Village of Lansing
Planning Board Meeting
February 12, 2007
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 Phil Dankert, Maria Stycos and Mario
Tomei; Trustee Liaison Lynn Leopold; Attorney David Dubow; Code Enforcement
Officer Ben Curtis, and members of the public.
Hickey
opened the Public Comment period.
As
there was no one who wished to speak, Dankert moved to close the Public Comment
Period. Seconded by Tomei. Ayes by Dankert, Hickey, Stycos and
Tomei. Motion carried.
Public Information Meeting
to Consider Way Finding Strategies for Village:
Hickey stated the first item on the agenda is public information for way finding strategies for the Village of Lansing. Trustee Fresinski who was on the Way Finding Committee along with Planning Board Members Mario Tomei and Carol Klepack, Resident Caroline Spicer, and Consultant Kathryn Wolf, made the presentation. Fresinski stated all Board members have received the minutes of the two meetings held by the Committee. Basically, the Committee was charged to develop a strategy that would enable drivers to find their way in the Village and at the same time not detract from the work already being done to improve the Village Center. Now that the N. Triphammer Road reconstruction is substantially completed, it is important to get the drivers from the NYS Route 13 bridge to the malls and other locations. There are problems associated with those heading north from the Route 13 bridge not being aware that there are more entrances to Pyramid Mall than the first turn, and that the two additional turns further north may provide better access to some of the stores. There are also commercial centers in the Village which are difficult to find such as the Small Mall on Cinema Drive and the Guild Commercial Park on Craft Road. Fresinski stated the minutes reflect the deliberations of the Committee in their attempt to understand what is needed. There were 12 spots identified where directories might be helpful. The Committee discussed whether additional signs are needed throughout the Village, and it was decided that this might become confusing and the Village would probably rather not have a profusion of signage. Fresinski stated Kathryn Wolf of Trowbridge & Wolf worked with the Committee sharing with the members signage techniques utilized at Cornell and other locations.
Fresinski
stated the issue of way finding signs is complex. Although there have been instances where
people stop by the office to ask directions to a particular business or
address, this is not something that happens on a daily basis. There have also not been problems with
drivers zigzagging through traffic to find a particular location. Should signs be installed, there would need
to be guidelines or rules as to which businesses are included on the signage
and also who would pay for such signage.
Fresinski stated the Board must decide if way finding signs are indeed
needed in the Village.
Curtis
stated directory signs should be considered.
In the Sign Law there is provision for Planned Sign Areas which can
include a directory sign such as that approved for the B & T Park. There are other locations where a directory
sign is very useful such as at Village Office Campus, although there is no real
provision for one there unless a Planned Sign Area is approved for that
specific purpose. Curtis stated there
has also been discussion in the past for such a directory sign at Guild Commercial
Park on Craft Road and on Sheraton Drive for the Cinema Drive businesses and
the Small Mall.
Fresinski
stated directory signs are a part of way finding, but too many complicated and
hard to read signs might interfere with driving. There should be a theme throughout the Village
for signage. Fresinski stated a key location is at the
bridge over Route 13, but NYS DOT would have to approve any signage in that
area. Fresinski stated it sounds like
the Board would be interested in directory signage as well as some minimal
signage to get drivers to those directory signs.
Hickey
wondered if public input is needed for this topic. Hickey noted an article could be placed in
the Newsletter to obtain responses regarding where signage is needed. Leopold wondered about the effect of such a
survey as it is those who do not live in the area who need directions. Curtis stated that some of the key business
people such as Bob Witty from CFCU, Gary Sloan from Squeakly Clean Car Wash, and
Andy Sciarabba from Lansing Village Place would be good resources. Curtis also mentioned the Board might be
receiving a request to change the name of Cinema Drive to Sheraton Drive
because there is no longer a Cinema there, it is hard to find, and there is
really no reason for that section of road to have a different name. Hickey stated a questionnaire could be sent
to businesses for their input. Wolf
stated the Board should be careful not to raise expectations. Hickey stated he would also like to see a nice
entrance sign on the north side of the Village, maybe in the vicinity of the
schoolhouse before the commercial district.
After discussion, it was decided not to put an article in the Newsletter
or send out a mailing to businesses at this time.
Wolf
was asked to provide a model for uniform signage to be used throughout the
Village for directories. There should be
a limited amount of signage on N. Triphammer Road and the signage should list
locations rather than individual businesses.
Directory signage would list the individual businesses located in that
area. Fresinski will speak to Witty and
see if he can enlist his help in surveying businesses near both CFCUs. It was noted that Malls do not need directory
signs as they are permitted entrance signs, generally pylons, under their
Planned Sign Area agreements as well as under the general provisions of the Sign
Law . With regard to signage on the
bridge and approaches to the bridge, Hickey stated the Village would need to
know what the State will allow.
Fresinski will check into this.
Curtis felt a place in the ROW for cars to pull over at the location of
directory signs would be helpful for traffic safety. Curtis also noted the Village owns the ROWs
so this should be feasible.
Stycos
stated it is also difficult to locate
doctors’ offices around the Convenient Care Center off Warren Road. Hickey will contact John Majeroni at Cornell
Real Estate about that area. Wolf stated
the directories should be within each affected area. For example, drivers would be directed to
either the Small Mall or Guild Commercial Park.
Once at the location, there would be an internal directory sign for
businesses located within that area.
Varn Subdivision, 2593 N.
Triphammer Rd., Classification:
The next item on the agenda was the Varn Subdivision. Hickey asked Ralph Varn to explain to Board members what is proposed particularly as shown on Drawing C of the sketch plan submission. Varn stated he is a Village resident who lived through the N. Triphammer Road reconstruction which came out beautifully. Varn stated the lots in question on N. Triphammer Road are irregular and one is non-conforming. Varn would like to take some of the land from the larger L-shaped lot and add it to the smaller non-conforming lot without creating another non-conforming lot. The L-shaped lot would meet all the requirements of the Village. The smaller lot would be made larger, but would still be deficient in size and road frontage. By adding the land on the back, the residence could be moved back from the road and further from the NYSEG line which crosses the property. The front of the house would be placed where the current back property line is located
Hickey stated the Board needs to classify the proposed subdivision. Dubow stated he has discussed this with Curtis and they agree that this could be considered enlarging a lot under Section 125-34 of the Village Code. Dubow suggested that the Board can act on this as the smaller lot is a non-conforming lot of record which was created before the Village was formed. Dubow stated the Board can determine that enlarging the lot would not be creating a non-conforming lot, but rather making an existing one less so. If this is considered enlarging a lot, then the subdivision could be treated as a boundary line adjustment. In any event the Board could classify this as a minor subdivision. Curtis stated the proposal would be making a bad situation better. Hickey stated the Village Code would permit construction of a single family residence on both. Varn stated this is what he is interested in doing. Varn stated he has put in an application to the Health Department for septic systems on each lot.
Stycos moved to classify the Varn Subdivision as a Minor subdivision falling under the provisions of Section 125-34 of the Subdivision Law for enlarging a lot. Seconded by Dankert. Dubow noted that Varn must now proceed with getting a formal survey map prepared. Hickey stated he feels a Public Hearing is needed. Tomei asked about driveway cuts and Hickey stated these would be unaffected by this action. Tomei also asked about the fact that this property abuts the Town of Lansing. Hickey stated the Town of Lansing will receive a copy of the Subdivision Public Hearing notice. Curtis reaffirmed this.
A
vote was taken. Ayes by Dankert, Hickey,
Stycos and Tomei. Motion carried.
Update & Continuation to
a Future Meeting of Public Hearing for Bolton Estate Subdivision:
Hickey stated the next item on the agenda was to continue the Public Hearing for the Preliminary Plat Approval of the Bolton Estate Subdivision, a major subdivision by Edward Crossmore dividing one 128.1 acre lot into 21 building lots for one and two family homes and residual land to be dedicated for recreation and infrastructure. The parcel is located on the west side of East Shore Drive just north of 1510 East Shore Drive in the Low Density Residential District, Tax Parcel No. 42.1-1-37.2.
Curtis stated he has received a letter from Crossmore (dated 2-12-07) stating that in order to comply with a NYS Office of Parks and Historic Preservation for an archeological study he would need to postpone his report to the Planning Board on this topic at least until late March. Curtis also distributed a revised 239 letter from County Planning (dated 2-12-07) which still expressed concern about the environmentally sensitive area and continued its determination of potential adverse impact. Stycos moved to extend the Public Hearing for the Crossmore Subdivision until March 27th. Seconded by Tomei. Ayes by Dankert, Hickey, Stycos and Tomei. Motion carried.
Hickey stated Crossmore has run into a problem because he needs to have a Phase 1A archeological study performed on the property and this takes about four weeks which is why he has requested an extension.
Approval of Minutes – Jan.30:
Stycos
moved to approve the minutes of January 30th as revised.
Seconded by Dankert. Ayes by
Dankert, Hickey, Stycos and Tomei.
Motion carried.
Other Business as Time
Permits:
Hickey
stated he has received a telephone call complaining about exacting trails on
the Crossmore Subdivision because this puts pressure on the adjoining property
owners who may not want trails on their property to provide land to continue
such trails in the future. Curtis stated
this may have been the same person with whom he spoke and who is a part of a
group supporting reversionary rights of property owners adjacent to abandoned
railroads. The group has reacted strongly to the Rails to Trails program and
extended their opposition to public trails in general and exaction and eminent
domain in particular.
Reports:
Board
of Trustees: Hickey stated the
Trustees have set a Public Hearing on the front yard/side yard setback proposed
local law. Dubow noted that they have since
held the public hearing and approved the amendment at their February 5 meeting.
The
big topic discussed at length at the February 5 meeting was deer herd
management in the Village. Two people
from DEC made presentations about the available programs. Hickey stated a provision of the nuisance law
permits waiving the 500 ft. hunting restriction which would allow archers to
come in and hunt the deer if the neighbors agreed, but this would be
ineffective in a densely populated area such as the one where he lives on
Graham Road. Hickey stated DEC indicated
that trapping and relocating of deer is not allowed. Leopold stated the Trustees will continue to
review this topic with Trustee O’Neill taking the leadership role. Dubow stated there are also permits for hunting
deer during a specific time in a specific area which are intended for culling
the deer herds where they have become a problem.
Hickey
also reported that he recommended the addendum to Greenway Plan to the Trustees
who accepted it. The original document
will be kept with the addendum added, and then the entire document scanned and
published on the Village web page.
Hickey
stated the Trustees have set a public hearing for acceptance of the offer of
dedication for Millcroft Way.
Hickey
stated that NYS law requires Planning Board members obtain 4 hours of training
or continuing education per year. Dubow
stated it is mandatory but the municipality can waive or modify this
requirement. Dubow stated the Board
should keep track of their training and certify compliance with the requirement
each year. Hickey stated if someone is
sent to Saratoga and gets 12 hours training it can be carried over to future
years. Hickey will put monies into the
budget for members to attend the training at Saratoga in the fall. Hickey stated the County has no money in
their budget to provide local training.
Hickey will call County Planning Commissioner Ed Marx to see what if
anything the County plans to do with regard to this requirement for Planning
Board members.
Adjournment:
Stycos
moved to adjourn at 8:52 P.M. Seconded
by Dankert. Ayes by Dankert, Hickey,
Stycos and Tomei. Motion carried.