Village of Lansing

Planning Board Meeting

September 10, 2001

 

 

The meeting of the Village of Lansing Planning Board was called to order at 7:30 P.M. by Chairman Ned Hickey.  Present at the meeting were Planning Board Members Doris Brown, Phil Dankert and Carol Klepack; Trustee Liaison Lynn Leopold; and Code Enforcement Officer Ben Curtis.

 

Public Comment:

Val Gyrisco, 36 Twin Glens Rd., expressed the concerns of her neighbors regarding the Greenberg property development.  She stated it is devastating to the Twin Glens area residents.  She felt the views have been ruined and possibly the neighbors should have been more vocal at the onset.   Hickey responded that people did speak at the beginning of the process and the Board was aware of their concerns and Greenberg met the requirements of our laws.  Gyrisco was concerned about the residence being placed on the edge of the cliff.  Curtis stated that the Village setbacks require a  residence be placed a setback distance from the property line rather than so many feet from the center of a stream or cliff edge.  In a Conservation Combining District though, a residence proposed to be built within 200 ft. of the center of a designated stream requires a Special Permit.  In considering the Special Permit, the Planning Board looks to prevent or minimize any adverse impact on the stream. Generally this is accomplished through erosion and sedimentation control, stabilizing steep slopes and managing storm water runoff.  Hickey also noted that the county has designated this area a Unique Natural Area but there are no specific guidelines or restrictions imposed upon it as a result.  Leopold stated that the Greenbergs were within the guidelines of the law but the Village has learned a lesson from it.  Brown stated the protection of views is important to residents in many areas of the Village as well as the Twin Glens area and it is unclear how to protect the views of individual residents.  Hickey recommended the Board review the guidelines for Unique Natural Areas.  There being no one else who wished to speak, Klepack moved to close the Public Comment period.  Seconded by Dankert.  All aye.

 

Burdick Hill Road Address:

The next item on the agenda regarded an address number for property on Burdick Hill Road which was purchased by Mary Hudson.  The lot is on the north side of Burdick Hill Rd. and has 558 ft. of road frontage and she is requesting the number be 134.  Residents on each side are 122 and 150 Burdick Hill Rd.  Hickey did note that the Purcell residence on the opposite side of the road is 111 Burdick Hill Rd. and it may eventually have to be changed to be in line with the others if there are subdivisions in the future.  Dankert moved to approve the request from Mary Hudson to number her new residence 134 Burdick Hill Rd.  Seconded by Klepack.  All aye.

 

Triphammer Road Sign Plan:

Hickey noted the Board needs to determine how to proceed on the Communique proposal as Eric Lindstrom is wondering whether they should come to the next meeting.  Hickey feels the board needs to tell them whether the Board is interested in their proceeding or not.  Klepack likes their ideas but she would have liked to see more direction from a traffic engineer. Hickey stated there needs to be decisions made as to what type of signs the Village wants and then where those signs would be placed from both the perspective of way finding and also from the perspective of traffic engineering and traffic safety .  There might not be a company that could provide both answers.  Hickey recommended inviting David Herrick, TG Millers engineer for N. Triphammer Rd. project, to a meeting to see if he could provide some direction.  Leopold feels two consultants may be needed to provide the necessary information. 

 

Brown stated she liked the looks of what the consultants provided.  The signage proposal would not be the final design but would be a starting point to be further refined.  Hickey noted that the scope of what Communique is preparing to offer the Village has 5 components and Hickey felt the item regarding shirts and hats should be removed from the list.   On the roles and responsibilities, Hickey was unsure what the “3 schematic sketches” would include and desired more clarification on these as well as what was meant by “comp.”, “copy edits”, and “local agency of choice for future updates”.  Hickey stated Communique is asking for a two-year contract with a payment of $4000 at the onset and another $4000 when the project is complete in the next two years based on the road reconstruction moving ahead on schedule.  Klepack stated that this may be early to begin this process as due to delays the signs may not be needed for two years.  Hickey will telephone Lindstrom of Communique and notify him that the Board likes what they have to offer but are not ready to proceed yet due to the delay of the N. Triphammer Road improvements and will put this off until January.  In the mean time, the Board will also hold discussions with Herrick.              

 

Colbert Variance Memorandum:

Hickey provided the Board with a copy of the memo he would send to the BZA regarding Appeal No. 2001-3 for Robert Colbert evaluating how the variance request would comply with the provisions of the Comprehensive Plan. The Board agreed with the changes he had made in the previous draft to include reference to the new CLT Guidelines.

 

New Planning Board Member:

Hickey stated he has contacted Maria Stycos, 28 Twin Glens Rd., regarding her interest in the Planning Board position.  She stated she is not interested in the full-time position but would be the alternate.  Brown stated this is consistent with her understanding of Stycos’ wishes.  Brown moved that a recommendation be sent to the Board of Trustees that Maria Stycos be appointed as an alternate member of the Planning Board.  Seconded by Klepack.  All aye. Hickey will send the letter to Mayor Hartill.

 

Klepack stated she has spoken with Lisa Schleelein, 975 Cayuga Heights Road but she is unable to participate at the present time due to travel commitments although she had many positive comments to make regarding the Board and the Board should keep her name in mind.  Klepack also spoke with Suzanne Schatz , 844 Cayuga Heights Road, who is unavailable due to ill parents but would like to be kept on the list.  The third individual she contacted was Beth Brennan, 12 Wedgewood Drive.  She is unable to take this on at this time but she will e-mail the Shannon Park Neighborhood Association to see if anyone else is interested.  If so, they may contact Brennan. 

 

Other names were mentioned.  Hickey will also place an article regarding the Planning Board vacancy in the Village Newsletter which goes out in early October.  Curtis also noted that the BZA is seeking a member as well as an alternate.

 

Landscape Policy:

Klepack stated she has not had a chance to follow up on this and it will be tabled until the next meeting.

 

Approval of Minutes – Aug. 28:

The Board reviewed the minutes for August 28th.  Klepack moved to approve the August 28th minutes as revised.  Seconded by Brown.  All aye.

 

Reports:

Leopold spoke about the scoping session held in the Town of Lansing for the Intermunicipal Sewer Agreement.  Basically, different engineers described various aspects of the project.  There were concerns about looking at all aspects of the effects of adding sewer capacity in the municipalities involved. Information gathered at the scoping session will determine the issues to be considered in the EIS.  

 

 Hickey stated he attended the Vital Communities Workshop and the group worked on where they would like to see green space, commercial areas, subdivisions, growth, etc. proceed in the county.  Hickey showed the Board the Workshop Report which came out of the workshop.  Hickey will contact the County to see if they would like to give a presentation on the Vital Communities Program.        

 

Other Business:

 

Curtis will be attending the NYS Building Officials Conference in Lake Placid and will then go to Cincinatti for the International Codes Conference. Eventually, the entire country will be using the same codes. 

 

Willard, Clerk part-time, is continuing to work on the codification process as it is important to have everything updated and into one document.  Curtis stated it will also be helpful to have the document on the web.

 

Adjournment:

Klepack moved to adjourn the meeting at 9:00 P.M.   Seconded by Dankert.  All aye.