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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-PDB-2017-03-221 Approved by the Planning Board on May 8, 2017 Special Planning & Development Board Minutes March 22, 2017 Board Members Attending: Mark Darling (Board of Public Works Liaison); McKenzie Jones- Rounds; Robert Aaron Lewis; Matthew Johnston; John Schroeder Board Members Absent: Garrick Blalock, Chair, Jack Elliott Board Vacancies: None Staff Attending: JoAnn Cornish, Director, Division of Planning & Economic Development; Lisa Nicholas, Senior Planner, Division of Planning & Economic Development; Applicants Attending: Chainworks District Jamie Gensel, Fagan Engineering Steve Ferrante, SRF David Kruse, SRF David Lubin, Project Sponsor Acting Chair Schroeder called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. (Chair Blalock was unable to attend.) 1. Agenda Review No changes to the agenda 2. Site Plan Review A. Chain Works District Redevelopment Project, 620 S. Aurora Street. Review Draft Responses to Comments made on the Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement – Today’s Topic Area: Transportation. Review Next Steps & Future Special Meeting Schedule. Gensel reviewed each comment and response for the Transportation section. Board members made the following comments. Throughout the FGEIS, each proposed mitigation should be clearly and readily identifiable through some special typographic style (for example, a consistent 2 “Mitigation” heading with bold italic text) so that each one stands out and is easy to collect for the eventual Findings Statement. A complete list of issues that are to be handled during future Site Plan Review should be provided. Driveway II is directly across from South Hill School. There is already significant traffic congestion along Route 96B during drop off and pick up times. This fact should be added to the responses and 1 or 2 mitigations addressing this problem should be identified. Construction of the proposed Gateway trail through the site should be identified as a mitigation. Response #9 should include a list of specific proposed pedestrian improvements. Response #29 should note that both the applicant and the Lead Agency agree that a direct cross-property connection with the business park directly south of the site is desirable. Response #60 mentions a “supplemental narrative” regarding proposed “active transportation” elements that would link the Chain Works District to the surrounding urban area. This narrative should be specifically identified and provided to the Lead Agency. Response #61 should mention that the internal speed limit for the site will be 20 mph. The Board requested other text changes and edits. Gensel handed out the latest revised version of the “Conceptual Site Plan Layout.” Board members made several comments on that map regarding transportation issues, including the need for a more accurate and complete map key and the need to provide a few currently missing proposed sidewalk connections. The Board then discussed future scheduling. Nicholas handed out a draft combined PUD/CEQR schedule, and said the Project Sponsor will begin preparing the FGEIS while also working on the PUD/PDZ. She said that the Board would probably not need to meet again until July. Schroeder said that the Board as Lead Agency is responsible for overseeing the entire environmental review process, and that he therefore felt it should receive ongoing updates on that process well before July. He noted that both the Town and City planning boards had requested that the proposed Design Standards be modified to include some architectural design standards, and that therefore both boards still needed to come to agreement on what those specific changes should be. He said it is also important that the Lead Agency ensure that the proposed PUD/PDZ text is consistent with mitigations identified in the FEIS. Finally, he said he thought the Lead Agency should determine – by scheduling a joint meeting with the Town Planning Board or by some other means – whether the draft responses to comments made by Town of Ithaca officials were acceptable to those officials. 3. Adjournment On a motion by Lewis, seconded by Schroeder, and unanimously approved, the meeting was adjourned at 7:20 p.m.