moved
a motion adopting the Plan.
Jane Marcham stated that she was concerned about the use of the word "adoption" and
offered an amendment to the resolution. Marcham said that she was very favorably inclined
toward inter-municipal planning, but she felt that the City should not adopt the County's
Plan in total.
Pat Vaughan asked whether the Plan could be accepted as a part of the Comprehensive
Plan. Blumenthal said that the County had not used the word "adopt" because they do not
have a comprehensive plan as such.
Pam Mackesey asked why there was such a rush to adopt what is clearly a preliminary plan.
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Efroymson offered a motion to amend using the word "accept" in place of"adopt". The
resolution to amend passed. The main motion as amended passed with Blumenthal and
Vaughan opposed.:
Acceptance of Tompkins County Waterfront Plan
WHEREAS the City of Ithaca, the Town of Ithaca and the County of Tompkins
recently conducted a study partially funded by the New York State Council on the Arts,
entitled "Tompkins County Waterfront Plan," and
WHEREAS the City,Town and County are endowed with extraordinary natural
resources including Cayuga Lake, Cayuga Inlet and the waterways which traverse the
City, Town and County, and
WHEREAS the aforementioned document sets forth goals concerning the protection,
enhancement and enjoyment of these water-related resources, and
WHEREAS the plan includes numerous other proposals including: development of
such facilities as pedestrian walkways and in-town harbors; recommendations for
strengthening planning for, and protecting, the lake and its tributaries; proposals for
institutional changes aided at monitoring lake water quality; etc.
WHEREAS these recommendations were reviewed and commented on at a series of
public meetings, and
WHEREAS these recommendations will lead to further study of the waterfront and the
waterways, beginning with a Local Waterfront Revitalization Program for which the
City, Town and County have received partial funding from New York State's
Department of State, and
WHEREAS no projects suggested will be implemented without an environmental
review as called for by the Laws of the State of New York and the City of Ithaca, and
WHEREAS many recommendations are proposed which have broad support in the
community, and
WHEREAS it is understood that not all the recommendations in the plan will he fully
supported by everyone and that further public debate and action will he necessary
before efforts toward implementation are begun; now, therefore, he it
RESOLVED, that Common Council of the City of Ithaca does hereby accept the
Tompkins County Waterfront Plan as a first step in the preparation of an intermunicipal
Local Waterfront Revitalization Plan for Tompkins County.
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3. West End Parking Study
Jeannie Lee presented a study she had completed under the direction of Planning staff on
parking in the City's west end. This study was conducted using the GIS program and
Access, a data base program. All existing on-street and off-street parking spaces were
inventoried and divided between residential and commercial uses. An estimate of parking
demand based on zoning regulations was generated and net surplus or deficiencies were
identified on a block-by-block basis.
Lee said that she had also conducted an inventory of parking and vehicle turn-over at the
Ithaca Plaza, located at the corner of Meadow Street and Old Elmira Road. This local retail
plaza includes a number of different stores and was thought to have parking demand
reasonably comparable to the commercial uses in the Fulton/Meadow area. Another
advantage to studying the parking of the Ithaca Plaza is that the system is fairly self-
contained. That is, anyone going to the Ithaca Plaza by car will park in their lot. Lee stated
that industry standards call for 5-6 car spaces per 1,000 square feet of retail. The demand in
the East Hill Plaza was around 3 spaces per 1,000 square feet of retail, and the City's zoning
ordinance calls for 2 spaces per 1,000 square feet of retail.
Efroymson asked what the Planning Department will do now that it has gathered this
information. Van Cort replied that the Planning Department will wait for direction from the
Common Council,since the assignment had been to do an inventory, which has now been
completed with Lee's work.
4. Subdivision Regulations Revisions
Mariette Geldenhuys explained the proposed revisions to the zoning regulations which
would allow for ministerial approval of lot line adjustments which do not cause zoning
conformity. In addition it would create a new category of property transaction,known as a
minor subdivision, which would create no more than one new buildable lot. A minor
subdivision could be approved in one Planning and Development Board meeting, rather than
the now required two minimum meetings.
After a brief discussion, Marcham moved and Gray seconded that the Committee agreed in
concept with the proposed revisions and that the staff be directed to edit the proposed
amendment and bring it back to the Committee.
Approved Unanimously
5. Ithaca Falls
Attorney Mariette Geldenhuys presented a proposed agreement between the City and
several owners of property adjoining Fall Creek at the Ithaca Falls. The agreement called
for the establishment of a Committee to oversee maintenance of the Ithaca Falls area. The
Planning and Economic Development Committee members expressed interest in the
composition of this oversight Committee. They provided some direction for Geldenhuys in
continuing negotiations with the concerned parties.
At this point the meeting went into Executive Session for the final discussions of the evening.
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