HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-PDB-1985-12-17 PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT BOARD
MINUTES - December 17, 1985:
PRESENT: Chair Blumenthal , S. Jackson, M. Sampson, R. Moran, B. Nichols ,
T. Cookingham. Deputy Director P. Mazzarella, Planner H. Jones.
Other interested. parties, press.
1. Call to Order- 7:30 p.m.
2. Zoning Appeals Cases There were no zoning cases to be discussed this month.
3. Public Hearing 122-24 Coddington Road/Iacovelli .
Motion was made and seconded (Moran/Sampson) to open the public
hearing for consideration of the Final Subdivision of 122-24 Coddington
Road.
Discussion Mr. Iacovelli was present to address the Board. He
presented a letter to the Board 'formally requesting approval of .his Sub
division proposal. In addition, he presented a revised site plan which
indicated addition of four more parking spaces over the required amount.
The parking layout`,was also revised to provide for a 20 foot setback
and the grading has been adjusted accordingly to allow for the additional
parking_area. Motion was made and seconded to close the public hearing.
Discussion by the Board: The Board reviewed and discussed briefly
the memo written by Jon Meigs of the Planning staff in which he indicated
that the proposed subdivision satisfies the requirements of the Subdivision
Ordinance and the specific concerns addressed by the Planning and Develop-
ment Board. Ms. Blumenthal stated that all points previously mentioned
by the Board have been corrected; parking spaces now total eight in the
revised plan.
Motion: Moran moved to grant Final Subdivision approval for 122-24
Coddington Road. , seconded by Jackson. Vote: 5-0-0. Carried.
4. Public Hearing - 617 Spencer Road/Biskup.
Motion was made .and seconded (Jackson/Sampson) to open the public
hearing regarding Final Approval of the subdivision request for 617 Spencer
Road. There was no one in the audience to address the Board; nor was the
appellant, Mr.. Biskup, present Motion was made to close the public hearing.
Discussion: Mention was `made of the legal notice in The Ithaca Journal
advertising the public hearing at tonight's Board meeting and the fact that
by this means the neighbors were made aware of tonight's discussion. Motion
was made and seconded to close the public hearing. In a letter submitted by
Mr. Biskup, he indicated. that he wishes to construct a two-family home on
the second parcel created. Mr. Mazzarella explained Mr. Biskup's proposal ..
A two-family home in this location would. be legal and the proposed parcels
seem to satisfy subdivision requirements. In a memo written to the Board
by Mr. Meigs, he indicated that the City Engineer has no special concerns
Planning and Development Board, Minutes
Dec. 17, 1985: -2-
with the proposal and he will be reviewing any building permit at the
appropriate time. Mr. Meigs recommends approval .
Motion: Jackson, seconded by Sampson, moved to recommend Final
Subdivision approval. Vote: 5-ayes, 1-abstention (Nichols) . Passed.
5. Approval of Minutes: Motion was made by Mr. Cookingham and seconded
by Mr. Nichols to approve the November 1985 Minutes as written.
Vote: 6-0-0. Carried.
6. Chairman's Report: Ms. Blumenthal referred to the topic of employment
maintenance legislation discussed at last month 's Board meeting. She
distributed a letter which she wished to send to the Mayor and members
of Council . The Board briefly discussed the letter and agreed with
its contents. In addition, Ms. Blumenthal reported that the strategic
planning process will be started in January 1986 with discussion at
the committee level in early January..
6. Ad Hoc Committee: 1986 Department Work Program. Deputy Director
Mazzarella referred to ..a draft of the work program dated Dec. 10 and
sent previously to each Board member. This draft reflected changes
that were suggested by the Ad Hoc Committee. The changes consisted
mainly in identification of the new projects for the year; indicating
those projects which are continuing tasks and those which are categorized
as on-going. In addition, the priority column was revised to make those
designations more meaningful. It was decided that those projects pre-
viously called "low priority" were not ones which could be easily
dropped should another activity arise requiring the Department's attention.
No projects could be easily set aside. Therefore, the priorities have
been changed to "medium" and "high". Additions to the work program
include Day Care and Municipal Composting (under Health and Welfare)
and under Long Range Planning was added Strategic Economic Development.
(This is the second activity in the strategic planning process which
should begin one year from now but some groundwork must begin in 1986
before work commences in 1987. )
Mr. Nichols asked if the Planning Dept. should be immediately involved
in the task of researching a new site for City Hall . Mr. Mazzarella
replied that while searching for a new DSS site, he has become familiar
with the available space and sites within the city and, therefore, much
of this research has been completed.
Mr. Nichols also stated that he believed too much time was allocated
for Six Mile Hydro. Mr. Mazzarella said that if this project took less time
than projected, Ms. Jones would be reassigned other projects as necessary;
Planning and Development Board Minutes
Dec. 17, 1985: -3-
her efforts would be shifted to other tasks such as Day Care and Economic
Development. It was noted that the Planning and Development Committee of
Council has unanimously approved this draft of the Work Program. Mr.
Jackson stated that this draft was a substantial improvement over the
prior edition. It was moved by Mr. Jackson, and seconded by Mr. Cooking
ham to approve the Work. Program for 1986 as presented. Vote: 6-0-0. Carried
8. Farmers`. Market: Mr. Jackson presented a memorandum and resolution resulting
from the _Economic Development and Transportation Committee's work in re-
searching
e-
searching a permanent site for the Ithaca Farmers ' Market. The resolution
was ratified unanimously by the Committee and is as follows:
WHEREAS, the Planning and Development Board has spent more than a year
examining potential permanent sites for the Ithaca Farmers '
Market, and
WHEREAS, in its examination of more than twenty-five sites it has sought
a site which would. serve both the interests of the farmers ' Market
and those of the City as a whole, and
WHEREAS, the Board has eliminated as not feasible all proposed downtown
sites, and
WHEREAS, the results of our investigation have led us to conclude that
there are five sites which might prove acceptable as permanent sites;
and
WHEREAS, the likelihood that the apparent difficulties and problems
with each. of the sites can be dealt with satisfactorily varies,
in our judgment, from high to medium .to low, therefore
BE IT RESOLVED that the Planning and Development Board recommends that
the highest priority be given to efforts .to design acceptable
arrangements for a permanent site for the Farmers' Market at
the location presently occupied by the City of Ithaca's Water
and Sewer Plant facilities on the lots bounded by Franklin St. ,
Lake Ave. , and Route 13, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Planning and Development Board .recommends
that if efforts to locate the Market at th.e Water and Sewer Plant
site prove unsuccessful, that priority .be given to the investi-
gation of two other possibilities: (1) the development of the
Inlet Island with the Farmers ' Market as a central component,
and (2) the integration of the Farmers ' Market site into the
Stewart Park Master Plan, and
Planning and Development Board Minutes
Dec. 17, 1985: -4-
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that if none of the above sites prove satisfactory,
that serious consideration be given to possible locations in
either Cass Park or Southwest Park, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the substance of this resolution be com-
municated to Common Council with a request that Council
approve in concept the location of the Market at the Water
and Sewer Plant site, and further, that Council accept the
priorities for further investigation recommended by this
resolution.
Mr. Jackson read into the Minutes his memorandum dated December 12, 1985:
"The resolution being presented to the Board at its December
meeting is one of the results of a. process that has taken more than a
year. Much more still remains to be done before a permanent site
is finalized; however, I believe that this resolutionrepresents
substantial progress. We have narrowed the field to five sites;
we have established clear priorities in terms of which sites should
be examined first, second, and third. Most importantly, we have
concluded that the Water and Sewer Plant site offers the real poss-
ibility of accommodating the Farmers ' Market permanent home in a
commercially viable, easily accessible and socially attractive environ-
ment. Further, from the City's point of view, the use of this site for
a Farmers' Market seems very appropriate for a location which combines
ready access to Route 13 with immediate contact with a residential
neighborhood. Having this site developed as a Farmers ' Market would
clearly do more to preserve and enhance the Northside Neighborhood
than would, for example, the development of commercial or industrial
activity there.
There are two aspects of the search process which I would like
to clarify. First, I want to explain why there are no downtown sites
in our list of five possible sites, Second, I would like to explain
why the Water and Sewer Plant site has only surfaced at the last minute.
All of us involved in the search for a permanent home for the
Farmers' Market were anxious to find a downtown possibility, near the
Commons. Some would have immediately favored such a site; some would
have liked to at least compare its advantages and disadvantages to other
possibilities. After substantial investigation, it became clear that the
only two possibilities were the top of the Green St. ramp and the Wool-
worth's parking lots. The Farmers ' Market and two experts from the
New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets agreed that the
Planning and Devel.opment Board Minutes
Dec. 17, 1985: -5-
top of the Green St. ramp would not be a commercially successful
location for the Market. This led us to reject the ramp and focus
on the Woolworth 's parking lot as the leading downtown possibility.
For the Woolworth 's parking lot to work as a site, there
would have to be at present sufficient excess parking capacity in
the Woolworth's lot and the Green St. ramp combined to allow the
Market to displace 100 to 150 spaces , and then allow for 250 or more
customer parking spaces. A parking count of these two areas on
Saturday, Sept. 28th, revealed a total of about 250 free spaces by
late morning. Hence, we were forced to conclude that there is in-
sufficient space downtown for either the Woolworth 's lot or the
Green St. ramp to .be used as a permanent site for the Farmers ' Market.
Throughout the process, the Economic Development and Trans-
portation Committee has sought to keep the Board and the public
fully informed of our activities. At the same time, we have attempted
to keep our minds and ears open to new information about sites which
had already been considered and rejected and those which had not been
considered previously. We had not previously considered the Water
and Sewer Plant site because we had no reason to believe that a major
portion of that site would be available for a Farmers " Market. However,
in the past month, discussions within the Department of Public Works
have clarified the intention of the Department to consolidate its Water
and Sewer facilities onto the lot bounded by First, Second, Franklin,
and Adams Streets. The site we propose for the Farmers ' Market will
be without an intended use by the DPW once the new Water Treatment
facilities have been completed, with the exception of one building
on the triangular parcel bounded by Franklin St. , First St. , and Route
13. That one building, 200' x 3.6` , is used for cold storage, and if
that building is used for some other purpose then .a new building will
have to be provided to replace that,function. With that understanding,
we undertook initial investigation of the site, followed. by some more
detailed analysis, which has led us to the conclusion that this is the
most promising of the potential sites.
This will not end the process, If the Board concurs in the
Committee's recommendation, as presented in the enclosed resolution,
and if Common Council agrees in concept to the proposed site, then in
January this Board will begin working with. the Farmers ' Market and other
city agencies to see if a mutually acceptable arrangement can be designed
for this site.
Ms. Jones gave a .description and explanation of the proposed site,
There are some existing structures which could be `adopted for Market use.
By using the adjacent on-street parking spaces there would be adequate park-
ing for customers and vendors. The Northside Civic Assocation, through their
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Dec. 17, 1985: -6-
president, has indicated that they are in favor of the Market at this
location and would lend their support.
Ms. Anna Steinkraus, President of the Board of Directors of
the Farmers' Market, was present and read the following resolution
to the Board:
BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED that the Ithaca Farmers ' Market Board thinks
that the area presently occupied by the Ithaca City Water
and Sewer Plant is acceptable for consideration as a possible
Ithaca Farmers ' Market site.
The Ithaca Farmers ' Market Board wishes to study, with the City,
the feasibility of developing this site.
Approved by IFM Board
December 12, 1985
Ms. Steinkraus said the IFM Board members would visit the site
together early next week. It was mentioned that the City Engineer
indicated that the site would be available for Market use by the summer
of 1987. Mr. Sampson stated that this location for the Market would
attract other businesses into the area. The Taynton property nearby
has been sold and will be turned into a mini-mall . This, too, will
generate traffic for the Market. Mr. Jackson said he would like to
call for a public hearing regarding this site some time in January 1986.
Mr. Cookingham ,suggested preparing a schematic in order to give a visual
concept to the public. Discussion followed ,in which it was decided that
it might be premature to suggest a scheme; it may be better to first
request ideas from the public. The Committee, however, agreed to explore
visual representations. Mr. Nichols , seconded by Mr. Sampson, moved to
approve the resolution as .presented by the Economic Development and
Transportation Committee. Vote: 6-0-0. Carried.
Further discussion followed regarding calling for a public hearing
co-sponsored by the Planning and Development Committee in January 1986.
Motion. was made by Jackson, seconded by Moran, to call for a public
hearing in January 1986. Discussion followed and the motion was amended
to call for a public hearing to discuss... the:Water an.d..Pl ant zsi to as.z.a perm
anent home for the IFM "as soon as reasonably possible". Vote: 6-0-0. Carried.
9. Liaison Report: Mr. Nichols reported that the BPW believes the Water and
Sewer site is a good location for a permanent home for the Ithaca Farmers '
Market and they will work towards resolving any problems relating to this
use.
10. Adjournment: 9:15 p.m.
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