Village of Lansing
Planning Board Meeting
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; Village Attorney David Dubow; Trustee Liaison Lynn Leopold; and Code
Enforcement Officer Ben Curtis.
Hickey
opened the Public Comment period.
As there was no one present who wished to speak, Dankert moved to close the Public Comment Period. Seconded by Stycos. Ayes by Dankert, Hickey, Stycos and Tomei. Motion carried.
Planning Goals 2008:
Hickey referred the Board members to the Goals for 2007 which had been sent out in the packets. Hickey stated the first goal which was to review the Zoning, Subdivision and Special Permit Regulations should remain an ongoing goal as the Board is continuously updating and clarifying the existing regulations and application procedures. The Board made a number of needed changes this year, but all agreed there are certainly more that need to be done. The second goal was to develop a Village Stormwater Management Plan and that goal has been accomplished. The third goal was to review and update the existing Village Lighting Plan. That goal will be carried over to 2008 as Dankert would like to continue to work on the Lighting Plan. Dankert would like to look at standardizing the various types of street lights approved for use in the Village as NYSEG does not service all the various types on the market. Committee members Dankert, Leopold and Superintendent of Public Works Courtney will work on this in 2008.
Hickey
stated the Board will consider goals again at the first meeting in January in
case there are any other goals the Board would like to tackle in 2008.
Approval of Minutes Oct. 30, Nov. 12, Nov.27:
Tomei
moved to approve the minutes of October 30th as revised. Seconded by Stycos. Ayes by Dankert, Hickey,
Stycos and Tomei. Motion carried.
Dankert
moved to approve the minutes of November 12th as revised.
Seconded by Stycos. Ayes by
Dankert, Hickey, Stycos and Tomei.
Motion carried.
Tomei
moved to approve the minutes of November 27th as revised.
Seconded by Stycos. Ayes by Dankert, Hickey, Stycos and Tomei. Motion carried.
Reports:
Board
of Trustees: Tomei attended the Dec.
3rd meeting and stated a temporary Certificate of Occupancy was approved
for Colonial Vet. The Board of Trustees
also scheduled Public Hearings on proposed Local Laws I (Mixed Use in
Commercial High Traffic District), J (Definition of “Lot” in Zoning Law), K
(Definition of “Lot” in Subdivision Law) and L (Stormwater Management Law) for
Dec. 18th. Dubow stated there
would also be a Public Hearing on Proposed Local Law H (Sewer Surcharge
Increase). Dubow stated Clerk Dake would
send the 239 information to the County.
Dubow stated the Trustees were anxious to adopt the Stormwater
Management Law before the State deadline of December 31.
Dubow
stated Trustee O’Neill expressed concerns from his neighborhood about
solicitors. Dubow also stated that the Village does not have a local law regulating
door to door solicitation. Curtis noted
that although there are no restrictions, some companies give a list of names
and social security numbers for solicitors.
Curtis stated he also generally requests solicitors to register with the
Sheriff’s Department. The Planning Board
will discuss this topic if it is referred to them by the Board of
Trustees.
Next,
there was a discussion about the abandoning of shopping carts throughout the
Village and particularly in the Village drainage way on Graham Road. The Public Works staff have removed them and
it is a difficult time-consuming task.
Carts are also regularly left on the property of the apartment complexes
along Graham Road. Hickey stated the
Village has a law regarding littering as well as a law that requires property
owners to keep their drainage ways clear.
Hickey would like to see the property owners notified, and then it is
their responsibility to keep them clean.
Curtis stated there is some disagreement between the property owners in
question as to whose responsibility it is. The stream goes down the property
line, and therefore both could be cited.
Hickey stated that notices should go to the owners of both apartment
complexes to rectify the problem. Dubow
stated Village law states drainage ways must be kept clear and the Village can
order it to be cleaned up. If there is
not compliance, the Trustees can authorize Village Public Works Department to
do the cleanup and bill the property owner for the costs. Dubow recommended the
30 day notice be shortened to 3 or 5 days for compliance. Curtis stated he has
only pursued this course of action once with regard to a drainage way in the
Twin Glens area, but the requisite authorization for the DPW was not
forthcoming. Dubow stated a friendly
approach to both property owners may gain compliance before the Village needs
to take action. Curtis responded that he
has contacted both property owners on several occasions.
Curtis
recommended researching what other municipalities are doing as this problem is
not uncommon and has been going on for a long time. Someone suggested a cart pickup/drop-off site
for the shopping carts at the apartment locations, but Dubow stated that the
Village should not encourage what is essentially the theft of shopping carts. Another suggestion was to place vertical
posts in the walkways so the carts could not fit past a specific location, but
it was noted that this would cause problems with snow removal and handicap
access. Hickey will attend the Board
of Trustees meeting in December and will raise the issue of abandoned shopping
carts.
Other Business as Time
Permits:
Hickey
stated the agenda for Jan. 14th would include a training
presentation by David Fernandez of Cayuga Landscaping and also a continuation
of the discussion of the new Cayuga Medical Association building. Curtis has also heard that Eric Goetzmann from
the Shops at Ithaca Mall plans to be on the agenda for the January 29th
meeting. Hickey stated there was a
meeting of himself, Curtis, Lansing Fire Chief Scott Purcell, and 911
Cordinator Lee Shurtleff regarding the entrance to the Parkview Health Care
Campus. It was determined that a ten
foot wide paved shoulder on the south side of Arrowwood Drive from the entrance
up to Convenient Care’s driveway would resolve any concerns about emergency
access. There was also discussion about a Geogrid system that might look more like a landscape
feature, but still be rated for 40 tons to meet fire department needs. It was noted that this roadway could also be
gated, chained or striped and thereby useable only in case of an emergency. It was reported that Herman Sieverding of
Integrated Acquisition and Development is working on a design for this solution.
Stycos
asked if Board members have received enough educational hours. Hickey responded that the Board was in good
shape and Tomei has enough training for about 3 years by attending the
conference in Saratoga. Hickey stated
Board members could be credited for studying the educational material which is
often included in their packets.
Leopold
stated that Chrys Gardiner of Cooperative Extension has offered free daffodil
bulbs to the Village. These need to be
placed in the ground soon. Leopold will
get some and put them in around the Village Office and Tompkins Trust Company.
Stycos moved to adjourn at 8:15 P.M. Seconded by Tomei. Ayes by Dankert, Hickey, Stycos and Tomei. Motion carried.