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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-PDB-1977-03-24 MINUTES PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT BOARD - CITY OF ITHACA Regular Meeting, Marc.h; 24, 1977, Hall of Justice, 7:30 P.M. PRESENT: Chairperson LeGrace Benson, Rex Hildreth, Mary Crowley, Richie Moran, Ray Bordoni, Dave Fuller ALSO: Mayor E.J. Conley, Tom Hoard, H. Matthys Van Cort, Pat Carlson, Nancy Meyer, Rick McDougall, Elyse Gellerman, Will Burbank, Bickley Townsend, and others.. 1. The Chairperson convened the meeting. 2. Minutes of the February 22 meeting were approved. MOVED by Mr. Bordoni, seconded by Mr. Hildreth. 3. Chairperson's report. The Chairperson said she had attended a meeting of the Southern Tier East Regional Planning Board, and that their May meeting, as part of the Board's program to meet in various of their areas, has been invited to meet in Ithaca. 4. Special order of business: None. 5. Zoning Cases : a. Appeal 1151: Request for exemption from the building moratorium for the purpose of converting one floor of 411 South Plain Street, in an R-3 zone, into an apartment from its previous use as a church chapel. The proposed use is permitted in R-3. The staff recommended approval of the appeal since the structure is no longer wanted for church purposes. They felt the best alternate use would be as an apartment. Mr. Van Cort noted that if there were not a moratorium, the con- version would automatically be permitted. Mr. Moran MOVED that the Board recommend approval. Mr. Bordoni seconded. CARRIED unanimously. b.. Appeal 1152: Request for exemption from the building moratorium to permit the use of 107 Lake Street, in an R-2 zone, as a single-family dwelling with not more than four roomers or boarders, from its present use as single-family dwelling. The proposed use is permitted in R-2. Mr. Van Cort informed the Board that the request has been dropped. c. Appeal 1153: Request for exemption from the building moratorium for Area Variances for the purpose of converting one floor of 527 North Aurora Street, in an R-3 zone, into an apartment from its pre- vious use as a grocery store and present use as a neighborhood social center. The proposed use is permitted in R-3e The staff recommended approval, since there seemed no other reasonable use for the building. Mr. Bordoni MOVED that the Board'recommerd, approval of the request. Mr. Moran seconded. CARRIED unanimously. P & D BOARD MINUTES -2 March 24, 1977 d. Sign Appeal. 4-1-77: Request for Variance to Sign Ordinance to allow a pole sign bearing two signs totalling 49 square feet for Gulf station at Seneca and Albany, in An R-3 zone. The ordinance permits only 5 square feet in residential zones. The staff recommended disapproval, since they requested two signs where only one is .permitted, and the signs proposed would be much larger than the 5 square feet allowed in an R-3 zone. Mr. Bordoni MOVED that the Board recommend disapproval. Ms. Crowley seconded. In the discussion that followed, Mr. Fuller remarked that both the Gulf Station and its neighboring competitors would have to remove their oversized signs by 1979, when the new signage regulations go into effect. CARRIED unanimously. 6. Communications. None 7. Committee Reports. None. 8. Old Business. a. School Reorganization: Mr. Van Cort informed the Board that Common Council had met with the Board of Education, and their discussions had been deadlocked. The Board of Education claimed that schools must be closed to save money, and Common Council said that any school closures would have a profound effect on neighborhoods. The Mayor and staff met with Mr. Backer and Ms.. Stoutenberg in the Mayor's office. Mr. Backer stated unequivocably that East Hill would be closed and that others would probably follow since small schools are inefficient. He thinks elementary schools of 500-600 students are best. The Mayor noted that he had offered to in- vestigate ways of finding funds to rehabilitate East Hill School and would work with them to find joint occupancy tenants. Mr. Backer said he thought the City should put funds into converting East Hill School for a purpose other than education, and that the City should work with the School Boardto find joint occupants for the schools remaining after East Hill is closed. . The Mayor has sent a letter to Backer re-stating the City's position and his willingness to .work with the School Board to save neighborhood schools. The Mayor is making an appeal to all Board members, and has told them the City will be asking its attorney to look into the legal ramifications and will be asking parents to take an active role. In his letter to Backer, he again stated the City's request that the Board do an Environmental Impact Study of the effect on the East Hill neighborhood before it closes the school. Mr. Bordoni remarked that it was difficult for city interests to be served by the School Board when only three members of the 9- member Board were city residents. The Mayor added that the Board was trying to work the East Hill program into a magnet program at' Central School. P & D BOARD MINUTES -3 March 24, 1977 b. Zoning Study: Progress report. Ms. Townsend reported that the results of the study are in, and that the department is working with the zoning committee. They have produced a use chart and in doing so have tried to make provisions for the kinds of occupancy which are acceptable throughout the City with more flexible controls. Legislation would allow an additioial person t6. `11ve In, a single family zone if the house is owner-occupied. There are restrictions on the number of persons who can live in a unit in an R-2 zone. Definitions are more specific, in an effort to eliminate loopholes and make enforcement easier. Under the old definition of family, six unrelated persons could live in a unit in an R-2 zone, as "family" with four roomers or boarders. The . study showed that there were, in reality, no families with more than two boarders. If a family has more than two boarders, it would be classified as a multiple dwelling and fall under regulations governing cooperative dwellings. The proposed re- definition of "family" would restore the commonly understood meaning that is, persons related by blood, marriage or adoption. However, this change is proposed mainly for clarity, not to be inflexible or unduly restricitve. For example, in no case would occupancy be limited strictly to a biological family. A household of two_unrelated persons would still be permitted even in an R-1 zone, and children, if living with a parent, would not be listed in a count of unrelated persons. The prin- cipal change in R-1 zones is that two-family dwellings would be permitted if the owner lives on the premises. Mr. Van Cort said that he thought allowing more people under controlled circumstances in an R-1 zone, if it is closely supervised, would keep all the pressure from being placed on R-3 zones. Ms. Townsend said the staff recommended that R-1 zones be kept essentaially one-family, R-2 zones two-family, and that multiple dwellings be limited to R-3 zones. She noted that only 17% of all pro- perties are multiple dwellings, although 83% of the City's residences are zoned to permit multiple dwellings. In regard to lot size requirements, most City homes are built on medium or small lots. Because lots are small, it does not logically follow that multiple housing must be allowed. The study re- commends _reducing lot size requirements in many R-1 zones, such as Belle Sherman, to 6,000 sq. ft. with 50 feet of frontage and in R-2 zones, to 3,000 sq.ft. with 33 feet of frontage. Regarding parking requirements, Ms. Townsend noted that there is no clear definition of what "parking spaces provided" means. The study will recommend that parking apaces _be'provided at no, additonal charge to renters, and that unusable spaces, such as a line of spaces in a driveway, will no longer be counted. Mr. Van Cort noted that a preliminary presentation P & D BOARD MINUTES -4 March 24,1977 would be made soon to Council, since the ordinance is scheduled for adoption by June. Mr. Fuller said he had attended most of the committee meetings on zoning, and that he had been most im- pressed with the work done by the staff. He said the committee had been very productive. Ms. Benson thanked Mr. Fuller for working closely with the committee as chairman of the Code-.-and-;Ordinances Committee. She then referred the zoning study to the Code and Ordinances Committee for further study. Mr. Van Cort noted that the help of Board members would be useful, especially in their familiarity with various of the City's neighborhoods. c.. Route 96. The Mayor presented the new Department of Transportation proposal, U-7. A meeting is planned in the near future for the Route 96 Consensus Committee. Mayor Conley expressed the City's concern with possible displacement of homes and businesses, loss of tax revenue and increased traffic. He and the Planning Department have been working with the DoT to find a solution to these probelms. He said he found the U-7 proposal the least damaging of those suggested so far, but felt it,too could be improved. The plan would have little effect on the businesses lining Esty Street, where Route 96 would come into the downtown, and very little effect on nearby re- sidences. Mr. Dillon, proprietor of Old Port Harbor, has said he has no objections to this plan. The County is satisfied, as are the police and fire departments. Common Council will eventually vote on the project. The Mayor requested a recommendation to go to the Planning &Development Committee which would eventually go to Council. The Mayor and Ms. Benson met with the County Indus- trial Development Agency. Evidently, many Council members feel the Octopus is not a problem. Actually, the Octopus is running over capacity and requires police direction morning and evening, which is an unnecessary expense. Ms. Benson proposed that the Planning and Development Board act as a committee of the whole and produce a recommendation for Council. d. Shulman subdivision. The Charter and Ordinance Committee met on this with Mr Shulman, and after their discussion, recommend con- ditional approval. If the resolution is passed, the Board will advertise for a final public hearing which is required by law. Mr. Fuller MOVED the following: WHEREAS the Codes and Ordinances Committee of the Board of Planning and Development has met with Mr. Richard Shulman, a party to the proposed subdivision of land at 401-405 Third Street, and is satisfied that the intended use of the premises so created is acceptable within the terms of the zoning ordinance and appropriate to the neighborhood, and WHEREAS copies of legal instruments insuring that the property so created complies with the parking and side yard requirements of the zoning ordinance have been received from Mr. Shulman's attorney, P &D'ABOARD MINUTES -5- March 24, 1977 BE .IT RESOLVED that the Board of Planning and Development of the City of Ithaca gives Conditional Approval to the proposed subdivision, subject to Final Approval after the required Public Hearing at a subsequent meeting of the Board, AND I SO MOVE. Mr. Hildreth seconded. CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 9. New Business. Mr. Van Cort noted that the Environmental Quality Review Act has been passed by the State._ Each locality is required to pass an act of its own. The Planning & Development Department is working on this, and Council must act on it at its April meeting. Ms. Benson stated that there will be a workshop on SEQR the last day of March at NYSEG. 8. Two students from Cornell, Aziz Banayan and Barbara Gorin, presented some ideas for seasonal coverings for the Commons. They felt this would help the Commons compete with Pyramid during the winter months. During the summer, the Commons is a gathering place, but bad weather keeps shoppers away during the winter. They would like to do a study of possible covers. Ms. Benson said she would like to have their group with its engineer meet with the Community Utilities Subcommittee consisting of Messrs. Hildreth, Moran and Crowley. Mr. Banayan said the engineer would be able to calculate heat loss or gain using different types of materials for the cover. Ms. Meyer sugges- ted that this be presented to the Commons Advisory Board. Ms. Benson said this could be done after the Community Utilities Subcommittee is done with it. At 9:35 Mr. Bordoni MOVED adjournment.