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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-PDB-1968-01-17 PLANNING BOARD PROCEEDINGS City of Ithaca, N.Y., Regular Meeting January 17, 1968 7:30 P.M. PRESENT: Chairman Schmidt, Vice Chairman Reps, Mrs. Anne Jones, Messrs. Feldt, Parkes and Putney. ALSO: Planning Director Kasprzak, Mayor J. Kiely, Urban Renewal representative, D. Teichman, Atty.. S.. Tsapis, Mrs. Marcella Schmidt, Ithaca Journal City Editor J. Langdon, W.H.C.U. representative D. Stewart and representative of W.T.K.O. ABSENT: R. Korf MEETING called to order at 7:30 p.m. Chairman Schmidt introduced the new members appointed to the Board: Mrs. Anne Jones, Council representative; Richard Putney., Board of Public Works representative; and John Reps, Vice Chairman. Richard Korf, the remaining new member had asked to be excused from this first meeting due to a previous commitment. MINUTES of the last regular meeting, on December 20, 1967, and of the special meeting, on December 28, 1967, were approved as submitted. Mayor Jack Kiely addressed the Board briefly relative to problems of the future, especially the next two years, requesting the Planning Board to "chart the course" for the city and rovide leadershi for Conmon Council!so it can proceed in the right direction. He admitted area izes it requires as great deal of time and expressed his appreciation to the Board for its willingness to give this time. He complimented the Board for having some of the best talent in the City of Ithaca and said he feels the success of the City of Ithaca as a whole depends upon planners. He said he is putting his faith and confidence in the Board and pledged his support of it, promi- sing to assist in any way he can. Mayor Kiely outlined some of the items which he would like the Board to consider in its program. 1. Regarding the Master Plan which was accepted by the Planning Board in 1964, but which to-date has not been presented to the Common Council, the mayor expressed the hope that Mrs. Jones will take to the Common Council a resolution requesting acceptance and approval of the Master Plan, and indicating that the plan will be up-dated at least annually; 2. that a study of parks be made which will include a definition of parks to provide the various committees a guide for use in their meetings; 3. urged consideration for two projects as outlined below: a. the block of Geneva St. bounded by Cayuga, Clinton and Green Streets in which McGraw Housing Inc. plan to build a low-middle income housing project for the elderly to replace the present home for the elderly on Aurora St, Ithaca Housing Authority is considering placing 80 units of its public housing program in this block providing the Urban Renewal Agency are able to purchase the property and sell it back--a portion to the Housing Authority, and another portion to McGraw Housing Inc. which is encountering difficulty in obtaining necessary funds for its project. Also, the Wilkinson building on W. Green St. could be taken as historical edifice and converted to a Senior Citizens Center. Urban Renewal Administrator Daly and Ithaca Housing Authority's Director, Mrs. Blanchard, were in New York City on the day of the meeting and, ,just prior to the meeting, Mayor Kiely received the following message from Mr. Daly: "Our conference with the Housing Assistance Administration, Regional Office, relative to the McGraw Incorporated Development is very favorable. The Director of H.A.A. will take this information and deal with the top echelon of Urban Renewal. There will not be any need for the Planning Board's involvement at this time." b; Urban Renewal under Code Enforcement Program in the area of Clinton Street, Corn Street and Cleveland Avenue. Mayor Kiely said if Mr. Kasprzak would like assistance in the study of this area and preparation of application, the Ithaca Urban Renewal Agency had offered to assist as -much as possible. k. Foreign Student Exchange - Mayor Kiely has been approached by AIESEC organization to promote an exchange of professionals and students to obtain some experience in this country; via this method it may be possible to provide help in the Planning Office. This matter has to be investigated further. Mayor Kiely concluded by saying he is vitally interested in the Planning Board's plans for the city and assured the Board he will do everything in his power to aid it, if additional funds are needed to carry out its programs. COMMUNICATIONS: a. Mr. Kasprzak read a message from the Board of Education requesting that two members of the Planning Board be designated as delegates to the Nominating Convention which will be held in Culp Auditorium on Monday, January 22 at 8:00 p.m. for the purpose of electing members of the Ithaca School Board Nominating Committee. Mr. Feldt volunteered to attend and Chairman Schmidt designated Richard Korf as the other delegate and directed Mr. Kasprzak to mail the information to the Board o£ Education. 2 b. Mr. Kasprzak read a letter from the Office of Planning Coordination pertaining to the second phase of Appalachian Grant for Inlet Park Development. Forms were received with the request to complete them for the application of the funds for the second phase of the development--therefore, it would imply that first-phase funds ($150,000) have been granted even though to-date no official notification has been received. Mr. Kasprzak said that the application for the second-phase funds ($150,000) can be completed within two weeks. c. Mr. Kasprzak read a letter from General Electric Company describing 10Municipal Myopia," a 10-minute sound color-slide show prepared for use in planning work, which they are offering at a price of $60 (which includes script, sound tape and 59 color slides). Mr. Kasprzak was directed to investigate further. COMMITTEE APPOINTMENTS: Chairman Schmidt read the listing of Planning Board Committee appointments, as follows, and asked for approval of his choices. Executive & Liaison Committee - W. Schmidt, J. Reps Housing & Redevelopment Committee - R. Korf, A. Feldt, A. Jones General Plan & Capital Improvements Committee - J. Reps, J. Parkes, W. Schmidt Codes & Ordinances Committee - J. Parkes, W. Schmidt, R. Putney Community Facilities & Services Committee - A. Feldt, R. Korf, A. Jones, R. Putney Regarding serving on the Codes and Ordinances Committee, to which he was re-appointed, Mr. Parkes re=arked that he might sometimes be late, and other times might find it necessary to be absent, due to a conflict with his regular employment. Chairman Schmidt replied that the committee would attempt to adjust its schedule at these times. He then thanked everyone for their cooperation in agreeing to serve on the committees. Mr. Feldt reminded Chairman Schmidt that he plans to resign from the Board in the near future. OLD BUSINESS: a., Collegetown and Downtown II Urban Renewal Projects Mr. Kasprzak explained briefly the applications for Collegetown and Downtown II Urban Renewal Projects, stating that the Collegetown application is ready for final typing, but that Downtown II is presently with the con- sultant, T. Niederkorn, who has a contract outstanding in the amount of $1300, which sum was bound over from 1967 budget pending completion of the application. Chairman Schmidt commented that his general observation, after attending a meeting with federal representative, was that no money is available for this type of development. Neither of the projects meets the given criteria under which HUD would consider approval of funds. He requested that the Baard consider completing the applications and submitting them anyway. He would like 3 them to be in Washington as an insurance in the event that conditions change at any time and H_T changes its policy regarding the priorities. Don Teichman, representative of local Urban Renewal Agency, former employee of HUD Regional Office, explained that there is not a chance that either of the applications will be accepted and advised checking before submitting the applications. Mr. Reps observed that it would be a waste of time to complete the appli- cations if HUD will not accept thea., especially since- the Planning Department has a shortage of help. Mr. Feldt said it will be necessary to update any application and suggested the applications be kept fairly ready; in the event circumstances should change in Washington, we would then be ready to submit them. Mr. Putney MOVED, "to prepare applications for both proposals for sub- mission to Washington.9B Seconded by Mr. Parkes. After a brief discussion, Mr. Putney withdrew his motion and Mr. Feldt MOVED, "that further discussion regarding completion of the proposals be de- layed until the March meeting of the Planning Board." Seconded by Mr. Parkes. Mr. Reps inquired regarding the nature of the contract with consultant, T. Niederkorn, and Mr. Kasprzak explained the terms to him. Chairman Schmidt believes the Collegetown application should be modified, with sufficient emphasis placed on housing, and submitted anyway in order to ."keep the doors open" in the event HUD policies should change, and commented that the information given by Mr. Art Cohen was "only one man's opinion." b. Projects in the office 1) Mr. Kasprzak distributed copies of the "Neighborhood Analysis" which is completed, insofar as is possible, for inclusion in the Workable Program. He explained the difficulty of obtaining population characteristics (an addendum is being prepared for distribution which contains the population characteristics for 2 out of the 11 districts, namely 6 and 9). 2) Mr. Kasprzak reported that the CRP (Community Renewal Program) application has been roughed out and has received "first glance" from Mr. Teichman of local Urban Renewal office, who feels corrections should be made before a first draft is prepared. Chairman Schmidt inquired if, when this is com- pleted, there will be enough information for use in planning the whole concept of the city and Mr. Kasprzak assured him there would be--physical, economic and social items will be considered. Chairman Schmidt asked if it is feasible for the Planning Board to concern itself with specific districts in which to work. Mr. Kasprzak answered that this should take No. 1 priority, and it could be done if the CRP were completed. Mr. Schmidt said, in view of the amount of work this Board must do this year, he would like an order of priority established--for example, "a small CRP" in one district of the city. 4 3) Review of Zoning Ordinance - Mr. Parkes explained briefly what the Zoning Review Committee has been doing and emphasized that the Committee needs a master plan. He noted that our supply of Zoning Ordinances is depleted and that the committee is reluctant to print more of the same. He also informed the Board that it will be necessary for the committee to bring problems to the Board for policy decisions. 4) BOR and Appalachian Fund Application - second phase--explained under Communications - Letter from Office of Planning Coordination, page 3. 5) Purchase of Belle Sherman Tract and Wood Street Park - Mr. Kasprzak explained the situation to-date regarding the applications for purchase of the property; and the withdrawal of previous offers to sell by the Board of Education. At present, the Board of Education has another parcel of land, including a building, which the city might be interested in acquiring. Mayor Kiely is interested in purchasing the entire thing "in Coto" and has a meeting set up with Mr. Bardwell regarding same. The cost to the city for purchase of these parcels of land would be 12 1/2% of the total with the federal and state governments providing the balance. Mr. Reps MOVED, "to purchase the property." Seconded by Mrs. Jones. CARRIED. 6) Impact Study of Inlet Park Development - Mr. Kasprzak explained that this is a small study which is being prepared by a student who was a summer employee. The handwritten rough is presently on the department secretary's desk "awaiting priority." 7) Capital Improvement Program for 1968-1973 - The program is in preparation; the final program will be completed by May 1968. - NEW BUSINESS: a. Completion of General Plan - (requested by Mayor Kiely at beginning of meeting)T Mr. Feldt suggested we update our present General Plan and present it to Common Council for approval. Chairman Schmidt placed priority on the General Plan. b. Capital Improvements Program. - Eventually, two members must be appointed from the Planning Board to serve- on the Capital Improvements Review Committee in the next budget year. c. Preparation of District Plans - Mr. Kasprzak would like district plans pre- pared as a follow-up of the CRP and General Plan. d. Study of Alternative Arterials (outside and inside Ithaca) - Common Council asked that Planning Board consider a study of, and perhaps suggest a solution to,,the problem of traffic-carriers within the city jurisdiction. Mr. Reps briefly discussed state aid for Aurora St. , including the "tuning fork." He believes all area governments (city, town, county) must approach the State with proposed general solutions. He said "Ithaca has been terribly short- changed on arterial highways." Mr. Kasprzak said he understands the state can provide money for a traffic 5 study to communities under 50,000, if the community applies, and he would like to explore this matter further. He also stated it is contemplated that the Appalachian Thruway will go through Ithaca. He has asked Mr. Shub, assistant to N.Y. State District Engineer Towlson, and Mr. Towlson to meet with him and Mayor Kiely sometime in the near future. Mr. Reps commented that perhaps the Board should arm Mayor Kiely with schematic plans with which to approach the State. Mr. Putney commented that the N.Y. State Department of Public Works will not approve anything unless it is the consensus of the entire community. Chairman Schmidt then asked for a specific proposal. Mr. Putney proposed that the existing plans be brought out for study by the Board at the next meeting in order to decide what is needed. e. Other programs sugges-'6ed b-y Board members 1) Mr. Parkes asked about downtok'n parking. Inasmuch as private businesses can't solve the problem, he believes the city must take the initiative. The Board of Public Works has received letters from the Char!ber of Commerce and Mr. Schulman, a local businessman regarding this problem. Mr. Feldt MOVED, "that we send a short note to Frank Alo, expressing the Board's interest in downtown parking problems and ask for information resulting from his committee's deliberations." Seconded by Mr. Putney. CARRIED. 2) Chairman Schmidt asked for suggestions or opinions relative to the city purchasing land. Mr. Reps said he wasn't sure but he doubts if there is adequate statuatory authority to permit the city to accumulate land. There followed a brief discussion of "annexation"; it was pointed out that, as a result of previous study (Ithaca Fact Finding Committee) the City of Ithaca apparently believes in the policy of annexation; however, the city is not in a position to coerce the neighbors; they must apply for admission to the municipality. MISCELLANEOUS: a. Mr. Reps, co-chairman with Stewart Stein of Zoning Committee of Historic Ithaca, Inc. , read the following resolution: "WHEREAS, the City Planning Board of the City of Ithaca has determined that a comprehensive review of the city zoning ordinance is necessary leading to a proposed new ordinance to be submitted to the Common Council for its consideration, and WHEREAS :, Historic Ithaca, Inc. believes that the zoning ordinance for the City of Ithaca should include appropriate regulations protecting areas and structures having a special character or special historical or aesthetic interest or value, NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED: That Historic Ithaca, Inc. urges the City Planning Board in its zoning studies to consider at the earliest time the impact of general zoning provisions on such structures or areas and to include in its draft ordinance provisions for the establishment of historic districts, including a review board empowered to administer the regulations applicable to such districts. 6 AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: That the Zoning Committee of Historic Ithaca, Inc. be directed to offer assistance to the City Planning Board and its staff in the preparation of such regulations." Chairman Schmidt directed Mr. Reps to report back to Historic Ithaca that the resolution has been reported and received. b. Mr. Kasprzak informed the Board that he had been notified by the Civil Service secretary that Hilda Hutson, department secretary, had passed her Civil Service Examination. Mr. Reps MOVED, "that Mrs. Hutson be appointed to the position on a permanent basis." Seconded by Mr. Parkes. CARRIED. c. Mr. Kasprzak asked for permission and aid to hire employees for the department which is understaffed. He informed the Board that he had answered a letter of inquiry from the State College at Delhi, N. Y. , asking for further details concerning planning interns who would like summer employment. He also plans to investigate the possibility of using foreign students. He said there is approximately $13,000 in the present budget available for the purpose of hiring help. Mr. Feldt MOVED, "that Mr. Kasprzak be authorized to hire personnel, full- or part-time, necessary to staff the department, up to $13,000." Seconded by Mr. Reps. CARRIED. Mr. Feldt mentioned that approximately two years ago Planning Board ex- plored the possibility of providing an apprenticeship opportunity for a Cornell Planning student whereby Cornell would provide tuition stipend while the Planning Department will be responsible for payment of the living expenses. Since that time the matter has been with Cornell Administration. Mr. Reps has been requested to investigate this matter and report to the Board. d. Mr. Reps MOVED, "that the third Wednesday of each month be the official meeting date of the Planning Board. " Seconded by Mr. Putney. CARRIED. e. Mr. Kasprzak reported that he had attended a "Let's Talk" meeting, sponsored by the private citizens, at the request of Chairman Schmidt, and found it very interesting. Mr. Feldt also attended the meeting and commented that it was a good meeting. There was a discussion of the race problems in Ithaca, one of them being lack of communications, not only between races, but also between generations. Major focus was on the educational system. The next meeting of this group is scheduled for February 20, at 7:30 p.m. in St. James Church. The question was asked whether the Planning Board should participate in these meetings and Chairman Schmidt said he believes the Board should be represented. Mr. Feldt offered to attend the meetings and report back to the Board. ITEM NOT ON THE AGENDA: Regarding rezoning of land on Pier Road, Mrs. Anne Jones presented the following request from Common Council following its meeting earlier that afternoon: "RESOLVED, that the proposal to rezone the CYO property, along the southeast side of Pier Rd. , be referred back to the Planning Board with a request from 7 the Council that the Board reconsider the matter and report back to this Council, , m later than March 6, 19689 its recommendations with respect to the following items: 1. overall. land use characteristics of area north of Rt. 13, 2. Possible impact of new land use on this and nearby sites on Stewart Park, bird sanctuary, and golf course, 3. Problems of future vehicle and pedestrian access to this site and to Stewart Park across Rt. 13, 4. Cost estimates for city expense to develop this site and any proposed use, 5. Recommendations of proposed use of this site either by the city or by private developer. MEETING ADJOURNED at 10:20 p.m. --. --� :Gregory Kasprzak Planning Director 1.26.68 8 Report to the City Planning Bd. - Regular meeting Jan. 17, 1968 Activities of the Zoning Ordinance Review Committee The current Zoning Ordinance (dated June 15, 1961, amended through April, 1965) has been characterized as unclear in places, too restrictive and not restrictive enough in other places, contradictory, and difficult, in a large measure because of its ambiguities, to interpret and enforce. It is based upon a State recommended Model Ordinance. The City and its agencies, particularly the Planning Board, the Board of Zoning Appeals, and the Building Commissioner's Office, have long felt the need to review this document, clarify its irregularities, and tailor it, if possible, to the Ithaca situation. Individual Common Council members have asked for such a review with an eye toward eax ly republication of the depleted stock. In October, 1967 the Planning Board discussed a preliminary plan for the West End with the Board of Zoning Appeals. This was a first-time meeting wherein it was quickly recognized that each group could help the other to help the City make plans that had a chance of practical realization. Right after this meeting, the Planning Board endorsed the formation of a Zoning Ordinance Committee that would report to the Board, and eventually to Council. George Pfann, Bd. of Zoning Appeals, James Parkes, Planning Bd. , Murray Van Marter, Building Commissioner, and Gregory Kasprzak, City Planner, all agreed to serve. The first meeting was held on November 15, 1967. The Committee has met almost weekly, at full strength or less, ever since. These are informal discussion - luncheon meetings held in the Planning Office. The Committee has no chairman. The modus operandi has been to read the Zoning Ordinance page by page, discuss items, sometimes make notes on obvious necessary improvements, sometimes defer problematic items until later when the ordinance has been completely read and can be better grasped as a whole. (This last is a steadily growing group of items). Several new definitions, or improvements to old definitions, have been sug- gested. Several suggestions on ordinance organization_ have been made. From time to time the Committee will present some of its work-in-progress to the Planning Board and seek advice. The. task appears to be a long one. It is clear to the. Committee that a Zoning Ordinance is merely a regulative tool useful in guiding community development along lines layed down in adopted land development plans and policies. If a City can identify what it wants, a Zoning. Ordinance can be invented to help it get what it wants and then safe- guard it. It would be possible to issue a tidied up, essentially unchanged, printing of the Zoning Ordinance soon. The Committee presently favors the longer haul job of investigating the interlocking of a revised Zoning Ordinance with a General Plan for the City. The Committee is gradually working toward the imperative need to know what the City's plans are. UITY PLANNING F. Scluo adt, Aelm. 410 col ego A-fe, At`G3-,',S,9 E-1,535-6271 bs lS'P� 'n?[P v a ;i o PUC-136,9 V_Y ocv—o9'z© �3t�`i. Fro�,sa.�'�rayiL'.�',k•! '� l:.d'%,) °�5,4:d"1 27 �'•1g7r.7�3 - at'nlA :-i CParkes `.'i:iJ �i�� Wi-+*2 Mrs. Margaret Hamilton C 102 Chestnut St. AR3-4701 274-2176 272-62.46 riS lc:" J,..:. !?.�r..sF, s. .., es� tl�s.��4'a•`.13'':.sd _ i cy��.: O.al; G 2741._52 2 •AA 3 �'.�k'}s�.L'C1. ,�i-� �`'t;J:.•5Ke;a-� dbc�8 .jGba3C?.�.�. 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