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Home My WebLink AboutMN-P&DB-1998-07-28 Julie Holcomb Approved at the 8/25/98 City Clerk Planning&Development Board Meeting PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT BOARD MINUTES July 28, 1998 Attending: Clarence Reed,Chair; Ellen McCollister; Paulette Manos (arrived at 8:40 pm) and Scott Whitham Staff Attending: JoAnn Cornish Chair Reed opened the meeting at 7:42 pm. Scott Whitham requested a change of date for the August 1998 Codes Meeting to be August 11, 1998 at 12:00 noon. 1. Privilege of the Floor There was no one from the public to address the Board on any items. 2. Zoning Appeals Report A. Appeal#2387 and Appeal#2388 Demjanec &Associates for Ching Po,317 Dryden Road,R3a Residential Use District Request interpretation of Appeal#2368, which was denied. Members of the Planning Board support the previous denial for the area variance by the Board of Zoning Appeals. Members of the Planning Board repeat their comments of March 25, 1998 concerning this appeal: "It has been an on-going concern of the Planning Board that the cumulative effect of variances in residential neighborhoods, which may result in increased occupancies, should only be granted in cases of exceptional circumstances." B. Appeal#2389 Lynn LoPucki,255 Pearl Street,Rlb Residential Use District Request variance for inadequate street frontage and possible inadequate setbacks depending on interpretation. Patricia Petrillo, Site Manager for Fairview Apartments, attended the meeting and presented a copy of her letter to the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA), dated July 28, 1998. The Board recommended that Ms. Petrillo attend the BZA meeting. Members of the Planning Board see no issues of long-range planning and have no comment regarding this appeal. \\cityhall server\vo12\planning\groups\p&d_brd\minutes\1998\07-28.doc 1 Approved at the 8/25/98 Planning&Development Board Meeting 3. New Business A. Ecology and Urbanism Draft John Schroeder of 618 Stewart Avenue, and Joan Bokaer,of 105 Rachel Carson Way, attended the meeting to present and discuss their draft proposal,Ecology and Urbanism-A Proposed Planning Initiative for Revitalizing the `Ithaca Urban Area'and Tompkins County's Villages While Preserving Surrounding Agricultural Lands & Open Spaces, dated November 20, 1997. Schroeder introduced the project by providing background information. Schroeder said that the more the City accommodates the automobile by setting up the City to require use of an automobile,the more traffic goes through the neighborhoods. The goal of the Ecology and Urbanism is "to withdraw from sprawl by revitalizing existing communities and by conserving existing agricultural,forest and other natural and open space areas." Objectives of Ecology and Urbanism is: 1. To draft a plan for the improvement of the environment,economy and quality of life in the `Ithaca urban area' and Tompkins County intended to: • Shift new development and growth away from rural areas in Tompkins County and into the existing `Ithaca urban area" and existing county villages. • Revitalize downtown Ithaca and Tompkins County's villages • Establish `growth boundaries' around areas of concentrated population, to delineate the areas within which future growth will occur. • Conserve permanently the large open spaces that lie outside these `growth boundaries',reserving this land for agriculture, forestry, nature preserves or other open space uses. • Provide a transportation infrastructure that will: Link all municipalities to the city of Ithaca by bus. Link key areas within the `Ithaca urban area' by trolley. Link bicycle and walking routes to the trolleys and buses. • Create, at suitable points along the transportation infrastructure, mixed-use and mixed-income urban villages intended to provide housing for a socially,culturally and economically diverse spectrum of people. 2. To gain strong public support for the plan by including a broad base of civic leaders and ordinary citizens in the planning process. 3. To write a prospectus, or business plan, with which to seek investment in the project. According to Ecology and Urbanism, `Ithaca urban area'refers to the entire urbanized area that most people think of as`Ithaca',but which in fact consists of the City of Ithaca,the adjacent built-up portions of the Town of Ithaca, the Village of Cayuga Heights,the Village of Lansing and certain southern parts of the Town of Lansing. \\cityhallserver\vol2\planning\groups\p&d_brd\minutes\1998\07-28.doc 2 Approved at the 8/25/98 Planning&Development Board Meeting 4. To realize the benefits of project implementation. 5. To offer the results as a model whose features may be adopted by other urban areas throughout America. Joan Bokaer presented a slide show that visually explained the purpose of growth without sprawl. 4. Reports A. Director JoAnn Cornish informed the Board that the applications for Lincoln Hall and AutoZone were removed from this agenda. • The Lincoln Hall project needs to go before the Ithaca Landmarks Preservation Commission before being placed on the agenda for the Planning &Development Board. This project should be back on the Planning Board's agenda for August 1998. • The Conservation Advisory Council (CAC)recommended a positive declaration for the AutoZone project and requested changes to be made. The Codes Committee agrees with the requested changes. The Codes Committee has requested MDM Unlimited to make revisions to the site plan for AutoZone. These revisions should be completed and on the August 1998 agenda. Cornish also updated the Board on the North Campus Initiative project. The Town of Ithaca will act as lead agency for the demolition of Pleasant Grove Apartments. . The Planning and Development Board has received a request to act as lead agency for all new construction. This will be a large project,which will include the proposed new athletic fields, 560 bed dormitories for freshmen and dining facilities. The proposed athletic fields will go where Pleasant Grove Apartments are currently located. The proposed dormitories and dining facilities will go where the current athletic fields are located. John Kiefer of Cornell University is proposing that an environmental assessment of this project be on the August 1998 agenda for the Planning and Development Board for discussion regarding a possible Environmental Impact Statement. Cornish reminded the Board that Common Council should be deeming the Scoping Document for the Southwest area complete and the Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS)process will begin. Cornish explained that the Ithaca Bicycle Plan will go back to the Planning and Economic Development Committee of Council in August with a resolution to be drafted by staff. She said that Mayor Cohen suggested that adults be allowed to ride bicycles on sidewalks on the uphill bike routes, particularly University Avenue. City Attorney Geldenhuys has checked into the state law and found adults riding on sidewalks would be legal. The City of Ithaca will draft an ordinance allowing that activity. This will be added to the Addendum to the Ithaca Bicycle Plan. \\cityhallserver\vol2\planning\groups\p&d_brd\minutes\1998\07-28.doc 3 L Approved at the 8/25/98 !. Planning&Development Board Meeting A B. Chair—None C. Board of Public Works—None D. Planning and Economic Development Committee- None 5. Minutes Three members were absent from the meeting. There was not a quorum to approve the minutes of previous meetings. At 10:15 pm a motion was made by Whitham and seconded by Manos to adjourn the meeting. \\cityhallserver\vo12\planning\groups\p&d_brd\minutes\1998\07-28.doc 4