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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-PLED-2018-02-14 Approved at the March 14, 2018 PEDC Meeting City of Ithaca Planning & Economic Development Committee Wednesday, February 14, 2018 – 6:00 p.m. Common Council Chambers, City Hall, 108 East Green Street Minutes Committee Members Attending: Joseph (Seph) Murtagh, Chair; Cynthia Brock, Donna Fleming, Stephen Smith, and Laura Lewis Committee Members Absent: None Other Elected Officials Attending: Staff Attending: JoAnn Cornish, Director, Planning and Development Department; Lisa Nicholas, Deputy Director, Planning and Development; Megan Wilson, Senior Planner; Bryan McCracken, Historic Preservation Planner; and Deborah Grunder, Executive Assistant Others Attending: Alderperson McGonigal Chair Seph Murtagh called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. 1) Call to Order/Agenda Review There were no change made to the agenda. 2) Special Order of Business a) Public Hearing – Amendment to FY17 HUD Action Plan, Amici House, $90,960 loan to TCAction for unanticipated project expenses Alderperson Brock moved to open the public hearing; seconded by Alderperson Smith. Carried unanimously. No one was present to speak on this topic. Alderperson Smith moved to close the public hearing; seconded by Alderperson Brock. Carried unanimously. Approved at the March 14, 2018 PEDC Meeting 3) Public Comment and Response from Committee Members Theresa Alt, 206 Eddy Street, voiced her approval of the goals and accomplishments. John Barradas, 404 East Seneca Street, spoke on the Collegetown form-based zoning. He is concerned In the CR1 and the CR2 Zones especially with the front porch and pitched roofs. It makes it hard for architects. Jonathan Steel, would like to include the three properties in the map and the plan. Alderperson Brock questioned the use of the word ‘affordable’ in new development. How will we determine this? 4) Announcements, Updates, and Reports a) Chainworks Planned Unit Development – Lisa Nicholas Lisa Nicholas stated the public hearing will take place next month. She has received a number of comments which she will compile along with the comments made at the public hearing and bring that back next month. Alderperson Brock asked about the playgrounds. Alderperson McGonigal questioned the height that is being proposed. It was also his understanding that this would be a built out with some small manufacturing, but he doesn’t see it. Nicholas responded the manufacturing piece is in the Town, not the City. Lisa Nicholas will ask the developer to provide a visual document of where the buildings will be built and what they will be used for. Alderperson McGonigal further asked about the proposed 30 ft. setback. He thinks the setback and height should reflect what the comprehensive plan states. b) Parks Master Plan – Megan Wilson Megan Wilson provided an update of the plan. A completely revised draft will be available 10 days to 2 weeks before the next meeting. The explanation of how the decision of de-parking some of the existing parks will be included. None of the changes are major -- more sentence restructuring, etc. Alderperson Lewis provided an update of the neighborhood meeting for those that live along Cascadilla Creek. The Superintendent of Public Works, Michael Thorne, stated Approved at the March 14, 2018 PEDC Meeting he has had conversations with the DEC so the City can become more proactive with possible ice jams. 5) Discussion a) 2017 Planning Division Accomplishments and 2018 Work Plan JoAnn Cornish stated that the 2017 Accomplishments show how busy the Planning Department has been. She further stated that the highlighted accomplishments are those that were not already in the work plan. She pointed out that anything that is added during the year does take away from the proposed work plan. Lisa Nicholas provided a brief explanation on the Planning Board Annual Report. There are a lot of numbers. The Development Projects span a larger time line than a year. It spans from 2009 to 2017. Low to moderate income follows the HUD definition that is a range of incomes. Alderperson Brock asked whether the affordable and middle market housing will include mobile homes. JoAnn Cornish stated that we all might have to think along those lines. We need to “think out of the box.” We need to try to make as much affordable housing available to people. Alderperson McGonigal asked how we keep people in their homes. He has seen many homeowners end up selling because they cannot afford to keep them. These tend to end up being rental homes. Alderperson Brock stated that accessory apartments seem to have been going away. Chair Murtagh stated that it may seem that way, but in his opinion they haven’t gone away. b) Comprehensive Plan, Phase II – Next Steps Megan Wilson stated now that Plan Ithaca is done, Phase II is the next step. She pointed out this phase includes three thematic plans – housing strategy, a transportation plan, and the flood management plan. From the map she provided shows the different plan areas. There are neighborhood plans that have been worked on. Collegetown, Northside, and the West Hill plans have been completed. Approved at the March 14, 2018 PEDC Meeting The Waterfront and Southside are currently being worked on. Committee members were asked what should be looked at next. Alderperson Fleming suggested Plan Area 7 (the South Hill neighborhood). Both Alderperson McGonigal and Brock both agreed. The consensus of the group was to start with the South Hill neighborhood. Chair Murtagh recommended that Fall Creek and Washington be looked at together. c) Planned Unit Development – Possible Boundary Adjustment Megan Wilson stated the adjustments pertain to the CR4 zone. There are three parcels in this area that were not included in the PUD Overlay District. These were not included in this overlay district because they serve as nice transition from the different zoning. Alderperson Fleming started we need to very careful when approving this. It will impact future Councils to come. We need to have clear criteria. Alderperson McGonigal stated his concern of the Floral Avenue area being included since it is the only area in the City that allows for single family homes. JoAnn Cornish stated that development in a PUD goes through a higher scrutiny than other development that typically occurs. Chair Murtagh stated he is comfortable to adjust the PUD boundary. The PUD is a tool. It’s not a definite. Some developers may not even want to go through the process. The Council can use the underlying zoning when reviewing the PUD applications. Alderperson Smith stated he thinks a PUD would serve the City well. Alderperson Lewis stated that JoAnn’s comment about ‘looking outside the box’ holds true here as well. The consensus includes two maybes and three yes votes. This particular boundary adjustment was set to be reviewed at the February Council meeting, but JoAnn Cornish stated that this should be pulled from the March Council agenda. This will provide more time to review area and provide a new map. d) Proposed Revisions to the Landmarks Ordinance Bryan McCracken would like Council’s feedback before making a decision to the ordinance. Approved at the March 14, 2018 PEDC Meeting Alderperson Fleming asked for clarification as to what is being asked. Should the ILP C and Planning Board as well as Council hold the same role in determining the decisions made in the landmark areas of the City? She would like to see more options not just a yes or no answer. Chair Murtagh agreed. Alderperson Brock stated she too would like more options available. Alderperson Fleming would like to see more the City can do to compensate or help these property owners who make improvements, etc. JoAnn Cornish stated that both ILPC and Planning Board have stated guidelines and Council should too. Chair Murtagh stated the ILPC goes through 6) Action Items (Voting to Send on to Council) a) Historic Resource Survey Grant Application - Authorization to Apply Historic Resources Survey Grant Application – Authorization to Apply Moved by Al derperson Smith; seconded by Alderperson Lewis. Carried unanimously. WHEREAS, as a participating municipality in the Certified Local Government (CLG) program, the City of Ithaca is required to regularly update its inventory of historic resources, an activity t ypically conducted through historic resource surveys, and WHEREAS, in a recent review of the City’s CLG activities from 2013- 2016, the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) noted that the City had not applied for CLG funding to conduct a historic resource survey during the evaluation period and “strongl y encourage[d] the City to seek a CLG grant this coming grant cycle for an historic resource survey.” WHEREAS, the Cit y’s comprehensive plan, Plan Ithaca, also recommends seeking grant funding to conduct intensive-level surveys of historic resources, and WHEREAS, the Department of Planning, Building, Zoning & Development proposes to appl y to the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Certified Local Government Subgrant program for funds to engage a consultant to survey and document nineteen (19) selected historic resources adjacent to the western boundar y of the East Hill Historic District, and WHEREAS, such subgrants are available exclusively to New York State government entities that have received certification from the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation, such as the City of Ithaca, and Approved at the March 14, 2018 PEDC Meeting WHEREAS, the estimated project budget is between $8,000 and $10,000 for which the CLG Subgrant program guidelines recommend a local match of 40%, which can be a combination of in-kind, services and/or cash contributions, and WHEREAS, the Department plans to satisfy the 40% local match through in-kind contributions of City personnel professional services, and donated volunteer research work; now therefore be it RESOLVED, that the Planning and Economic Development Committee recommends to Common Council authorization of the application for a Certified Local Government Subgrant to survey and document nineteen (19) selected historic resources adjacent to the western boundar y of the East Hill Historic District along N. Aurora, E. Court, and Linn Streets. b) Amendment to FY17 HUD Action Plan, Amici House, $90,960 loan to TCAction for unanticipated project expenses Amendment to 2017 HUD Action Plan Moved by Alderperson Lewis; seconded by Alderperson Fleming. Carried unanimously. WHEREAS, the Ithaca Urban Renewal Agency (IURA) recommends approval of an amendment to the 2017 HUD Action Plan to provide $90,960 in supplemental loan assistance to Tompkins Community Action, Inc. (TCAction) for relocation assistance associated with the new Harriet Giannelis Child Care Center under construction at 661 -701 Spencer Road, and WHEREAS, the City of Ithaca (City) receives funds annually to address community development needs through the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) Entitlement program, and WHERAS, the City has contracted with the IURA to administer, implement and monitor the City’s HUD Entitlement program in compliance with all applicable regulations, and WHEREAS, the City adopts an Action Plan annually that identifies a specific list of budgeted community development activities funded from the HUD Entitlement program, and WHEREAS, a change in activity funding of more than $25,000 requires Common Council approval, and WHEREAS, the need to relocate TCAction offices during construction of the Child Care Center was unforeseen in the original project budgeting, and WHEREAS, TCAction requested IURA loan assistance to fund unforeseen relocation expenses, and WHEREAS, the IURA approved a $90,960 loan at 2.5% interest for 10 years to TCAction, and Approved at the March 14, 2018 PEDC Meeting WHEREAS, relocation assistance of administrative offices is a Type II action under the City Environmental Quality Review Ordinance, so no further environmental review of this action is required; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, that the Common Council for the City of Ithaca hereby approves the following IURA - recommended amendment to the 2017 HUD Action Plan: Project: Harriet Giannelis Child Care Center, 661-701 Spencer Road, Ithaca, NY Sponsor: Tompkins Community Action, Inc. Amount: $90,960 Description: Supplemental loan assistance for relocation assistance of administrative offices, and be it further RESOLVED, that funding shall be derived by transferring $90,960 from the IURA Community Development Revolving Loan Fund to the 2017 HUD Action Plan. 7) Action Items (Voting to Circulate) a) Planning Board – Special Permits Moved by Alderperson Fleming; seconded by Alderperson Smith. This will be circulated. Alderperson Brock asked whether it would be a good move to take it from the BZA to the Planning Board. JoAnn Cornish responded that these permits are reviewed by the Planning Board already. They talk about them at the Board meetings and provide a recommendation to the BZA. There are not many of these permits. 8) Review and Approval of Minutes a) October 2017 – Moved by Alderperson Brock; seconded by Alderperson Smith. Carried unanimously. b) January 2018 – These minutes were not ready for approval. 9) Adjournment Moved by Alderperson Smith; seconded by Alderperson Brock. Carried unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 8:25 p.m.