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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-PDB-1979-12-18 MINUTES PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT BOARD December 18, 1979 PRESENT: Chairperson Stuart Stein, Rich Moran, John MacInnes, Sue Cummings, Ray Bordoni ALSO PRESENT: Planning Director Thys 'Van Cort, Building Commissioner Tom Hoard, Kathe Evans, Stuart Slosbee, David Halpern, Elizabeth Yanoff, Mack Travis, Norman Daley, John Novarr, Carol Cassky, Guy Natali 1 . The meeting was called to order at 7:42 p.m. by Chairman Stein. Four members were present, Mr. Moran arrived shortly after.. 2. Chairman Stein requested approval of the September 4th minutes, which had been deferred from last month's meeting at his request, and the November 28 minutes, On motion by Mr, MacInnes, seconded by Mr. Moran, the minutes of the September 4 and November 28 minutes were unanimously approved. The Board decided: to defer approval of the November 1 minutes, which had just been passed out to them, until the next meeting. 3. Special Order of Business: None' 4. Chairperson's Report: None 5. ZONING APPEALS: Of the four cases before the Board, only one, the Alpha Epsilon Pi Appeal , deferred from last month's meeting was on the Agenda. The other Appeals came to the Board after the Agenda had been sent out. The 319 Hil.lview Place Appeal was postponed until next Tnonth at the request of the applicant, who had had an accident in the family. SIGN APPEAL 11-2-79: Appeal .of Alpha Epsilon Pi , located at 140 Thurston Avenue, for variance under Section '34.5 signs in a residential district) of the Sign Ordinance to permit retention of the existing sign in an R-U district in which such. signs are not permitted. Continuation of Appeal . This appeal was deferred at the November 28 meeting in order to permit clarification of the application of the sign ordinance to university-owned vs. private fraternities/ sororities, and related questions. This matter, had been referred to the Codes and Ordinances Committee of the Board, chaired by John MacInnes. A memorandum en-- titled Committee- Report on 'F'rat Signs (Sign Appeal 11-2>79), dated December 17, 1979 was rep teor dot committee to the Board. It stated the following: "The City Attorney advises that the status of the City Sign Ordinance vis-a-vis - college fraternities is as follows: 1 The City has jurisdiction over any fraternity or sorority,_ regardless of what organization or school owns the property. P & D Board Minutes December 18, 1979 Page 2 2. The attorney agrees with the Building Commissioner's reading of the City Ordinance, applying section 34,5.A,5, which deals with 'social clubs or societies. " This reading would allow any fraternity a full 25 sq. ft. of signage in a residential zone. Therefore, the Committee recommends that the Board 1 , Agree with the Building Commissioner's interpretation of the ordinance and his subsequent dismissal of the citations to. Phi Kappa Sigma and Phi Delta Theta, and recommend the B.Z.A. also agree to thus application of the ordinance. 2. Recommend that the B.Z.A. deny the appeal of Alpha Epsilon Pi , and require a sign 25 sq. ft, or less, " A brief discussion followed in which Ms. Cummings inquired if the first point on the Committee's memo meant that other Cornell fraternities and sororities would make similar requests. Chairman Stein responded that he thought this would, in deed,. be the case, and that that had apparently been the City Attorney's reading. The floor was then opened for the public. Stuart Slosbee, President of AEPi , spoke in favor of granting the variance. He asserted that the sign in question can only be seen by persons coming up from Barton Place and that the sign is useful to the fraternity in providing directions for delivery trucks. He went on to note that the sign is the fraternity's symbol to be displayed with pride and that the fraternity should have its` logo as everyone else does. David Halpern, former President of AEPi reiterated Mr. Slosbee's points and further noted that exceptions have been given to fraternity signs that were not visible from public streets. . Mr. Halpern stated that there had been no complaints about the sign and, furthermore, if the sign were obtrusive, it would not have taken a year for it to be noticed, Chairman Stein clarified the definition of "public" stating that the term public right7.of way pertains to ownership, not use, A discussion over the "difficulties" and "financial hardship" that would be incurred by removing the sign was concluded when Mr. Stein asserted that such technical questions were matters for the BZA. A slide of the sign was shown to the Board members by Building Commissioner Hoard. Mr, Van Cort reported that planning staff concurred with the recommendation of the committee Chairman Stein requested a motion. Ms. Cummings, stating that the action taken in this case would set a precedent for other fraternities, made a motion to recommend DENIAL of the variance. Mr. MacI-nnes seconded. The vote was a 2-2 tie. Ms. Cummings and Mr. Maclnnes in favor; Messrs. Moran and Bordoni opposed, Chairman Stein broke the tie and voted in favor of the motion, passing it by a 3-2 vote, He then thanked the AEPi representatives and commended them on their efforts. APPEAL 1288: Appeal of Guy J. and Mary E. Natali for. a Use Variance to allow them to continue to rent property at 517 North Cayuga Street to the Ithaca Foreign Car Service fora small automobile tune-up shop that has been there since 1974. No new use of the lot is contemplated. • P & D Board Minutes December 18, 1979 Page 3 The appellant, together with current site tenant, Bruno Mazzen of the Ithaca Foreign Car Service, was represented by Attorney Elizabeth Yanoff, The Natali 's had been granted a two-year variance for the tune-up shop in 1974, which had expired in 1976. Such variances are usually given "in perpetuity". This limited variance had been granted. with a stipulation that the premises be kept free of debris and not be "detrimental " to the neighborhood. A petition in favor of granting a continuation of the variance was submitted for the Board's perusal by 11 people living in close proximity to the shop, including residents of North Cayuga, Marshall , and Utica Streets. It read as follows: "The undersigned do hereby petition the Board of Zoning Appeals of the City of Ithaca, New York, to allow the property at the southeast corner of N,. Cayuga and E, Marshall Streets, known as 517-519 N. Cayuga St, , Ithaca, New York, to be used as a repair garage for minor repairs to automobiles." Attorney Yanoff noted that one of the signers ' has a livingroom overlooking the garage parking lot, Ms. Tanoff also submitted a, photograph of the block showing one car parked in the shop's. lotp The point was made that the repair/tune-up shop represented a far less disruptive impact on the neighborhood than the Arco has Station that had been located there previously, and was less disruptive to the neighborhood than some things which the ordinance would allow. Mr.. Natali reported that there had been two complaints by alterpersons from the 2nd and 5th wards, including Board member Ray Bordoni . Since the wards were re-apportioned, Marshall St. has become a dividing line between the 2nd and 5th wards. Most of the complaints in that area are still directed first to Mr. Bordoni . The com- plaints centered around shop customers .r cars being parked on the street, and cars in various stages of disassembly on the of The problem had since been alleviated by the renting of a storage space. Mr. Bordoni stated he now had no objections to the shop, Mr. Natali, in response to a question from Ms, Cummings, stated that the parking lot had room for up to 14 cars, The average number of cars served daily was eight, Mr, Bordoni , seconded by Mr. 'Moran, MOVED to approve the variance with the stipu- lation that the property be maintained and that there be no vehicular storage except for those vehicles being repaired. Chairman Stein, 'expressing concern with problems of enforcement, offered a "friendly" amendment to the motion that there be a time limit of one year in the variance in order to insure that the property was kept up. Bordoni and Moran accepted the amendment. However, dis- cussion then followed as to whether placing a one-.year limitation on the variance would, indeed, be the most effective vehicle for enforcement. Mr, Bordoni made the point that the condi'ti'on of the site might be "let slide" in the summer and then straightened up again as appeal time drew near. The upshot of the discussion was the Mr. Stein withdrew his suggested amendment, The original motion was then put back on the floor with the understanding that when the recommendation for approval was made to the BZA that there be specific wording requiring proper maintenance of the property and that on-lot storage be restricted to the cars undergoing repairs. -Motion PASSED unanimously. P & D Board Minutes December 18, 1979 Page 4 APPEAL 1290; This application is for an Area Variance at 105-107 N, Quarry St„ a 5-.unit apartment house, The side yard is deficient by one foot, and the total area is deficient by 245 SF or 8% of the required 8700 SF. Appellant Mack Travis of 1651 Taughannock Blvd, , Trumansburg; business address: 111 S. Cayuga St. , plans to rebuild the burned out third story of the building, which he recently acquired and add two bedrooms to each side of the house. Photos of the building were shown to Board members. Chairman Stein then accepted public comment. Appellant Mack Travis spoke first, explaining his plans for rennovation of the burned out third floor section and dividing up triple-sized bedrooms on each side of the third floor to allow for three additional occupants, He submitted a floor plan for the third floor, and stated that his chosen roof design was "Gambrel ," He maintained that the architectural style of the building would be in keeping with, the rest of the neighborhood. Mr, Stein asked for questions from the Board. Ms. Cummings requested a roof plan. Travis did not have that fully drawn up as yet. The question of floor space came up, 80 SF is required for a single room; 120 SF for a double, Mr. Bordoni inquired about parking spaces, Mr, Travis replied that 7 spaces would be provided, which meets- the legal requirements, 'Buildi'ng neighbor, Mr, Norman Daley, spoke in opposi- tion to the granting of the variance. His main concern was the parking situation. It is already extremely difficult for Quarry St. residents to find parking spaces now; additional occupancy in the Travis apartment house will only aggravate the situation, Mr, Daley also complained about the noise, claiming he can hear the '1words of songs" being played, He -made the point that there exists "divergent alms" between those who actually resided in a neighborhood and those who owned rental properties, and summed up by asserting that additions to the student, occupied building at 105-107 N, Quarry "adds nothing to the character of the neighborhood, " After Daley spoke, Travis was asked if there would be more tenants than there were before the fire, and, if so, how many, He replied that the number of occupants would increase from 12 to 15. This will not increase the "density" since the rooms being converted are already triple-sized. John Novarr of 202 Eddy St. (a block above the building in question) commented on the generally good quality of Travis' rennovation of an Eddy St. building, excepting the roof. However, he reiterated Mr, Daley's- concern about the parking situation, and for that reason, also spoke in opposition to the granting of the variance. Carol Cassky of 21 N, Quarry St, also spoke in opposition, saying that the former resi- dents of the home she now occupies had had some extremely unpleasant debris thrown into their yard from the student-occupied buildings, She finished by asserting that "if there's a one foot deficiency, that's a very crucial one foot". Following the public comment, Mr. Stein asked Mr. Van Cort for the recommendation of the planning staff, Mr. Van Cort replied that staff had had some concerns about density, but since this variance doesn't change the density, staff really couldn't comment, Mr, Van Cort stated that 'staff recommends approval of the variance with the condition that the roof design, about which staff has some concerns, be changed to be more on line with the rest of Collegetown. Ms. Cummings suggested that the Board recommend the BZA delay action on the Travis appeal until there are final architectural drawings and specifications. Chairman Stein responded with concerns that should the Board require such additional design work, which would increase Appellant's financial investment, before making a decision, the Board would almost be under obligation to approve the plans. Ms., Cummings stated that the density P & D Board Minutes December 18, 1979 Page 5 question was as yet unresolved for her, Mr. Van Cort responded that a variance, if approved, can include an absolute restriction on the number of persons to a room, Chairman Stein commented that there would still be enforcement problems. Ms.. Cummings MOVED to recommend DENIAL of the variance, expressing concern about increasing density and the problems of maintaining residential quality in our neighborhoods for the people who make their homes there. Mr. MacInnes seconded the motion, Motion PASSED unanimously, 6. Communications. Chairman Stein asked if there was any communications from staff, Mr. Van Cort replied that there was none, Mr. Stein then announced that he was moving the Committee Reports back in the agenda so the Board could first hear a report from Kathe Evans of Community Development, Ms. Evans announced that she had come to request consideration by the Board and its subcommittee of issues related to the building of Senior Citizen Housing and a Senior Citizen Center._ She displayed a report entitled "Housing .for Elders In Tompkins County, A Call to Action", dated October, 1979, and prepared by the Tompkins County Senior Citizens Council , Ms, Evans stated that copies of the report woulU be made available to interested Board members. The Senior Citizen Council 's findings indicated that 230 units of elderly housing would be needed in the first year, 1980, and 40 units per year after that until 2000. Mr. Bordoni asked what points the Board should consider. Ms. Evans replied that the Council was seeking guidance on that of the critical interrelationship between housing sites and the Senior Citizen's Center. There are two; one is that new Senior Citizen housing should be close to the downtown Senior Citizen Center and the Commons so that bothare accessible to seniors, enabling them to participate in the community, The other possibility is that of the con- struction of new Senior Citizen housing; that there might be built into the complex a new program and office space for the Senior Citizen's Center, The matter was referred to the Housing and Neighborhood Conservation Committee. Mr. Van Cort further suggested that the Committee consider both the needs of the elderly and how they relate to the neighborhood and, conversely, the impact of a large new development on the neighborhood where the building might be located Ms. Evans mentioned that developers have suggested both mixed elderly and family housing, and a large project exclusively for the elderly. 7. Committee Reports: Neighborhood Development and Housing: No formal report. Chairperson Mary Crowley was not present at the Board meeting. It was reported that the group had discussed the proposed Rte, 13 highway and whether it would have any impact on the City of Ithaca, but had no conclusion or recommendations, Codes & Ordinances: Chairperson John MacInnes reported on the work of his committee in coming up with a form to be included as part of the appeal notification process. The form is entitled "Notice of Appeal Regarding Zoning or Sign Ordinances, City of Ithaca, N.Y.. " There was a brief discussion regard- ing whether such a form could be `regoired without changing the zoning law, P & D Board Minutes December 18, 1979 P ,Page 6 Ms. Cummings, incorporating these concerns, MOVED that the Board accept the recommendation and request that the Building Commissioner make use of the form in his work. Mr. Mac nnces seconded. The motion PASSED unanimously. Mr. Van Cort stated that he believed the word "recommend" in the form be under- lined so that people would understand that the role of the Planning Board in zoning cases was only to make recommendations to the BZA, which has the final decision in such cases. 8. Old Business; None 9. New Business: Chairperson Stein brought up the fact that Mr. Van Cort was serving as the Director of the TURA and was therefore sharing time between that and his duties as Planning Director, At his request, Mr. Van Cort provided in- formation on his duties for the benefit of the Board, The appointment of Mr, Van Cort as Director of the IURA is not yet official ; a situation which Chairman Stein wanted the Board to be aware of, adding that he was not suggesting that there were any serious implications„ 10, Miscellaneous: Mr, Van Cort introduced the recently hired Planner II , Herman Sieverding, emphasizing that the Planning Department had conducted an extensive search for the best qualified person, and was satisfied that it had made the best choice,. The issue of Rte, 13 was briefly discussed at the request of Mr. Bordoni . Chairperson Stein displayed a map of the routes and explained them to the other Board members, Chairperson Stein, who sits on other committees involved with the issue, stated that he is not convinced that there would be a significant impact on the City, but that further study was indicated, Ms. Cummings stated that she thought the new highway might encourage residential movement out of the City, 11 . The meeting adjourned at 9:47 p,m. BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS DECISIONS Meeting of December 3, 1979 APPEAL 11-2-79: Alpha Epsilon Pi , 140 Thurston, Avenue, Defer action as requested by the P tinning Board so that Ordinance may be clarifiedc Vote; 5 Yes; 0 No 1 absent, APPEAL 12-1-79 Bool 's Flower Shop, 209 North Aurora Street. Grant sign variance because sign has' een` designated historic; sign dates to 1937 and would not adversely affect the character of the commercial neighborhood, Vote; 4 Yes; 0 No; 1 Abstention- .1. Absent, APPEAL 12-2-19': Fanny Farmer's Candy Store, 109 East State Street, Grant sign variance because sign has' been designated historic; has been in existence for 40 years and would not adversely affect the character of the commercial neighborhood, Vote: 4 Yes-, 0 No; 1 Abstention; 1 Absent, APPEAL 1287; 108 Elston Place, Grant area variance because there is adequate off street parking; property is on a private street, set back substantially from the nearest public street; addition of a small onebedroom studio apt. should not have a significant effect on neighborhood; no complaints from neighbors; relatively isolated location, Vote; 5 Yes; 0 No; 1 Absent,