Planning Board Meeting
The meeting of the
Hickey opened the Public Comment.
There being no one present who wished to speak, Klepack moved to close the Public Comment period. Seconded by Brown. All aye.
The first item on the agenda was the request for an amendment to the B & T Park Planned Sign Area for the Lab of Ornithology. Hickey stated that Scott Sutcliffe, Associate Director for Lab. Of Ornithology, would give the presentation. Hickey stated there is also a letter from John Majeroni, Director of the Cornell Real Estate Department, supporting the amendment.
Sutcliffe stated the Lab of Ornithology would like to
expand the Planned Sign Area approved for the
Sutcliffe stated they have applied to the State for the universal sign of binoculars with a directional arrow to indicate there is a nature viewing site ahead. Hickey stated that it would be helpful to see a pair of binoculars at or on the Route 13 sign being proposed, as well as those individually approved by the state DEC.
This sign will likely be placed on the east side of
Dankert moved to recommend approval by the Board of Trustees for the application of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology for an amendment to the B & T Park Planned Sign Area to allow them to erect a free standing 3x5 sign on Route 13 and a building mounted sign not to exceed 50 sf, contingent upon approval of NYS for the free standing sign.
Seconded by Klepack. All aye.
Commercial
Parking Lot Guidelines:
Hickey stated the next item on the agenda was commercial parking lot guidelines. The Board received in their packets a draft of Dankert’s presentation of a few months ago now in text form which deals with standards for parking spaces and parking lot aisles, as well as ring roads. Klepack was hoping to obtain more information regarding landscaping within parking lots rather than size of parking spaces. Klepack further researched this topic and found a site which dealt with landscaping within malls. The guidelines recommended a minimum of 5 ft. wide planting area or fences between parking area and adjacent properties; a minimum of 12% of the interior ground area shall be planting areas that include trees with a potential mature height of 50 ft.; and the interior planting area of islands shall be a minimum of 80 sf. Hickey feels it is important to differentiate between large and small scale parking lots and develop criteria for each. Klepack will continue to gather additional information.
Hickey provided information for the Board to review on
Hickey reiterated the Board needs to deal with safety and landscaping for parking lots. Klepack would like to have a speaker who has experience with site plan review of parking lots and dealing with developers speak to the Board. Hickey will call the City Planning Department and will try to schedule a presentation for Jan. 28.
Driveway Design
Guidelines:
Cross provided a handout for Board review. He stated he and Curtis reviewed the Village regulations and the requirement is for a minimum of 20 ft. for driveway entrances. Since Cross has been with the village, 24 ft. has been the standard used for safety considerations. Cross stated the term driveway refers to the path which gets a driver from the roadway to the parking area. It is different from a curb cut as curb cuts connect the driveway to the road system and the dimensions are different. Cross would recommend driveway dimensions not be less than 20 ft. minimum and he would recommend 24 ft. where possible. Though some paved roads are narrower than 20 ft., when you add the shoulders the effective width exceeds 24 ft..
Cross stated curb cuts should have a radius of 15 ft. to provide for turning regardless of the width of the driveway. Hickey felt when cars are parked on both sides of a driveway, additional area is needed for backing in and out of the parking spaces. For safety reasons, he would recommend a 24 ft. width. Since most businesses to date have voluntarily agreed to the 24 ft. width, Cross would not change the standard. The law will remain as is with the driveway width being subject to village engineer’s approval. Cross will provide a copy of his diagram to Curtis to be given to developers as needed.
Impact of New
Federal Drainage Regulations:
Cross passed out a handout for Board review. The US Environmental Protection Agency currently regulates storm water management for major metropolitan areas under Phase I of its regulations for non-point source discharges. Phase II will begin in March 2003 and will address smaller metropolitan areas such as the greater Ithaca area. The Village will be subject to these Phase II regulations. The goal is to force the local municipalities to become the administrators of “best management practices” for the purpose of preventing contamination and pollution of surface and ground waters. The runoff from private property and the roads should not be increased in quantity nor filled with contaminants. There are 6 required minimum control measures which Cross listed. Of these Cross feels Items 4 & 5 are important to the Planning Board. Hickey would like to see Item 2 regarding public involvement and participation be noted in the Newsletter. There is a meeting scheduled for January regarding the Phase II regulations. Cross has already attended one held in Cayuga Heights and has information. Initially the Village will need a statement of intent to implement the regulations and some affirmative action taken toward doing so. This can be as simple as a plan for accomplishing the objectives within some reasonable period of time. Ultimately, the Village may need to assign one or more people to follow through on the implementation, such as Bolton Point as they will benefit from this action. Peter Parasiewicz provided Cross with information he has from Austria which pertains to this issue. Cross will pursue the status of storm water management and report back periodically to the Board.
Guild Park
Directory Sign:
Hickey
stated that he, Curtis, Gary Sloan, representing the Montessori School, and Bob
Whitty, CFCU, have met to discuss a directory sign for the Village at the foot
of Craft Road (Guild Park) to identify businesses. Whitty also invited Laurie Linn to attend the
meeting. She is the incoming chairperson
of Chamber of Commerce and an owner of Communique, the design firm that is
working with the Village on signage for the Triphammer Road
reconstruction. She could not attend
but her partner, Eric Lindstrom, came in
her place. Hickey showed the Board the
directory signage proposed by Pat Doyle from Rapp Signs in Triangle, NY for the Guild Park (Craft Rd. off of N.
Triphammer Rd.) which might be located on Security Mutual property of Ridley¹s
Book Bindery property. Sloan and Witty
will meet again with Curtis and Hickey.
The Village would need to amend the Sign Law to permit directory signs.
Communique Triphammer Road
Signage Proposal:
Communique
submitted a $35,000 proposal, dated 8/24/01, regarding welcome and way finding
signs. Hickey has received an email from
Linn asking that the Village respond to this proposal. Communique¹s proposal is for the design and
overseeing the preparation of the signs for N. Triphammer Rd. Communique¹s
proposal included $8,000 for their design and management services and the
remainder to cover production and installation costs. Regarding the signage
proposed by Communique, Hickey noted that only one
welcome
sign would be required on N. Triphammer Road at the north end of the Village as
a sign already exists at the south end.
This would reduce costs. Directional signs are priced at $1500 each and
the installation of the signs would be $450 - 650 per sign. The Board discussed the sample signage in
terms of design and concept. Klepack
recommended having the name of the place and address rather than separate
businesses, i.e., Village Office Campus, 2333 N. Triphammer Rd. rather than
individual doctors; and Lansing Village Place at 15 Catherwood Road rather than
Subway. Brown does not see
a
need for the sign to say “Village of
Lansing, incorporated in 1974”. Hickey will call Communique and state the
Village is not prepared to proceed because of lack of information regarding the
number of signs, what the signs will include, budgetary restraints, etc. and
because of lack of information regarding the number of signs, what the signs
will include, budgetary restraints, etc. and because the reconstruction of
Triphammer Road will not actually be done until 2004.
Troy
recommended reviewing the CLT Guidelines for signage provided by Kathryn
Wolfe. Hickey has asked Fisher Assoc.
who is overseeing the reconstruction, what role they would play with regard to
signage and they have stated they would be responsible for the placement of
signs. Pat Doyle from Rapp Signs in
Triangle, NY would be interested in actually fabricating and erecting the signs. Doyle provided a sample of a typical
directory sign that might work in the Village.
Cross asked if this could be
turned over to Fisher Associates and have it become part of the general contract. Hickey will look into this with the Mayor.
Road Name – Ayla
Way:
Hickey stated there is a new road in Lansing Trails being built which will be one block long and will eventually connect Leifs Way to the next north-south road to the east to be built at a later date. Ivar Jonson has suggested Ayla Way. Klepack moved to approve the official name of the new road being built in Lansing Trails as Ayla Way. Seconded by Dankert. All aye.
CLT Sidewalk Regulations:
Hickey stated the Village has a sidewalk plan and it stipulates types and locations of sidewalks. The sidewalk plan does not discuss the maintenance of the sidewalk and who or what is permitted on the sidewalks. Hickey provided Board members with an article from the NYT Times dated 1-5-03 discussing sidewalk issues in San Francisco and how they are dealing with Segways. Brown would like to see joggers be in the bicycle lanes or the sidewalks rather than the roadways. Hickey stated this issue needs to be addressed by the Board of Trustees. Troy will pursue this with them.
Approval of Minutes – December 9:
Klepack moved to approve the December 9 minutes as revised. Seconded by Brown. All aye.
Reports:
Hickey found a second article in the NYT Times, this one regarding traffic calming, which he provided to Board members. Hickey also included agenda notes for Board members in their packets and Board members felt that they were helpful.
Curtis put a report on 2002 Building Activity in the Village and fees collected in the packets. 2002 was a busy year.
Brown asked for clarification on housing maintenance inspections. Curtis stated they are zoning calls, such as cars parked illegally, as well as apartment inspections. Businesses also often request fire inspections to satisfy lenders when refinancing and when renewing liquor licenses. Requirements for fire inspections in the new building codes are more stringent and Curtis has asked Mayor Hartill to consider hiring additional assistance.
Trustees: Hickey did not attend the meeting but Brown did. She stated it was less than a half hour and dealt with minutes and the cable franchise.
Hickey stated there have been monthly meetings for the N. Triphammer Reconstruction Project with Fisher Associates at which Trowbridge and Wolfe are also present. Fisher Associates feel they are presently about 1 week behind due to weather. All historical data have been run and models developed. Fisher is now awaiting a response from the state on improving traffic flow as the state controls the bridge. The group has also contacted the utility companies about putting utility lines underground and, judging by the response, they do not want to put them underground. Hickey stated a public informational meeting has been set for Feb. There will be display panels in Pyramid Mall and also an informal Open House in the Village Office from 2:30 – 7:30 P.M. Lots of information will be given out prior to the meeting and then another public meeting set up after the design is finished in the spring or summer.
Hickey has contacted the NY Planning Federation for Don Burton’s PowerPoint CD and it will be reproduced and sent to the Village, but will not contain the narrative.
Klepack referenced an article Rural Design which has much valuable information regarding clustering. The article will be provided for Board members for the next meeting. Hickey and Curtis have been working on clustering, open space and set asides.
Adjournment: