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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-BZA-1970-10-05 BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS, CITY OF ITHACA, CITY HALL, ITHACA, NEW YORK OCTOBER 5, 1970 APPEALS NOS. 895 & 896 wwo+.w.�w..ww..warwrwwww ++w+rw.�wwwww..ww.�w.�wwwwr++++w.�rrr..ww+ PRESENT: JOHN BENTKOWSKI, Chairmen RALPH P. BALDINI BEVERLY MARTIN ANTHONY PETIZTI JAMES ROGAN EDISON JONES, Building Com:rd,asioner & Secretary THE CHAIR Opens meeting. DAVID B. GERSH: I am David Gersh, Attorney representing Cecil B. Shulman in Case No. 896, scheduled for this evening, and would respectfully request that this matter be adjourned for one month. THE CHAIR: Granted. We will continue with Case No. 895: the Appeal of Bernard H. & Barbara P. Quick, 1564 Slaterville Road, Ithaoa, Now York, for variance for use as Beauty Shop at 407 Elmwood Avenue, under provision Section 79 Column 2, in an R-3 district. DAVID B. GERSH: Members of the Board, my name is David Gersh, and I appear here this evening with Barbara Quick, requesting a variance to operate a beauty shop in an R-3 district. A background word is that She is the owner of this shop. Grace Quick began operating the Beauty Shop some 43 years ago, and Barbara Quick succeeded in the business as owner of the shop. This shop has built up a substantial and loyal clientele, and then about a month ago the landlord gave them about 60 days in which to vacate where they were so they could rent to a discount record shop at a higher rent. Mrs. Quick began shopping around for another location in that area, and after a very thorough search, could not find anything suitable for their operation, either in size, terms of parking, or rent-rise. Finally they found a house at 407 Elmwood Avenue in average condi.' tion in an R-3 district. Appellant's Exhibit 1 marked for identification The area is dominated by fraternities, by rooming houses, by apartment houses, all of which are permitted uses in this R-3 district. Surrounding the Quick house, in addition, are some professions near by, a doctor across �.. and a piano enterprise down the street. Mrs. Quick could MR. GERSH: lives there and operate her beauty .shop as a home occupa- tion; to live in this house to do so would require her to sell her home on the Slaterrrille Road and they would much prefer to retain their present home and operate this shop as a business. Mrs. Quick is as anxious to make the Elmwood Avenue beauty shop a good neighbor as she has been with the College Avenue beauty shop. This shop has been in business a long time and has acquired a sub- stantial clientele. It is not necessary to attract people off the street. She is not-trying to lure new customers. There will be nothing on the front of the building to attract customers. There will just be a small sign at the rear of the presses for customers to come down the driveway and come around to the rear en- trance to enter. They would park off the street, with room for about five cars. There would be no parking on Elmwood Avenue. Mrs. Quick plans to have two other girls working with her and they would park on Elmwood Avenue on meter parking. This house would not even be illumi- nated by any sign. The hours of operation - 8:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. six days a week, no evening hours, and absolutely no annoyance, inconvenience or distractions to neighbors, not even any noise. Most dryers require out- side vents. Mrs. Quick has other means. There would be no increase of traffic. This house could of course be used as a rooming house and this could increase the traffic problem considerably. The nature of the clientele is a localized one. These people come from Cornell at the lunch hour; they reside in the college area. If she is unable to locate in this place she is going to have to move to some other location and give up some of her clientele. This is the principal source of income for the family. She could get a job as a beautician but the income derived would be less than half that as the owner of a beauty shop. I submit because this is an R-3 districto there are multiple dwellings occupied primarily by students. This would in no way change the character of the neighborhood. I might say in closing that Mrs. Quick has proven herself to be a fine neighbor and she wants very much to continue to be a good neighbor on • Elmwood Avenue. DR. SALDINI: Is this just a beauty shop or would there be an apartment? A. I will have five students on the second floor and the beauty shop on the first floor. MISS 1ART321: I take it that the five students would have been on the second floor anyway. I am curious to know if five students would have been there anyway, and in addition, how many would these be on the first floor otherwise? A. The Stambaughs are living there. It would be very difficult to turn the first floor into a student house. -3- DR. BALDINI: Do you own the house now? A. Yes, and five students are upstairs and no one is on the first floor. THE CHAIR.: Do you provide parking for the students? A, None of them have oars. MI33 MARTIN: Then the entrance to the beauty shop at the back is not necessary to parking. Do the people on the second floor have to go up that way? A. That was one of the things I liked about the house. The students could come in the front and my beauty shop en- trance could be at the rear. MISS MARTIN: What other facilities did you explore? A. I looked for just everything to rent in that vicinity and at all the houses for sale, and there are a lot on College Avenue. This piece of property seemed the most desirable for my needs. DR. BUDINI: How far is this from where you were on College Avenue? A. Two blooks. The other was 405 College Avenue. THE CHAIR: Is there any one who wishes to speak in favor of this application? MRS. JOSEPH SYLVAN: I live directly across the street and I have no objection whatsoever. DR. SYLVAN: The property is directly across the street. We know the wicks well and all our dealings with them have been happy ones. If you look at their property on the Slater- ville Road and see hoer their property is maintained, you would be impressed. I can see no objection whatsoever to what they want to do. I would like to say that I hope they are granted the variance. MRS. RICHARD FUGHT: One block away. We run a business iii our residence. I have been a customer of Mrs. Quick for some time now. Her shop is always clean, orderly, and I am pleased to go there. There are several rooming houses immediately across the street, The owners come once a month to collect rents and the third one is owned by Casoadilla School. All three properties are maintained adequately i but there has been a drug arrest in one of these properties. This ap- plioant would be in her house many hours a day and I know she will maintain her property. The second property on MELS. FLIGHT: Dryden Road is a disgrace, My boy is a paper boy and I used to go with him to collect, and I was ashamed to go in that house; it was so poorly lighted and it smells. The fraternity at the corner of Elm9rood Avenue and Oak has drinking parties. I know if Mrs. Quick is there this kind of party will not go on. We have, been where we are 19 years and the beauty shop across from me on Bryant Avenue is not objectionable at all to me, and it has a lighted sign. I think Mrs. Quick would carry on a nice business in our area, ALLEN FELDT: Seventh Ward, I have had conversations with others on this issue. I think the concern of all residents in the area is whether this would add to the commercial purpose of this area or-slow it down. I do not knout what the answer is but it has been suggested that the introduction of commercial in the area might tend to increase this area in becoming oommsroial, whereas it has always been residential or for students. MRS, JAMES SMITH: Next door to where Mrs. Quick bought, oar house is on the market to sell. and I shall be leaving but I per- sonally am delighted tiro have somebody come in and fix up and-improve the property, and as far as I am concerned, I feel it w1i Ll. be an improvement. a JOSEPH ILLES: I know Mrs. Quick and I don't think there is any issue at all to make the problem out of it, to open up a business there, MARYANNE GARRE`N: 405 Dryden Road. I own property there. I an very much in agreement as I am very ooncerned about these rooming houses that do not have landlords in them and I am sure Mrs. Quick would be there to maintain hers and know what is going on. FRANCIS ELAN: I own next to where she was; we were neighbors for 26 years. She ran a good business, clean. I don't see arw reason why this variance should not be granted to Mrs. Quick. JIM RYDER: I own 114 Summit Avenue,, almost directly across. I have no objection; as a matter of fact, I would welcome it. DOC'T'OR ORCUTT: Doctor Sylvan's assistant. I have known the Quioks for a long time and they seem to be fine people and I think this would be a credit to the area,, for Mrs. Quick to move into the area and maintain a beauty shop there. THE CHAIR: Is there any one who wishes to speak in opposition to the appeal? KENNETH EVETT: 402 Oak Avenue. I am opposed because I feel zoning laws are to protect certain regions and to protect these regions from commercial activity. This would be a commercialized enterprise and I think it would open the door on further encroachments on the residential oharac- ter of the neighborhood. I think it would open up this area which is residential. I feel that there is a dis- tinction between houses that are lived in and houses that maintain a commercial project. MRS. HERBERT WILLIAMS 390 Oak Avenue I second everything Professor Evett has said; that the reason we have difficulties in getting people to come into Ithaca proper is that we have this granting of the Zoning laws. I like Mrs. Quick but this is an entrance to commercial activities. MARY JOHNSON: Homestead Terrace. Also I think highly of Mrs. Quick but the problem with the Zoning is that once you have granted a variance is not what Mrs. Quick would do with it, but what would happen after she is there. Already it is opened up then and almost anybody can move in. There is the open door. FLORRI+ICE HOARD: Cornell Street. I back Mrs. Quick but we would like to see more private homes and with the University's traffic situation, the East Hill area is becoming more 'desirable for the faculty. People say they would like to buy there but they feel the Zoning is so lax. This is my plea. I am a City resident and have been inter- ested in this for a long time. I think we should all be allowed to speak because it is a general problem. VIRGINIA BEM: Bryant Avenue. I can not add anything more except to say that I am against this whole thing because of aW property being there. -6- MR. GERSH reads the following: "To Whom It May Concern: We own property at 321 Dryden Road and also at 410 Dryden Road. We have absolutely no objection to the Quick Beauty Shop opening at 407 Mmood Avenue. We live on the corner of Green and Albany Streets and for over 15 years have had beauty shops across from us, both on Albany Street • and Green Street. We have never found them to be offensive or detrimental to our property in any way. John and Rita Bangs 10-5-70 " "TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: In reference to the application of the Grace Quick Beauty Salam to locate at the premises of 407 M m mod Avenue: I do certainly approve of said application and location, whereas, the presence of said Business should upgrade the area, due to the fact that recent carelessness and neglect of property in the immediate locale has been noticeably distasteful. In regard to added parking problems, I would much rather see a few more oars using the space, which is limited, by customers coming and going, rather than many students who leave their vehicles in the area all day long, which I assure you, is a fact rather than opinion. Martin A. Hancharik 405-W-449 Dryden Road" -7- The following read by Professor Evetts "To Whom it may Concern, Mr. and Airs. Walter Schanz% who own property at 404 and 486 Oak Ave. wish to protest the operation of a Beauty Salon by Barbara Quick on Mmmood Ave. It would seem that once a variance is permitted there are usually further requests. We have lived on this beautiful, quiet street for nearly 38 years. A beauty parlor in itselfs might not be so bad - but when would some noisier establishment open up in the area, ones this thing has started. Please consider the consequences of allowing such a business in the area. Walter and Leah Sohame" The following read by Mr. Bentkowski: "Chairman of the Board of Zoning Appeals Ithaca, N. Y. Dear Sirs As a long time resident and property owner of Dryden Rd. I strongly urge that there not be any variance granted regarding the present residential ssoning law. I have seen this street deteriorate from a good reoiden- tial section to a praotiaally tenement type and if a precedent is established by *hanging the prevent a fisting law I fear that upper Dryden Rd. will eventually be like the section from Unden Ave. to Eder St. - a slum. I hope that this fully expresses the feelings of a taxpayer who is desperately trying to improve the neighborhood. Sincerely, Isabel Larkin 315 en Rd. Oct. 3rd, 170 EXECCU TIME MWIOK9 BOARD OF ZONING APPX&Wq CITY OF ITHACAj OCTOBER 59 1970 CAREE NO. 895: PET ITTIs Move that the applioation for variance be granted with the provision that this varianoe is granted only to the appellants. ROW 3"ond. VOTE: Yes - 5 No -► 0 Appli*ation granted. u