HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-PLED-2018-06-13Approved at the
July 11, 2018 PEDC Meeting
City of Ithaca
Planning & Economic Development Committee
Wednesday, June 13, 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: Alderperson Nguyen, and Mayor Svante Myrick
(6:25 p.m.)
Staff Attending: JoAnn Cornish, Director, Planning and
Development Department; Lisa Nicholas,
Deputy Director, Planning and Development
Department; Jennifer Kusznir, Senior Planner;
Nels Bohn, Director, Ithaca Urban Renewal
Agency; and Deborah Grunder, Executive
Assistant
Others Attending: Ari Lavine, City Attorney; Tom Parsons,
Ithaca Fire Chief, Michael Thorne,
Superintendent of Public Works; and Mike
Niechwiadowicz, Director of Code
Enforcement.
Chair Seph Murtagh called the meeting to order at 6:04 p.m.
1) Call to Order/Agenda Review
No changes were made to the agenda.
2) Special Order of Business
There was no special order of business to report.
3) Public Comment
Theresa Alt, 206 Eddy Street, spoke on affordable housing in the CIITAP program. 10
percent is not enough. Use inclusionary zoning and 20 percent everywhere. 50
percent if the City owns the land.
Approved at the
July 11, 2018 PEDC Meeting
William Reed, representing David Lubin and the Harold Square project, is now part of
the closing on the playground. He questioned the fee charged to the project of $5,000
to purchase the playground so that the building can be built and risks are managed.
No Council members had comments to the public comments made.
4) Announcements, Updates, and Reports
No announcements, updates, or reports were provided.
5) Action Items (Voting to Send onto Council)
a) Commons Playground
Chair Murtagh explained why this topic has come to this committee. It was discussed
at the June Common Council meeting then referred to the Planning Committee to
discuss further.
Alderperson Nguyen explained. The developers have stated that the project will be
complete and the playground open in March 2019.
People wonder why the playground has to be closed. A construction site is
dangerous. If people can walk near the construction site, why is that any different to
children playing on the playground? The children stay longer and are smaller than
those passing through the area.
Mayor Myrick joined the meeting at 6:25 p.m.
Mike Niechwiadowicz stated that if it were up to him to make the decision, he would
not reopen it. There are times that it is more risky than others. The answer to why is
it okay for people to walk by and not allowing the children to play on the playground is
the fact that a child is more apt to be injured than an adult.
Niechwiadowicz continued stating that a building that isn’t completely closed is a risk.
Can a box be built around the playground? To do that there would be a number of
codes that need to be met. Anything done would have to be engineered and would be
costly and time consuming.
Alderperson Brock stated that there are definitely areas that she is completely in
agreement with staff recommendations to close the playground. We recognize we
want to keep anyone safe. There’s no question that safety is the upmost goal. W e
shut down roads, etc. when necessary. This shouldn’t be handled any different.
She agrees that the impact on a small person is much greater than an adult.
Approved at the
July 11, 2018 PEDC Meeting
Alderperson Fleming stated she’s very shocked or surprised that Ithaca isn’t as
resilient as she thought. It’s really hard for her to believe that many people are not
visiting the commons because their children cannot play on the playground.
Alderperson Lewis agrees with Alderperson Fleming. She does think that there is an
economic impact due to the closure. She has heard that the mobile playground is
geared more to toddler children. She thinks that the developer should be paying a fee
for the use of Commons space that is not available to the public. She suggests
opening in the fall months.
Mike Niechwiadowicz stated that the work being done right now is the risky part.
Alderperson Lewis asked whether the timetable could be altered some. Alderperson
Fleming asked whether a permit fee is being charged. Michael Thorne
stated that will be happening.
It was the consensus of the group that the developer pay the fee.
Alderpersons Brock and Fleming both agree that they would never vote against senior
staff as they are the experts.
Alderperson Nguyen stated that after hearing that the playground will only be closed
for one summer he feels better about the closure.
Alderperson Lewis would prefer using spring 2019 rather than March 2019.
This resolution provided in the packet was not moved.
Authorization for the Re-Opening of the Commons Playground – Resolution
WHEREAS, the Commons playground has been closed for a number of months due
to the ongoing construction of the Harold Square development site; and
WHEREAS, the Commons playground is a valued public asset, creating a social
meeting place for parents of young children in the core of our community; and
WHEREAS, the playground also creates tremendous economic value throughout
downtown, drawing families downtown to dine and shop, including at child-themed
businesses in close proximity to the playground; and
WHEREAS, building regulations require that an overhead protection zone be
established in the area that is most likely to be impacted in the unlikely event that an
object is dropped during active construction from activities overhead; and
WHEREAS, that overhead protection zone includes none of the main playground
structure, and only a small portion of the west edge of the playground, approximately
ending at the silver sphere; and
Approved at the
July 11, 2018 PEDC Meeting
WHEREAS, Consumer Product Safety Commission guidelines 5.3.9-10 in the Public
Playground Safety Handbook recommend, but do not require, an access zone around
playground equipment, which zone (as applied to the main playground structure) may
overlap with the overhead protection zone by a small amount, and may therefore, in
the discretion of staff, be kept open to the public, which decision would require the
installation of a single piece of staging to provide overhead protection in this small
area; and
WHEREAS, the majority of the construction process of the Harold Square
development should pose no risk of harm to children playing on the adjacent
playground, outside the code-specified overhead-protection zone, examples of such
portions of the process including working in the ground, working on the rear tower
section and not on the front, or working within the interior of the building while the
façade is mostly enclosed; now, therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the Superintendent of Public Works, the Director of Planning, the
Director of Engineering, and the Director of Code Enforcement, are hereby directed to
take all necessary actions—including revocation or amendment of permits necessary
to the same—to effectuate no later than June 15, 2018 the reopening of, at a
minimum, that portion of the playground not encompassed by the required overhead
protection zone, subject to the remainder of this Resolution and not inconsistent with
legal or regulatory requirements; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That the entire playground may be or remain closed by the developer or
its contractors or agents, pursuant to appropriate permitting, only on such day(s) as
one of or more of the following types of work is being actively performed on each
such day:
1. Erection of the structural frame on the Commons façade.
2. Substantial exterior work to close in the Commons façade.
3. Substantial exterior work to install finishes on the Commons façade; and, be it
further
RESOLVED, That for purposes of this resolution, substantial exterior work shall be
defined as work performed from the exterior of the building involving personnel or
material lifts with a minimum duration of four hours during any one work day; and, be
it further
RESOLVED, That such days of closure shall not include any weekends or holidays
unless the scheduling of said work on a weekend or holiday is, in addition to
satisfying the above criteria, approved by the Director of Code Enforcement as
reasonably necessary to progressing the development of the Harold Square project
site.
Approved at the
July 11, 2018 PEDC Meeting
b) CIITAP Boundary Expansion and Affordable Housing Requirement
Chair Murtagh read into the record the memo provided by Teresa Halpert
Deschanes which is attached to these minutes.
Alderperson Fleming asked for an answer to this memo. Nels Bohn provided
the answer.
Alderperson Nguyen stated that he is incredibly weary of provided incentives
for affordable housing.
Mayor Myrick provided information on a similar program in CIITAP in
Portland, Oregon.
Alderperson Fleming stated that she feels that this 10% should be paid by all
across the board not just the developers.
Mayor Svante Myrick left the meeting at 7:50 p.m.
Draft Resolution—Expansion of the CIITAP Boundaries
and Mandatory Inclusion of Affordable Housing
Moved by Alderperson Smith; seconded by Alderperson
Lewis. Carried 4-1 (Brock)
Alderperson Brock expressed the view that tax abatements should be merit based, limited to projects
and aspects of projects that the City seeks to incentivize rather than applying to the entire project as a whole, and
not based on locations on a map. She requested that the tax abatement for affordable housing be limited to the
housing component of the development. She moved the inclusion of the following into the 2nd resolved:
The affordable units shall be mixed with, and not segregated in any way from, market-
rate units.
No phasing plan shall provide that the affordable units are the last built in the
development.
The exterior and interior appearance of affordable units shall be made similar to
market-rate units by the provision of building materials and finishes substantially the
same in type and quality.
The floor area of a typical affordable units must be no less than 80% of the floor area of
a typical market-rate unit of the same type."
This motion was seconded, and approved, but I don't recall who seconded.
moved to add the required language she sent via email
earlier today. Her edits will be included in the
resolution that will be discussed at the July 5, 2018 meeting.
Approved at the
July 11, 2018 PEDC Meeting
1. WHEREAS, On July 5, 2000, the Common Council
unanimously requested that the Tompkins County
Industrial Development Agency (“IDA”) undertake a
program to provide financial incentives for development
of multi-story buildings within a density target area
encompassing the downtown Central Business District,
the West State Street corridor, the West End, and
Inlet Island, the program was in effect for
5 years and delivered incentives to 6 projects, and
2. WHEREAS, in 2006, the City endorsed the continuation of
an IDA program of local tax abatements as a tool for
encouraging appropriate real estate and business
investment in the urban core of the city; and
further requested the IDA establish the Community
Investment Incentive Program (CIIP) ― through which,
projects would be reviewed by the community and
evaluated by Common Council, and (if endorsed by Common
Council) proposed for recommendation by the Mayor to the
IDA as eligible for tax abatements, and
3. WHEREAS, the CIIP program was in effect from 2006-2012
and delivered incentives to one project, and
4. WHEREAS, in 2012, the City voted to simplify the
CIIP program, remove the checklist of requirements and
created the Community Investment Incentive Tax
Abatement Program (CIITAP) which provides financial
incentives based on a size, a location, and a density
requirement, and
5. WHEREAS, the CIITAP delivered incentives to 5
projects between 2012-2015, and
6. WHEREAS, in 2015 the City amended the CIITAP program
to add living wage, local labor, and diversity
requirements, and the amended CIITAP delivered
incentives to two additional projects between 2016-2017,
and
7. WHEREAS, in November of 2015, the Planning and Economic
Development Committee of the Common Council directed
Planning Staff to begin working on a waterfront
development plan as a part of phase two of the
Comprehensive Plan, and
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July 11, 2018 PEDC Meeting
8. WHEREAS, in order to develop recommendations for the
plan and for the zoning, the City established a
waterfront working group made up of 17 members of the
public and City Planning Staff, and
9. WHEREAS, the Waterfront Working Group drafted new
zoning for the waterfront area that encouraged mixed
commercial and residential development, and
10. WHEREAS, the Waterfront Working Group also
recommended that the City consider expanding the
boundaries of the CIITAP to include the waterfront
area as an incentive to encourage new development in
this area, and further recommended that the City
consider adding an affordable housing requirement for
any new residential projects, and
11. WHEREAS, staff has reviewed the recommendation to expand the boundaries of the CIITAP and prepared map of a proposed expanded City of Ithaca Density District to include appropriate locations in the waterfront area, and
12. WHEREAS, in order loss in
potential revenues
affordable housing,
providing
that the
CIITAP provide additional tax incentives for projects
that include affordable housing, therefore, be it now
1. RESOLVED, that the City of Ithaca Common
Council understands that the City’s Community
Incentive Investment Tax Abatement Program
continues to be a vital tool to encourage
density in targeted development areas of the City,
and be it further
2. RESOLVED, that the City hereby expands the
Community Investment Incentive Tax Abatement
Program to have a requirement that in order to
receive City endorsement any project including 10
or more rental residential dwelling units must meet
the following requirements:
Must have a minimum of 10% of their housing
units be affordable to households earning up to
75% of the Area Median Income (AMI)
The percentage of affordable units of
various sizes should be the same percentage of
units of each size for the entire project
Developer must agree that affordable units
Approved at the
July 11, 2018 PEDC Meeting
will only be rented to households earning no
more than 80% of AMI for at least a 30-year
period, and be it further
3. RESOLVED, that the City of Ithaca does hereby
request the continuation of the IDA’s density
incentive program and requests that the boundaries
of the Density District be expanded to include the
waterfront areas, as shown on the map entitled
Expanded City of Ithaca Density District –April 2018,
and be it further
4. RESOLVED, that the City requests that in order
to partially offset the loss in revenue to a
developer for providing affordable housing, the
IDA provide additional abatements to
residential projects containing affordable
units, in the amount of an additional 15%
abatement for a 30 year period, unless it would
reduce the existing tax base, and be it further
5. RESOLVED, that the CIITAP Review Committee,
which consists of the Mayor, the Director of
Planning andDevelopment, and the Director of
Community Development for the Ithaca Urban Renewal
Agency, be given authority to consider endorsing
projects for the CIITAP program that may have a
higher percentage of units (40% or more)that are
affordable to 90% of AMI.
c) Grant Authorization for City Harbor Promenade Project
Request for Authorization to Apply for New York State Consolidated Funding
Application Grants for the City Harbor Promenade Project Resolution
In attendance for the City Harbor Promenade Project this project were Jason
Crane, Lincoln Morse, and Stacey Murphy.
Per Stacey’s request, in the second to the last resolved the resolution the
amount was changed from $693,059 to $900,000.
Alderperson Fleming stated her concern of all the pavement.
Lincoln stated that many of the parking will be used for Guthrie, but they will
also allow use of the parking for the Farmers’ Market and other areas nearby
when Guthrie is not open.
Moved Alderperson Brock; seconded by Alderperson Smith. Carried
Approved at the
July 11, 2018 PEDC Meeting
unanimously.
WHEREAS, the City of Ithaca Planning & Economic Development Division in
partnership with City Harbor LLC would like to apply for two grants through the
2018 New York State Consolidated Funding Application (CFA) – the Department
of State Local Waterfront Revitalization Program (LW RP), and the New York
State Canal Corporation (Canal Corp) Grant Program – for the City Harbor
Promenade Project on behalf of the City of Ithaca; and
WHEREAS, City Harbor LLC has been developing plans to redevelop the former
Johnson Boatyard site at 101 Pier Road into a waterfront neighborhood to
include apartments, restaurant space, a medical office building for Guthrie Clinic,
enhanced boating and marina functions, and a public promenade along
Cascadilla Creek, and
WHEREAS, the Ithaca waterfront is widely recognized as a valuable public asset,
but currently there is insufficient public access to Cayuga Lake and the Inlet, and
WHEREAS, this project will increase public access to the waterfront by creating a
public promenade along Cascadilla Creek which will connect to the Cayuga
Waterfront Trail, along with nine boating slips dedicated for public use and a
public paddle craft launch, and
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July 11, 2018 PEDC Meeting
WHEREAS, City Harbor LLC is pledging an easement to the City of Ithaca which
will guarantee public access to the waterfront along the promenade, and
WHEREAS, City Harbor LLC is pledging 100% of the required local matching
funds towards the public amenities to be supported through these grants,
requiring no investment of City funds to create these new public facilities, and
WHEREAS, the grant funds would enable the City to partner with City Harbor
LLC to increase access to the waterfront for all members of the public, which is a
goal of the City’s Comprehensive Plan, Plan Ithaca, now therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the Director of the Planning, Building, Zoning and Economic
Development Department is hereby authorized to file an application for funds in
an amount not to exceed $693,059 $900,000 through the LWRP Program and
$150,000 through the Canal Corp for the City Harbor Promenade Project from
the New York State CFA, and upon approval of said request the Mayor, upon the
advice of the City Attorney, is hereby authorized to enter into and execute a
project agreement with the State for such financial assistance to the City of
Ithaca for the City Harbor Promenade Project; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the City of Ithaca is authorized and directed to agree to the
terms and conditions of Master Contracts with the appropriate State agencies for
such City Harbor Promenade Project.
d) Grant Authorization for 2018 NY Main Street Program Grant
Gary Ferguson stated this is their 5th program grant application.
Support for the Downtown Ithaca Alliance’s application for a 2018 New
York Main Street Program Grant
Moved by Alderperson Lewis; seconded by Alderperson Brock. Carried
Unanimously.
Chair Murtagh asked that the State Street address include Martin Luther King
Jr. Street.
WHEREAS, the Downtown Ithaca Alliance (DIA) has requested the City’s
formal support for its proposed 2018 application to the New York Main Street
(NYMS) Program, and
WHEREAS, the DIA has a strong record of success in applying for, securing,
and administering four other NYMS grants in past years in partnership with
the City, and
WHEREAS, the DIA will be proposing a multi-building application that include
both housing and commercial units; will be designating a target area that
Approved at the
July 11, 2018 PEDC Meeting
includes the traditional downtown (the BID) plus the West State Street
corridor; and has identified four projects in the proposed grant target area —
a 12-unit housing project by Visum Development in the West State Street
corridor, a commercial and housing project at 108 West State, and two
commercial projects at the historic Clinton House and Boardman House, and
WHEREAS, this collection of projects would be eligible for a grant totaling
$322,500, and
WHEREAS, these projects collectively represent a valuable opportunity to
contribute to downtown revitalization in the City of Ithaca, and
WHEREAS, if successful in receiving the grant, all matching requirements will
be met by the private sector projects included in the application,
administration of the grant will be the responsibility of the DIA, and therefore
there is no further City obligation pertaining to this grant, and
WHEREAS, The NYMS application process requires that the elected body of
the local municipality adopt a resolution of support for the application prior to
its submission on or before July 27, 2018, now therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the City of Ithaca Common Council hereby wholeheartedly
supports the Downtown Ithaca Alliance’s 2018 grant application to the New
York Main Street Program.
6) Discussion
Chain Works District Planned Unit Development (PUD) – Area Requirements
Review
At its June 13th meeting, the Planning Committee will be reviewing the proposed
area requirements for the Chainworks District PUD. Please find attached a revised
Draft PUD in its entirety with tracked changes to reflect current edits. Area
requirements are in Section G, H & I on pages 23-27. Please also refer to the
revised Section D: Sub Area and Character Intent on pages 8 & 9. This section
includes a new subarea, CW3C, serving as a buffer between the project and the
adjacent established neighborhood. The project team is also preparing a digital 3-
D model for the meeting to illustrate how the proposed buildings in the CW3C
relate to the adjacent neighborhood. A diagram of the environmental review
process showing our current status is also provided with the agenda materials.
The development team provided another diagram to review with the group.
The group went through the documents and asked questions and made
comments.
They will be back to this committee at a later date to review other items as the
project progresses.
Approved at the
July 11, 2018 PEDC Meeting
7) Review and Approval of Minutes
a) May 2018
Moved by Alderperson Brock; seconded by Alderperson Smith. Carried
unanimously
8) Adjournment
Moved by Alderperson Lewis; seconded by Alderperson Brock. Carried
unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 8:52 p.m.
Approved at the
July 11, 2018 PEDC Meeting
Teresa Halpert Deschanes
209 S. Geneva St.
Ithaca, NY 14850
I wanted to comment briefly on the proposal to add a requirement for affordable
housing to CIITAP in exchange for further tax abatements.
I think it's great that you are looking for ways to increase the supply of affordable
housing. However, I suspect this effort would be vastly more successful (and perhaps
ONLY successful) if done through inclusionary zoning.
To take an example, suppose you flat-out require 10% of all the units of each size to be
affordable to 75% AMI. I imagine that 10% of the one-bedroom units might then be
built with minimal bedroom sizes, intra-level appliances, might be facing the
dumpsters, and so on. I would applaud this, since you are mandating that the developer
build a certain number of safe, comfortable, but relatively modest units for people of
more modest income. If the building has HVAC, then these units will have it too, and the
building code will dictate that they are livable and up to code, even if more modest.
They will be in the same desirable, walkable location that the well-heeled renters are
seeking. I imagine that there are already different price points for one-bedroom units
depending on whether they are top-floor corner units with balconies and wrap-around
windows versus interior units near the street. That's as it should be. Whatever the
umarket rate" is for the premium units, it will be lower for the less fancy ones.
Now imagine instead that you give a tax abatement for the developer to ugive up" his
potential market-rate rent of $1602 a month and instead charge only $1263 for a one-
bedroom unit. I imagine that these units will also have minimal bedroom sizes, cheaper
appliances, smaller windows with noisy unpleasant views, etc. But now the developer
is getting a subsidy for a unit that would not have rented for $1600 anyway.
Why do I think they won't all rent for $1600? There really is a limit to the number of
these uClass A" units that our market can absorb. If you do the math on the Estimated
Market Rate New Construction in your example, you need a $64,000-a-year income to
afford a one-bedroom, and a $90,000-a-year income to afford a two bedroom. Look at
the Household Income Distribution data in the American Community Survey and
compare Ithaca, Tompkins County, and New York State. We don't have the bell curve
around median income that New York State has. We have a sort of bimodal distribution.
Tompkins County is slightly more regular, but you would have to assume that all the
high-income people who live outside the City are waiting to move downtown, and we
know that is not the case.
What we really need is to figure out how to get rents that match the income distribution
we actually have. I don't think this proposal would touch that. I can't guarantee that
inclusionary zoning will succeed, but the numbers we have suggest that it has a better
chance than inclusion tied to tax abatements.