HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-10-19-SteeringCommittee-FINALTOWN OF ULYSSES
STEERING COMMITTEE FOR ZONING UPDATES
MEETING MINUTES
Thursday, 10/19/2017
Approved: November 9, 2017
Call to Order: 7:03 p.m.
Present: Chair Liz Thomas, and Committee members Michael Boggs, Rod Hawkes, Darby
Kiley and Sue Ritter; David West of Randall + West.
Public in Attendance: None
Agenda Review; Minutes Review (10/05/2017)
Ms. Thomas MADE the MOTION to accept the October 5, 2017 meeting minutes, and Mr.
Boggs SECONDED the MOTION. The motion was unanimously carried.
Discussion on Office/Technology Mixed Use
The committee discussed whether to follow the Comprehensive Plan boundaries for an OTMU
zone but allow businesses and residential, to limit OTMU to the existing light industrial zone, or
to create an overlay of OTMU over the existing zoning districts. When the Comp Plan was
developed, they envisioned a business park with its own access road, located off of Rt 96. The
County Planning Department did not like the idea of the OTMU zone, but there are existing
businesses in the Krums Corners area. The committee discussed preferences for a business park
similar to the airport area, or Community Corners in Cayuga Heights, or the medical offices on
Warren Rd. We want it to look nice, which usually means having adequate landscaping with
good architecture or design guidelines. The current light industrial and Krums Corners area is
auto oriented and it’s not likely to be a walkable center. It will still be sprawl with nicer finishes.
Peaked roofs and a certain pallet of materials can be used to guide the design.
What do we want to prevent? Mr. West suggested that parking should be buffered from the street
and neighbors, control lighting, and have an “ag/rural” inspired design. The committee discussed
how berms and landscaping can be used to buffer larger buildings, as we have heard from some
of the boards that they do not want to see development from the road.
The committee agreed that Jacksonville and Trumansburg are the main nodes for Ulysses but the
Krums Corners area has a concentration of existing businesses and houses making it worthy of
special attention for future growth. We might prefer to encourage businesses that do not need
exposure. The preferences for basic architecture are that a building is not just a flat box with a
door and the mass is broken up. Landscaping is key. The ATC building is a good example that it
did not take a lot of encouragement to develop a design that looks like a barn and fits in the rural
context. It might be preferred to have buildings oriented toward an internal road, like Community
Corners. Should a campus be car-required or car-optional?
Zoning update steering committee
October 19, 2017
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The committee discussed hotels, as that is a suggested allowed use in the OTMU. Because of the
extensive hotel development in Ithaca, the lodging that is older or out of town will become
obsolete.
Mr. West suggested that the design and architecture decisions could be left to the Planning Board
to negotiate during site plan review, but that can cause controversy, especially if the Planning
Board doesn’t know what it wants, there is little guidance to provide.
It was suggested that buildings under a certain size, such as 20,000 square feet would have one
set of design guidelines, such as a peaked roof; and larger buildings would have another set, with
appropriate buffering. Then the committee asked Mr. West to develop one set of design
guidelines for retail and restaurants, and another for other uses.
Development Districts
Ms. Thomas asked the committee how involved they want to be with the revisions to the
development district language. Ms. Kiley said that the Planning Board is currently reviewing one
district that will have a number of changes. She will contact the owners of the other properties to
see what, if any, revisions the owners think are needed. The committee agreed that they can work
on this when the current draft zoning is distributed to the public.
Future meetings
10/24 - Randall + West will present the ag/rural zone at the Town Board meeting.
11/9 – ZUSC will discuss OTMU, design standards, and subdivision.
11/16 – ZUSC will continue on any last sections from above and prep for the 11/30 meeting.
11/30 – Public meeting with allocated time for Jacksonville, for ag/rural, and the rest of the draft.
We want some immediate feedback, but will provide ample time to submit comments.
Presentation will include “what is/isn’t zoning, what it does/doesn’t do.”
Materials
Track changes or color version of the Ag/rural for the Town Board.
Track changes of the Jacksonville Draft (height limit in HC should be 36 feet).
Revised version of Jacksonville Design Guidelines with revised map.
Subdivision – let’s look at again.
Stream setbacks – the committee discussed and agreed on a 100 foot setback on Trumansburg
and Taughannock Creeks. The setback should be measured from the top of bank, but field visits
are necessary to check the stream location in the bed.
Meeting adjourned at 9:19 p.m.
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October 19, 2017
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Respectfully submitted by Darby Kiley on October 20, 2017.