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,