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Home My WebLink AboutBZA Decision Letter - Appeal 3051 - 661-665 Spencer Rd. (Schickel ) - 12-6-16 special permitCITY OF ITHACA 108 E. Green Street — 3rd Floor Ithaca, NY 14850-5690 DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING, BUILDING, ZONING, & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Division of Zoning PHYLLIS RADKE, DIRECTOR OF ZONING ADMINISTRATION Telephone: Planning & Development — 607-274-6550 E -Mail: cpyott@cityofithaca.org CITY OF ITHACA BOARD of ZONING APPEALS Special Permit for Day Care Facility Appeal No.: 3051 Applicant: Tom Schickel on behalf of Tompkins Community Action Property Location: 661-665 Spencer Road. Zoning District: R -2b Publication Dates: November 17 and November 18, 2016. Appeal of Thomas Schickel, on behalf Tompkins County and Tompkins Community Action ( TC Action ), owners of properties addressed 661 and 665 Spencer Road, for a Special Permit to operate a child daycare center as required by Zoning Ordinance Section 325-9 C. (1) (e), and for Area Variances from Section 325- 8, Columns 10 and 11, Percentage of Lot Coverage and Front Yard Setback requirements, and Section 325-20 E. (3) and 325-20 F. (3) (a) [2], restrictions placed on constructing parking spaces in front and rear ya rds. The applicant proposes to demolish two buildings at 661 and 665 Spencer Road. The existing building at 661 Spencer Road is a daycare center, which has been operating under a Special permit granted to TC - Action on October 2, 2012 by the Board of Zoning Appeals. The applicant proposes to construct an 8,715 - SF child daycare center at 661-665 Spencer Road and requests a Special Permit to operate the new, larger daycare center at 661-665 Spencer Road, which will provide 5 classrooms for Head Start programs. The applicant seeks a variance from the maximum percentage of lot coverage allowed in the R -2a zone, which will be exceeded by the proposal to construct a larger daycare center at 661-665 Spencer Road. The property at 665 Spencer Road is a portion of a larger parcel addressed as 665-711 Spencer Road. In order to construct the new daycare center, the parcel at 665-711 Spencer Road will be consolidated with the parcel at 661 Spencer Road. The parcel at 661-711 Spencer Road is located on the west end of Spencer Road and straddles the SW -2 and R -2a zone lines. Buildings addressed 701-711 Spencer Road are located on the south end of the parcel and are in the SW -2 zoning district. The location of the proposed daycare at 661-665 Spencer Road is in the R -2a zone. The Ordinance requires each building comply with the District Regulations Requirements for the zone in which it is located. However, because 661 Spencer Road will be consolidated with the parcel at 665-711 Spencer Road, percentage of lot coverage for the new daycare center is based on the amount of building area on the entire consolidated lot that will to be addressed 661-711 Spencer Road. The R -2a zone allows a maximum of 30% lot coverage. The overall lot coverage of the buildings on the consolidated parcel will be 39.2% A variance from the front yard set -back requirement is needed because the two parcels' (665-711 and 661 Spencer Road) street front property line is deeded to the center of the road. As a result, the City has a 50' right-of-way (ROW) that encroaches 25' into both parcels. For the two parcels, it is the ROW line, not the property line which determines the front yard. As a result, the applicant requests a variance from Section 325-8, Column 11, requiring a minimum front yard depth of 25 feet for the proposed daycare center at 661-665 Spencer Road with a front yard depth of 17'8". The applicant also seeks variances for parking area restrictions in both front and rear yards. The proposed daycare center's design includes 2 parking spaces and a drive-through drop-off area in the front yard of the new daycare center. The 2 parking spaces and maneuvering area in the drop-off zone will utilize 54.4% of the front yard. Section 325-20 E. (3) restricts parking and maneuvering areas to 25% of the front yard. In addition, the applicant proposes an additional 16 parking spaces, for a total of 18 spaces, on the proposed daycare center's site in which 11 parking spaces will be located in the required rear yard. Section 325-20 F. (3) (a) [1] states in part that parking is prohibited within the required rear yard set -back area. The property at 661-665 Spencer Road is located in an R -2a residential use district in which the proposed child daycare center use is permitted by Special Permit; and Sections 325-38 and 325-39 require zoning deficiencies be granted variances before a Building Permit or Certificate of Occupancy is issued Meeting Held On: November 28, 2016. Requirement for Which Variance is Requested: Special Permit for Child Day -Care Facility. Applicable Section of City Zoning Code: Section 325-9C. (1)(e). Public Hearing Held On: November 28, 2016. Members present: Steven Beer, Chair Teresa Deschanes Marshall McCormick Moriah Tebor Tompkins County Review per Section 239 -1 & -m of New York State General Municipal Law: Tompkins County has reviewed the proposal, as submitted and has determined that it has no negative intercommunity, or county wide impacts. Environmental Review: Type: 1 The City of Ithaca Planning and Development Board determines the proposed project will result in no significant impact on the environment and that a Negative Declaration for purposes of Article 8 of the Environmental Conservation Law be filed in accordance with the provisions of Part 617 of the State Environmental Quality Review Act. Planning & Development Board Recommendation: The Planning Board did not identify any long term planning impacts regarding this appeal. This is an unusual site both in its typography and the fact that it extends into the City ROW. This project is providing needed services and infill. Motion: A motion to grant the variance request was made by Teresa Deschanes. Factors Considered: Specific standards applicable to schools and related buildings in all residential districts [R-1 (R -1a and R - 1b), R-2 (R -2a, R -2b and R -2c), R-3 (R -3a and R -3b) and R -U]. Notwithstanding the criteria set forth in Subsection C(3) above, which criteria shall not apply hereto, no special permit shall be granted by the Board of Appeals unless the proposed use or activity meets the following requirements: ULIf the proposed use is the expansion of an educational use, then the applicant must show a need to expand into the residential area rather than into a less -restrictive area. No special permit shall be granted by the Board of Appeals unless the applicant can demonstrate that there is no reasonable alternative to location or expansion on the site proposed. The proposal has reasonably demonstrated the need to expand the Day -Care Facility. We have heard evidence that this is a difficult site that straddles a commercial and residential area. The only way to practically expand the daycare use is to consolidate lots, where the nonconforming zoning aspects will be mitigated by sensitive screening and design. The applicant spoke about the needs that the larger day- care center would address under the proposal. ULThe location and size of the use, the size of the site in relation to it, the operations in connection with the use and the parking and traffic related to the operations shall not be such as to create a significant hazard to the safety or general welfare of the surrounding areas. Again, parking and traffic have been carefully considered as shown in the placement of the driveway and the proposed screening. The design for the proposed buildings demonstrates a well thought out traffic plan that will not cause safety hazards to the surrounding areas. j1The proposed use or operation shall not produce or present substantial danger of excessive noise, noxious odors, noxious or harmful discharge, fire or explosion, radiation, chemical or toxic release or other conditions injurious to the health or general welfare of occupants of nearby properties. There should be no excessive noise. Parking is at the back of the building and only two cars can park in front. The front yard has a drop-off driveway. The play area has also been thoughtfully designed to be sensitive to the neighborhood; and it is not a business that would produce noxious orders, smoke and so on. 11The size and use of the facility or the concentration with similar facilities in the neighborhood shall not be so substantially out of proportion to the character of the neighborhood as to jeopardize the continued use of the neighborhood for residential purposes. The site of the new Daycare is completely in the residential R -2a zone. In TCA meeting with the neighbors, there were some mild concerns expressed about this proposal. But in general, there has been overwhelming support for this project and the neighbors believe the project is in keeping with the neighborhood. Second Motion to Grant Variance: Marshall McCormick. Vote: Steven Beer, Chair: Yes Teresa Deschanes: Yes Marshall McCormick: Yes Moriah Tebor: Yes Determination of BZA Based on the Above Factors: Grant Special Permit for Day -Care Facility at 661-665 Spencer Road. c December 6, 2016 Se et ry, Boar of Zoning Appeals Date Dire o ning Administration