The meeting of the Village of Lansing Planning Board was called to order by Chairman Hickey. Present at the meeting were Planning Board Members Brown, Halevy, Klepack, Waterman, Village Attorney Marcus, Code Enforcement Officer Curtis and Village Engineer Cross.

Saratoga Associates is 30 years old and is principally a planning and design firm. There are 50 employees and the firm has done a lot of work throughout the Hudson, Mohawk and Fingerlakes regions. Daniel Sitler talked about several of their past projects - in Fulton, the Rt. 481 corridor, in Marbletown, and in New Paltz. A common thread through all these communities was that they recognized and wanted to capture their uniqueness of character. Sitler said that there is a range of things that communities can choose to address from site issues and design standards to economic development issues. The last project went beyond design guidelines and looked at market position issues. They asked where they fit in the spectrum of retail commercial activity - who their customers were and who they wanted to attract - and then looked at how to translate those target market into sustainable development standards.

He outlined the process they would use. They identify what standards are important to the Village and they prefer to involve the public at large and affected property and business owners in the targeted area. Once guidelines are established they turn to the community and share their recommendations with them before they finalize the proposal. They look at site development (parking, setbacks, signage, etc) as well as how people connect between and within community areas. Increasingly they find villages looking for opportunities for gathering places such as park and seating areas for people to come together. The issue of building finish (materials, color, windows, doors, etc.) is much more controversial and difficult to manage and adds another layer of complexity and expense.

Finally they address the issue of how to get job done. They suggest that standards and site characteristics that have been developed be made part of the zoning ordinance. However, some communities use them only as guidelines.

Mr. Sitler would work on the project personally, and a project manager would be assigned.

No one indicated a wish to speak so Halevy moved that the Public Comment portion of the meeting be closed. Klepack seconded. All in favor.

Hickey said that the Greenspace Advisory Council visited the site and suggested that the proposed Eastern White Pine and Austrian Pine trees be replaced by spruce to better withstand deer. Hickey moved that the plan be approved with the suggestion that the pine trees be replaced by Blue Spruce trees. Seconded by Klepack. All in favor.

Hickey opened the public hearing for the final plat approval for a minor subdivision by Delores Babcock of one 3.69 acre lot into two lots, one 2.03 acre lot and one 1.66 acre lot at 2553 Triphammer Road in the medium Density residential District, Tax Parcel Number 44.1-1-35.1.

There being no one to comment, Halevy moved the hearing be closed. Seconded by Brown. All in favor.

Curtis said that this parcel is the south half of the lot at the corner of Cherry Road previously subdivided by Avramis. Mrs. Babcock is now subdividing her half again to create two building lots. Her house is on one and she is proposing to put a log cabin on the other lot. The driveway will be on N. Triphammer Road. The barn goes with the lot where the new house is going to be and no easement will be needed to access to the barn from the other lot. Marcus said that there is a shed close to the proposed new property line and Mrs. Babcock has written a letter giving permission for that structure to stay where it is.

The Board conducted a SEQRA review. Waterman moved that the Board find that this action will create no adverse environmental impact. Seconded by Klepack. All in favor.

Brown moved that the Board approve the final plat for the Babcock subdivision. Seconded by Klepack. All in favor.

Hickey opened the public hearing for the final plat approval for a minor subdivision by Ron and Ereign Seacord moving the lot line separating 1437 East Shore Drive, Tax parcel No. 43.1-1-17.2, and the vacant lot south of 1437 East Shore Drive, currently included in Tax Parcel No. 43.1-1-17.21, approximately 5 feet to the north at its intersection with the Cayuga Heights road right-of-way so as to reduce the area of the parcel known as 1437 East Shore Drive, and increase the area of the vacant lot to the south currently included in that same tax parcel. There being no one to comment, Halevy moved the hearing be closed. Seconded by Brown. All in favor.

The Board conducted a SEQRA review. Waterman moved that the Board find that this action will cause no adverse environmental impact. Klepack seconded. All in favor.

Brown moved that the Board approve the final plat for the Seacord subdivision. Seconded by Klepack. All in favor.

Hickey said that the Public Hearing for the Tops Market Special Permit will be adjourned to the September 21st meeting because they do not yet have the complete traffic report from the consultant. A Public Information Meeting will be held in the Village Office on Thursday, September 16th at .

Waterman moved to adjourn the Public Hearing to September 21. Seconded by Halevy. All in favor.

Landscaping plan: David Herrick reviewed the landscaping plan. Quite a few tree varieties are proposed for along the edge of the pavement around the front and within the islands that separate the parking area from the formal entrance drive. There are some substantial trees existing adjacent to the old parking lot which will not be removed. The trees which will remain will be identified on the plan. Marcus asked that trees beyond a certain size which are to be removed be identified on the plan as well. Hickey asked the developers to try to save a grove of maple trees on the south side of the site.

There are currently 45-50 trees on the property. Hickey said that the Greenspace Advisory Council visited the site, and they advise digging very large holes for the root balls when planting new trees.

Hickey asked about the 36,000 cubic yards of dirt to be taken off the site. This dirt cannot be reused in the building footprint because it is not suitable to support the building. Cross suggested the developers consider designing some sort of a floating foundation. The developer replied that this type would not be feasible.

There is a green area proposed for in front of the restaurant and an area between the sidewalk and the building for some plantings. The parking lot island on the south side is 12 feet wide and the others are at least that large. The curbs on the islands will be 6" above the pavement. Hickey suggested a higher curb so that snowplows can see the curbs, and Marcus added that higher curbs are also recommended to avoid having salt get into the root systems of the plantings in the islands.

The Board requested a more detailed landscaping plan for the next meeting which identifies trees on the site which won't be removed, trees within or adjacent to the site that will have to be removed, and trees which they may be able to transplant. Hickey noted that the plan did not call for plantings in front of the store as they had discussed previously to soften the outline of the building and make it more attractive.

Traffic: At the last meeting the Board had expressed concern about queuing of cars and safety issues as related to the ingress and egress into the plaza. John Tozzi said that they performed a worst case queing scenario (without the two traffic signals being coordinated). The results are that the westbound left turn lane into the site would queue back 90 feet. Westbound right turn traffic would queue back 135 feet using the majority of that lane when the signal is red. The maximum queues they predicted will be cut 50% with the coordinated traffic signals. And the queuing analysis doesn't take into account right turn on red. The traffic signal coordination will respond to traffic coming out of the Tops development. If there is no demand on the side street the light will rest on green. The signal is tripped by a wire in the ground.

The Board questioned who would own the light and who would be responsible for maintenance. This is an issue for the Trustees to decide. Tops’ representatives stated they would plan to not only pay for the light, but also the costs of maintenance.

The developers reported that they reviewed the single driveway alternative that the Board had proposed and felt it was very unsafe. They pointed out a significant number of problems with this type of layout and the Board agreed that a single driveway was not a desirable solution. Using a T-access as Klepack had previously suggested was also undesirable because that would only work if there were a ring road.

The Board suggested that the first island on the plan be extended to the second island to make it a solid barrier in order to delineate the road that the delivery trucks will follow around to the back of the store. Employees could park to the south side and that will minimize the problem of parked cars backing out into traffic.

Hickey reminded the developers of several other features that the Board wants to see on the final plat - bus stops, bicycle racks, a dumpster enclosure, and a sidewalk to go all the way down the south side of Pyramid Drive.

A Public Hearing will be held on September 21st, and a traffic information meeting will be held on September 16th at 4:00 p.m in the Village Office.

The Board reviewed recommendations made by the Greenspace Advisory Council and will make the following recommendations to the Trustees:

1. The Village needs a clean-up day. It could be announced in the next Village of the Lansing Newsletter and the pick-up of trash should be coordinated by the Superintendent of Public Works.
2. Placement of trash barrels. This idea needs further research as to the placement, responsibility for emptying and who would be using them.
3. Village logo. This is an important issue but the Board did not feel that a contest would achieve the desired results and recommended that a consultant be hired instead. Village signs are needed and a logo should be part of them.
4. Information regarding deer damage, repellants, and the Village tree program will appear in the next Newsletter.
5. Greenway Trails. The Village needs authority (permission) from NYSEG and Cornell to use the land under the power lines for a trail to Sapsucker Woods. The clearing of the trail-cutting brush and grass - could be done by the Superintendent of Public Works once permission is granted. Some consideration needs to be given to the crossing of Warren Road. Crosswalks would be appropriate. This is a great idea and should be approved. The issue of trail surfaces has never been resolved. The Public Works Department covered a trail in Lansing Trails with grit but no report of its success has been forthcoming. The recommendation of hard surfaces in all cases in not recommended. The Greenway appears to have a low priority.
6. The Planning Board supports the placement of grills and benches in the park in Lansing Trails. It might also be appropriate to build a pavilion. This needs the support of Lansing Trails Homeowner's Association.

Trustees: Halevy reported that the Trustees had cancelled their meeting for the Labor Day holiday.

Halevy moved to adjourn at 9:55, seconded by Brown. All in favor.