HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-PDB-1976-30-23 s
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BOARD OF PLANNING & nLvvELOPMENT MINUTES
City of Lthaca
Regular Meeting March 23, 1976 7:30 P.M.
PRESENT: Chairperson .Benson, Ms.. Meyer, Messrs. . Fuller, Hildreth,.
Saggese and Stein
ALSO: Dir.' of Pl... &, Dev. H. M. Van .Cort; pep.• Bldg. Comm'r.
E. Jones; Mayor Edward J. Conley, Alderperson E Holman,
citizen James. Bilinski and members of the media.;
ABSENT: Mr. Moran
Chairperson Benson called the meeting to order, and asked for
comments on the 'minutes of the special meeting of .March 12, and
the last regular meeting of he
24. The minutes of the
February 24 meeting were .approved as read. The minutes of the
special meeting were held until later in the meeting for approval,
and were then. approved with the following correction: - Mr. Saggese,
who had erroneously been listed as absent from the meeting, was
noted as having been present
CHAIRPERSON'S REPORT
Chairperson Benson appointed Ms. Meyer liaison for East Hill and
the Tri-County Solid. Waste organization. Mr. Fuller was appointed
as liaison to South Hill , Mr. Hildreth. to" Southside, Northside and
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Elmira Road,, and Mr. . Saggese o the Fall Creek area. Ms. Benson
then offered details of the most recent Southern Tier East Regional
Planning Meeting, at which Ithaca's CD funds were given final
approval She stated that. Southern Tier, communities ;were disturbed
by a, potential drop in rail service. Conrail has been designated to
pick. up...Southern Tier. service, but i.t is likely they will not pick
up all service. . Piggyback service especially is in jeopardy.
Ithaca will be affected by the .drying up of shipping opportunities
for the entire Southern Tier. The Lehigh Valley service may be
stopped, but coal servicewill. continue. This means that industry
will be more difficultto attract to the area, and that more trucks. ..,,.
will be passing through Ithaca
As a member of the County Board of Representatives, Chairperson
Benson thinks there is a possibility of working together on trans-, . ,
portation planning- , Mr. Liguori will make a presentation to the
Board of Planning and Development . at :the next meeting with respect
to the Communities Plan. In regard to health issues, the County is ,,,
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moving ahead with plans for coo'pe ation, and a Health Alliance has
been formed to work on this.
The Chairperson also spoke of the Small Towns -Conference to be held
at Cornell April 9 and 10 and' reccmmended that .Board members attend.
DIRECTOR'S REPORT
In response to a question by Ms. M yer, the Director reported on a
request for right of way across a arcel of land between Floral and
Chestnut north of West Village. T ere is a piece of City land between
Floral Avenue and the parcel in qu stionr the owner would like right
of way .across the City's property, and wants to know if the City will
put that parcel- up for sale. The question has been referred by the
BPW to Council, and from Council t3 the Planning Board. Van Cort
said that staff work was proceedinj on this referral.
In answer to Ms. Meyer's request o last month, Director Van Cort
said that he had investigated the property at 201 Prospect Street
This property had been cleared by " HP for a parking lot which had
been' found not to be in conformanc with the Zoni:iig Ordinance
except for use by area residents. Consequently, RHP had invest -
gated the possibility of buildingousing on the site. In response
to a question by Alderperson Holman, Director Van Cort explained that
the site in question was zoned R-3 because it acted as a buffer
between the B-1 and R-2 zones which it separated. A discussion of the
zoning of South Hill followed.
ZONING
(a). Appeal 1110 by James Bilinski lor an Area Variance to allow ,
conversion of 207 Stewart Avenue t< a '2 family dwelling. The lot ._
is under the required size for the R-3 zone and has no on-site
parking.
Mr. Stein stepped down from the Bo rd for the duration of the discus-
sion of 1110, since he is personal yinvolved. The Board agreed
that it would like to see the proposed outside stairs placed some
where other than the north side of the house, as proposed,' but
acknowledged that this might not be feasible because of the interior
layout of the building. It was noted that attempts had been made
to sell the property as a one-family unit, and evidence of such
attempts was presented. Mr. Stein said that the appeal was for an
area variance rather than use. He stated that the house. is too
large for the Bilinski's and that onstruction of a second unit was
necessary in order to make it fina cially possible for them to buy
and live in the house. There are six houses across the street,
none of which has a lot as large as the lot in question. There is
no way off-street parking could be added to the property because of
the steep slope of the land up fro the street. Mr. Stein noted
that the only alternative was to co vert the building to student
occupancy. Mr. Van Cort noted that. Mr. Bilinski 's proposal would
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----_ __Work- toward the preservation of the neighborhood. Ms. Meyer agreed
that owner-occupancy is 'a boon to upkeep ofEast Mr. Saggese
MOVED that the Board recommend approval of the variance. Mr.
Hildreth seconded the motion. Motion CARRIED. Mr. Stein abstained.
(b) Appeal 1111 by H. & E. Perry for a Use Variance' to allow construe-
tion of an ,apartment at 120-140: Brindley Street in-'ah industrial zone,
which does not permit residential uses.
The appeal was made by the owner of a 24-hour wrecking service who
would like to have the business' night man live on the premises. Ms. ,
Benson noted that she did not s:ee that this was a hardship case,
and thought the night person could live close by FAthout being in the
industrial district. Other Board members were sympathetic. but agreed
that residential buildings currently in the I zone were not working
well. They felt that further residences .were not a good -idea. The
area in question is in the waterway area and borders on the,only
industrially developable land in the City. Mr. Jones pointed out that
one of the principals of the business was expecting to live on the
premises, and that that might be made a condition for granting the
variance. He noted that a small number of residences in the `area
would cut down on vandalism. Mr. Stein stated that a 24-hour resi-
dence is actually part of the business; It was noted that while it
is important to preserve the area for industrial development,
wrecker services are not welcome. in residential areas because of the
late-night noise.their work :entails'. Mr. Stein MOVED that the Board
recommend approval with the contingency that the apartment be
permitted only as an integral part of the business and restricted to-
use by an, employee -of the business. Ms'. Meyer seconded the motion.
Motion CARRIED unanimously.
(c) Appeal 1112 by Mary Leary for an interpretation- of -,the
Zoning ,Ordinance principally with respect to the definition of
'home occupation' as it applies to the current use of R=3 property
at 325 N. Albany Street.
The. lot is non-conforming in some aspects, but that has nothing to
do with the case at hand. It might be possible to have off-street
parking. It would be tight, but it could be done. , Ms. Leary
claims that the pet store is not accessory tohome use, but is
primary. The pet store actually takes up slightly more than 3/4
of the first floor. The rest of the house, consisting of a basement,
second floor and a quarter of the first floor, is residential. Ms.
'Leary argues that a pet . shop is not something that is customarily
run as a home occupation. In Ithaca there is one pet shop in a
business zone, another carried .on as a home occupation, which is
in a residential. zone, previously zoned B-4. There was some
discussion of whether the pet shop could be considered a cottage
industry, as cages are made on the preaises. Mr. Van Cort recom-
mended that the Ordinance be rewritten if no retail operations are
desired in residential_ ne_ighborh"ds. The phrase "but not limited
to" could be deleted. Mr.* Jones tated that the Planning Board was
required to make a recommendation on this case. Mr. Stein noted
that it is not up to the Planning Board to decide the legality of
the case, and that it should disc ss the planning aspects. He said
the place currently looks like a store with a sign outside and night
lighting. The Mayor stated that �r. Enders had gotten permission
for the sign and was within his 1 gal rights. Mr. Van Cort stated
that the Board of Zoning Appeals will interpret the ordinance. The
Mayor restated that the Planning oard was to decide what would 'be
in the best interests of planningand that the legalities would be
determined by the Board of Zoning IAppeals. Mr. Fuller remarked that
the lights and sign are very intrusive in the neighborhood. Ms.
Benson stated that the Planning and Development Board is concerned
with making downtown a good place to live. Ms. Meyer suggested that
the Board make recommendations to Mr. Enders on a courtesy basis
regarding his sign and lights.
Ms. Meyer MOVED that the BuildingCommission's interpretation be
supported but that restrictions be placed on occupation so that it
does not look like a commercial establishment. Mr. Saggese
seconded. Discussion followed. Mr. Stein stated he was not sure
of the definition of home occupation. Mr. Hildre.th said he feared
large animals would be a nuisance. Ms. Holman noted that when she
passed the house on a recent Sunda night, the neighbors' porch
lights were as bright as Mr. Ender "° , Chairperson Benson called
the question and the motion CARRIE There were three votes in
favor, Stein and Fuller opposed. t was suggested that particular
attention be paid to parts of the rdinance dealing with unseemly
glare. h4r. Stein will represent the Board's decision at the next
meeting of' the Board of Zoning App als.
SPECIAL ORDER OF BUSINESS
The, Chairperson proposed the following resolution, originally adopted
by the Southern Tier East Regional Planning Development Board, for
adoption by the Ithaca Board of Planning and Development. Further,
the Board would send a letter. to C mmon Council, recommending that
it adopt the resolution.
RES OLLU ION
WHEREAS, the proposed acquisition of the Erie-Lackawanna, and
the Reading Railroad by the Chessis System is critical to the
Northeast in general and New York ctate in particular, and
WHEREAS, the proposed Chessie acquisition would preserve
mainline free services to hundreds of industries as well as to
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guarantee competition to key rail centers in New York, New Jersey,
Pennsylvania, and New England, and
WHEREAS , it would protect the future industrial potential and
enhance the possibility of future economic development, and
WHEREAS, the proposed unified Con Rail System is projected to
=lose 334 million dollars in operating expenses during the first
year of operation, and
WHEREAS, the proposed Chessie acquisition will. -significantly
reduce these losses, and
WHEREAS, the above mentioned industries as' well as individual
taxpayers will be forced to absorb the losses of a government
subsidized monopoly as well as accepting inferior services.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Congress of the United
States of America is urgently and respectfully requested to
adopt appropriate legislation to assure the proposed Chessie
acquisition will be finalized, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the United 'States Secretary of
Transportation, William T. Coleman, and the United States Secretary
of Labor, W.J. Usery, Jr. , commit the influence of their good
offices to assist Congress of the United States of America, the
International Brotherhoods and the Chessie System in accomplishing
the goals of the Rail Reorganization Act as v° 11 as finalizing the
Chessie acquisition of the Erie-Lackawanna and Reading Railroads.
RESOLVED THIS TWENTY-THIRD DAY OF MARCH 1976 BY THE BOARD OF
PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT, CITY OF ITHACA.
LeGrace Benson, Chairperson
Board of Planning and Development
City of Ithaca
Ms. Benson explained that if proposed legislation were enacted, the
Con Rail system would be the only system servicing New York. The
Southern Tier East Board is asking Secretaries Usery and Coleman to
get the unions back into negotiation with the Chessie system. Loss
of Chessie would be severely detrimental to Southern Tier industry,..
many railroad jobs would be lost. Ms. Benson noted that 300
railroad employees in. Hornell alone had been given notice of pend-
ing termination.
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Mr. Stein MOVED the resolution. Meyer seconded. Discussion
followed. Mr. Fuller requested clarification of the union situation.
The Mayor explained that the Erie- ackawanna is bankrupt, and there
is a movement to get the Chessie s stem to take it over. There are
thirteen different unions involved, all but three of which have
agreed to bargain. The Erie-Lacka anna had seven terminals in this
area. Chessie''s takeover will red ce the number to two. The unions
are anxious to keep present jobs. Con Rail can relocate those whose
jobs are endangered and subsidize ahem for their loss. The Erie-
Lackawanna is a private business ad cannot do this. Takeover by
Con Rail would probably eliminate ervice from Ithaca and greatly
increase truck traffic through theIpproximately
City. The proposed addition
to .Millikan Station would require 155 trucks per day;
another 50 would be necessary to rplace current rail service. With
no rail service to Ithaca, it woult be even more difficult to attract
industry.
The motion was CARRIED unanimously,
COMMUNICATIONS: None
COMMITTEE .REPORTS: None tl
OLD BUSINESS: None G
NEW BUSINESS
Mr. Stein MOVED that the Codes and rdinances committee recommend
a revision that will clarify the part of the Zoning Ordinance
pertaining to density and lot size equirements in R-3 zones.
Ms. Meyer seconded. Motion CARRIED unanimously. It was agreed
that the chairperson of the committ e should put the question of
density on the committee 's agenda.
The Mayor asked to be brought up to date on a former proposal to
change one side of State St. to R-1 zoning. Charity Janerette has
been working .on this.
Ms. Meyer asked about' the progress f the Bikeways project. Pair.
Van Cort replied that a report on Bikeways would be made at the next.
Board meeting.
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Mr. Saggaco, c�7 catc�c3 that there shotald be someplace for Ithaca
residents to launch their boats free of charge. The State now
charges $2. 00 to launch boats and $2 . 00 to park. He noted that
before the State took over the boat launching area there was
no charge for launching.
Mr. Van Cort noted that the Waterways Study is due for completion
on June 30, but that the Planning and Development Office would be
requesting a three-month extension.
The meeting was adjourned at 9 -.40 P.M.
Respectfully submitted,
H. Platthys Van Cort
Director, Planning & Development
4.22.76
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