Village of Lansing

Planning Board Meeting

January 14, 2002

 

The meeting of the Village of Lansing Planning Board was called to order at 7:31 P.M. by Chairman Ned Hickey.  Present at the meeting were Planning Board Members Doris Brown, Phil Dankert, Carol Klepack and Maria Stycos; Trustee Liaison Lynn Leopold; Attorney William Troy; and Code Enforcement Officer Ben Curtis.

 

Public Comment:

Don Edwards, 9 Bush Lane, spoke to the Board regarding a letter he had written to Mayor Hartill regarding installing a fence on Village property behind 34 St. Joseph Lane to screen that property from the commercial appearance of the Village garage. The Village has installed a similar fence for a neighboring property on St. Joseph Lane. Edwards stated he has spoken with Superintendent Dennis Reinhart, but he has not heard from Hartill.  Hickey stated this issue is not a Planning Board issue and further recommended that Edwards continue to contact Hartill for follow-up.

 

Dankert moved to close the Public Comment period.  Seconded by Klepack.  All aye.

 

Administrative Actions:

Hickey informed Board members that he has given each member his/her folder so they may clean them out.  Klepack noted that copies of Trustees’ minutes need not be given to members as they are readily available on the web.  Stycos and Hickey wish to continue to receive printed copies.  Curtis will notify Clerk, part-time Willard. 

 

Hickey also notified members that there is a form which must be completed regarding NYS Retirement which must be signed and returned to Clerk Dake.

 

Public Hearing:  Special Permit No. 1691– Home Occupations – Aulbach:

The first item on the agenda was a Public Hearing for Special Permit No. 1691, Michael Aulbach, to operate a home occupation consisting of a by-appointment-only art gallery in his home at 135 Graham Road in the Medium Density Residential District, Tax Parcel No. 46.1-1-2.

 

Members were provided with the application as well as a map indicating the location of the property. 

 

Brown asked if Aulbach would be selling his own paintings and Aulback responded that the artwork would be from local artists who he would be representing.  Advertisements would be through the local papers as well as regional shows.  Aulback is anticipating advertising through members who are part of the Art Trail, as well as the Farmer’s Market. 

 

Dankert asked for clarification of the definition of home occupation because from prior discussions he thought that items offered for sale needed to be crafted in the home, and although he has no qualms about an art gallery, he was unsure it would meet the home occupation definition. 

Dankert asked about the appointment-only basis and Aulbach stated this was to alleviate parking and traffic problems.  Hickey did not like the idea of cars backing into Graham Road and wondered if the applicant has thought of other parking configurations and Aulbach stated he has not.  Brown did not think a gallery would cause any traffic problems.  Klepack recollected a home occupation where someone sold clothing out of her home.  Leopold also felt that a gallery would not constitute a high traffic concern.  Hickey and Dankert expressed concerns about the traffic onto Graham Road as well as the nearness of the bus garage. 

 

The Board discussed the signage for the business.  Hickey noted that there could not be any signage for the business, as stated in condition number 5 of the Additional Conditions for a Home Occupation. There could, however, be directional signs up to 2 sq. ft. for parking provided they in no way identified the business. 

 

Returning to an earlier point, Troy noted that for a Home Occupation, the goods must be crafted or assembled entirely on the premises per condition number 7 of the Additional Conditions.  Hickey recommended this application be tabled and the applicant review his proposal for compliance with the Additional Conditions for a Home Occupation. 

 

Klepack moved to table Special Permit No. 1691 until another time to be designated by the applicant.  Seconded by Dankert.  All aye.

 

Revised Edwards Subdivision – Classification:

Hickey noted that the Board has already approved a subdivision of this property and now the applicant is returning to request a change.  Edwards stated that the changes are minor.  Parcel A which was originally intended to be sold to Ann Caren eventually, will now be sold to her as part of this subdivision.  Parcel B will still be a building lot facing Rosina Drive to be sold to Sobol/Treon.  Parcel C will be retained by Edwards.  Parcel A is not a buildable lot because it has no frontage and will be combined with the property currently owned by Ann Caren.  Hickey asked if the proposed buyers for Parcel B were aware of the lack of sewer units and Edwards stated they have discussed this with Curtis. 

 

Hickey noted that Village Subdivision Law states that for a minor subdivision a property can be divided into at most two parcels which must in turn be buildable .  This subdivision would result in three parcels, but one would not have road frontage and would not be a buildable lot.  Troy stated that he would like to disclose that his law firm is representing Ann Caren in this transaction although he is not directly involved himself.  Troy stated there are two ways this subdivision could be handled.  The first would be to do two minor subdivisions and have Ann Caren purchase Parcel A and merge it into the property she currently owns.  The second option would be to do a Major Subdivision and condition it upon Parcel A being merged with Ann Caren’s current property.  Caren would need to obtain a plat merging her current lot with Parcel A and Edwards would need to obtain a plat for the remainder of the subdivision.

 

Edwards noted that he has already paid fees for the original subdivision.  Dankert moved that the Planning Board will accept the Code Enforcement’s recommendation that fees be waived on this subdivision as they would be included under the original fees and that the subdivision be classified as a Major Subdivision with the requirement that Parcel A be combined with the Caren property as proposed by the Village Attorney.  Seconded by Klepack.  All aye.  Final Plat discussion/approval will be on the Jan. 29th agenda.

 

 

Cornell B & T Park Trail System:

Hickey provided Board members with copies of the letter he sent to John Majeroni, Cornell Real Estate Dept., regarding the trail system in the B & T Park which is the basis for the letter from Majeroni which was included in the packets.  The Dec. 17, 2001 letter from Hickey references a request by Jim Orcutt for a temporary trail under the power lines from Uptown Rd. across Warren Road to the Ornithology Lab.  The Dec. 20, 2001 response letter from Majeroni indicates that it is not a good idea for several reasons which he listed.  Hickey has passed the information along to Orcutt.  The permanent trail proposed by Cornell is to be built along the south side of Arrowwood and cut across to connect with Sapsucker Woods Road when the property is developed to the east of the large grove of trees.  Klepack also noted that this trail would be built either upon the development of the residential district or when a B & T area to the north of the Human Health Services District were developed.  

 

Triphammer Road Signage:

Hickey stated that the Village has received a signage plan from Jim Napolean, Traffic Engineer, for the reconstructed N. Triphammer Rd..  Hickey stated there are two types of signs: 1) traffic signs required by state for traffic safety and 2) way-finding signs for commercial businesses off of N. Triphammer Rd. which would be installed by the Village to assist drivers in locating their destination.  Board members reviewed the drawings.

 

Hickey stated that Communique Inc. should be notified that the materials have been received by the Village.  Hickey stated that now Klepack, Putnam and he would need to meet to review the data and see if TG Millers is in agreement with the plan.  Klepack noted that the contract with Communique should not be started yet as it would be a two year contract and the Village will not be ready to begin the reconstruction until 2003 at the earliest.  Hickey will set up a meeting with Putnam, Klepack and himself.  Hickey stated that the way-finding signs would be developed with input from the Planning Board.

 

Bob Dean Subdivision:

In their packets the Board members had a map depicting a revised building layout for the Dean Subdivision.  Hickey stated that he and Curtis had met with Bob Dean’s architect Jason Demarest, and the latest drawing is a modification of the cul-de-sacs with all the parking near the access drives for the buildings.  Hickey noted the latest drawing does not have parking in the front of the building but rather parking is “clustered” on both sides of the access drives.  This is an attempt to free up green space and not have parking fronting on Bomax Drive.  All lots will be privately owned and maintained and will not have shared parking.  Klepack noted that she prefers parking behind the buildings and landscaping in the front.  Curtis stated this layout was devised for the most part using the yard setback requirements for the B&T District, except that parking setback requirement is 25 ft. from the road right-of-way and Dean is proposing either a 0 setback from the road r.o.w. or a 25’ setback from the road edge.  Klepack felt that maybe too many lots were being proposed for this parcel and if fewer were proposed it would not be such a problem to comply with the Zoning Law.  Hickey noted the plan already has a 20% reduction in parking spaces.  Hickey stated his research regarding shared parking seems to apply to businesses which have different hours of operation and that is why the concept of cluster parking might be more appropriate for this type of development.  Klepack was not supportive of a layout that required one to drive through a large expanse of parking spaces and wondered if the Planning Board should consider proposing a change in the law to the Board of Trustees to permit the Planning Board to consider buildings to be built with a 25’ front yard setback and parking behind.  Hickey will get on the agenda for the Trustee’s next meeting to see if they would be amenable to having Zoning Law changes made regarding parking and setbacks.

 

Landscape Plan:

Klepack has revised the Landscape Plan based on the recommendations of the Board of Trustees.  She stated the changes are not substantive, but clarify that the Policy contains guidelines  rather than binding requirements.  Klepack stated the Trustees are now aware that the checklist is not a part of the policy which becomes part of the Comprehensive Plan but is rather a working document for the Planning Board. Brown moved recommendation of approval of the Landscape Plan to the Board of Trustees.  Seconded by Dankert.  All aye. Hickey wrote the last paragraph and Troy may revise it slightly and e-mail it back to Hickey for Monday’s Trustees’ meeting.        

      

Next Meeting:

Hickey requested Board members arrive 10 minutes early to the Jan. 29th meeting as he has invited Tompkins County Planning Commissioner Edward Marx to the meeting to meet the members.  Brown will be unable to attend the meeting.

 

Approval of Minutes – Dec. 10:

The Board reviewed the minutes for December 10th.  Klepack moved to approve the December 10th minutes as revised.  Seconded by Brown.  All aye.

 

Reports:

Hickey noted that the most recent Zoning News had an article on childcare facilities that might be of interest to the Board.

 

Hickey stated that a number of articles on traffic calming measures were cited as part of the six point traffic plan for the City of Ithaca and Brown may want to tap into those resources.  Leopold stated that she visited Boulder CO and viewed one traffic calming area with a rotary, 25 MPH speed limit, and also with permanent bike lanes.  Flashing lights are also utilized for pedestrian crossings.  Bus routes were also easily identifiable with hop, skip, jump and leap routes.  Hickey recommended Brown attempt to get on the internet and acquire Boulder’s traffic abatement materials.     

 

Adjournment:

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