![]() ![]() The Planning Board sought to verify that the Army Corps of Engineers would be involved to make sure a third-party was validating the wetland findings. Project engineer Chris Wood added that his firm, Hunt Engineers, Architects and Surveyors, had the property re-evaluated for wetlands, and stated that some areas that were originally thought to be wetlands were not, so that allowed a return to 42 building lots plus the community room lot-eight lots (lots 7-10 and 34-37) would be for-sale single-family homes, and the remaining 34 would be senior duplex rentals (68 units), for a total of 76 housing units on 42 lots. ![]() Some trails have been deleted and modifications have been made for slightly wider rights-of-way for the roads (from 60 feet to 70 feet), and to better accommodate stormwater protection. Section SponsorsĪs developer David Beer stated at the meeting, one lot would host the community room, maintenance office and equipment garage, and most of the other lots have had minor changes since the preliminary approval. The Beers have been clearly invasive species from the land, and the quonset hut for equipment storage was a highly contested debate itself. Ostensibly a year and a half is a long time to get to this point, but COVID-19 got in the way and the Beers are local developer/landlords who derive most of their revenue from student properties like most student housing owners, they became much more cautious during 2020, and held off on moving forward with big new investments until the market and pandemic situations were more stable. Last night was a step towards that, with an informal review of the detailed lot plans. With that preliminary approval granted in November 2019, the next significant step is the development of specific building plans that have to be presented as part of final subdivision plat (lot) approval. Nothing in the later version conflicts with the village’s Medium Density Residential (MDR) zoning, which made it an easier sell, though neighbors were still largely opposed (explained here). The preliminary cluster subdivision approval issued in November 2019 gives permission for 76 units on 41.19 acres, with trails, park-like spaces, and 4.56 acres of “forever wild” land. Instead of clustered cottages with common grounds, the plan calls for clustered home lots, which allows the lots to be a little smaller in exchange for the preservation of a greater amount of open natural space. However, the project faced stiff opposition from neighbors, and the village Planning Board turned the PDA application down in February 2019.Ī few months later, the Beers returned with a more conventional suburban subdivision that slotted a senior duplex on each of about forty home lots. Readers of the Voice and now-discontinued Lansing Star (we miss you Dan) may remember that the original plans for 108 senior (age 55+) senior rental units shared in 2018 and required a Planned Development Area because they were designed in a ‘pocket neighborhood” format. Once those are all good and finished, they vote on preliminary site plan approval and, after reviewing a few final details and remaining paperwork, final site plan approval.įirst up on the discussion agenda for the village of Lansing’s Planning Board is Beer Properties’ plan for the former Millcroft subdivision between Craft Road and Bush Lane. In the interest of brevity, a quick primer is included below, but if you want a description of the steps in the project approval process, the “Site Plan Review Primer” is here.ĭuring SPR the Planning Board looks at sketch plans, declares itself lead agency for state environmental quality review (SEQR), conducts a review and declares negative (adverse effects mitigated) or positive (potential harmful impacts, needs an Environmental Impact Statement), while concurrently performing design review for projects in certain neighborhoods for aesthetic impacts. Site Plan Review (SPR) is where the review of new building proposals happens. Here’s a rundown of last night’s meeting unlike city agendas, the village of Lansing just provides one-page summaries, and the March 30th meeting can be found here.įor those used to reading my columns on the City of Ithaca’s Planning Board, the project review process in the towns and villages is largely the same. On the flip side was last night’s village of Lansing Planning Board meeting, which introduced a rare though perhaps merited experience: thinly-veiled acrimony. ![]() The meetings are cordial, on the dry side, often critical of proposals but rarely with pointed language. LANSING, N.Y.-Having sat through and watched some number of planning board meetings over the years throughout the larger communities in Tompkins County, it’s safe to say they tend to be emotionally muted affairs with their respective appointed members. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |