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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 Planning and Development Board Minutes 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. me