Planning, Economic Development and Land Use Committee

This meeting is being held in accordance to Governor Cuomo’s Executive Order and other Federal and State Orders that impact in- person attendance at public meetings, if applicable orders expire or are revoked before August 5, 2020, this will be an in-person meeting in City Hall, please check our website and Facebook for updates. Please submit your public comment via email commoncouncil@albanyny.gov or on our website https://www.albanyny.gov/Government/CityOfficials/CommonCouncil.aspx by Wednesday, August 5, 2020 12pm. These comments will be shared with members and/ or read for the record at the meeting. The meeting will be held using Zoom and streamed through the Albany Common Council’s Facebook. To stream this video please visit: https://www.facebook.com/albany.commoncouncil. If we experience any technical difficulties on Facebook, the video will be streamed to YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-rQHp1fBLPcdk_4N6J4XbQ COMMON COUNCIL MEETING PLANNING, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND LAND USE COMMITTEE Cathy Fahey, Chair DATE: Wednesday, August 5, 2020 TIME: 5:30 p.m. TOPIC(S) OF DISCUSSION/CONSIDERATION: ORDINANCE 10.61.20 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 375 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF ALBANY (UNIFIED SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ORDINANCE) CHANGING THE ZONING CLASSIFICATION OF 180 SHERIDAN AVENUE FROM “TOWNHOUSE” (R-T) TO “MIXED-USE COMMUNITY URBAN” (MU-CU) AND AMENDING THE ZONING MAP ACCORDINGLY ORDINANCE. 11.61.20 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 375 (CITY OF ALBANY UNIFIED SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ORDINANCE) OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF ALBANY IN RELATION TO PARKING LOTS IN MU-CU ZONE DISTRICTS RESOLUTION NUMBER 62.71.20R RESOLUTION OF THE COMMON COUNCIL REGARDING POTENTIAL BROWNFIELD SITES Resolution Number 69.72.20R RESOLUTION OF THE COMMON COUNCIL REAPPOINTING ANDRE LAKE AS A MEMBER OF THE Sustainability Advisory Committee Resolution Number 70.72.20R RESOLUTION OF THE COMMON COUNCIL REAPPOINTING PETER SHEEHAN AS A MEMBER OF THE Sustainability Advisory Committee Resolution Number 71.72.20R RESOLUTION OF THE COMMON COUNCIL REAPPOINTING TINA LIEBERMAN AS A MEMBER OF THE Sustainability Advisory Committee PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD: YES Council Member Love introduced the following: ORDINANCE 10.61.20 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 375 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF ALBANY (UNIFIED SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ORDINANCE) CHANGING THE ZONING CLASSIFICATION OF 180 SHERIDAN AVENUE FROM “TOWNHOUSE” (R-T) TO “MIXED-USE COMMUNITY URBAN” (MU-CU) AND AMENDING THE ZONING MAP ACCORDINGLY The City of Albany, in Common Council convened, does hereby ordain and enact: Section 1. Chapter 375 of the Code of the City of Albany (Unified Sustainable Development Ordinance) and the Official Zoning Map are hereby amended to change the zoning classification of 180 Sheridan Avenue from Townhouse (R-T) to Mixed-Use Community Urban (MU-CU), said properties being more particularly described as follows: All that parcel of land situated in the City of Albany, County of Albany and State of New York, identified on the tax map as follows: Section: 65 Block: 81 Lot: 4 Sub Lot: 23 Said premises more commonly known as 180 Sheridan Avenue measuring approximately 24.66’ by 110’. Section 2. This ordinance shall take effect immediately. APPROVED AS TO FORM THIS 22ND DAY OF MAY, 2020 ________________________________ Corporation Counsel To: Danielle Gillespie, City Clerk John-Raphael From: Pichardo, Esq., Research Counsel Request for Re: Common Council Legislation Supporting Memorandum Date: May 22, 2020 SPONSOR Council Member Love ORDINANCE 10.61.20 TITLE: AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 375 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF ALBANY (UNIFIED SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ORDINANCE) CHANGING THE ZONING CLASSIFICATION OF 180 SHERIDAN AVENUE FROM “TOWNHOUSE” (R-T) TO “MIXED-USE COMMUNITY URBAN” (MU-CU) AND AMENDING THE ZONING MAP ACCORDINGLY GENERAL PURPOSE OF LEGISLATION: The proposed amendment expands an existing MU-CU zone district to encompass an adjacent property at 180 Sheridan Avenue. The property at 180 Sheridan Avenue is currently improved by a +/- 1,932 square foot residential structure. Directly to the east, within the MU-CU zone boundary, are located the facilities of Interfaith Partnership for the Homeless. Interfaith Partnership seeks to acquire the property located at 180 Sheridan Avenue in order to expand its office space capacity. The residential building will be fully renovated and interconnected with existing offices serving Interfaith Partnership at 176 Sheridan Avenue. The detached structure at 180 Sheridan Avenue is not contiguous with other residential properties on the block but for the existing zone boundary. The zone boundary would continue to be buffered by a driveway recently constructed to serve a row of attached townhouses. NECESSITY FOR LEGISLATION AND CHANGES TO EXISTING LAW: The existing dwelling structure, constructed circa 1880, is in need of investment and its future remains uncertain but for the proposed reuse by Interfaith Partnership. While the existing zone designation would accommodate a residential reuse of the property, it is unclear whether the property would attract the level of investment necessary to allow for its viable reuse for residential purposes. Despite this challenge, it is unlikely that the hardship would be unique enough to support reuse of the property by means of a variance. The zone change would relieve the proposed user of the need to seek a variance for its intended reuse. FISCAL IMPACTS: None. Councilmember Kimbrough introduced the following: ORDINANCE. 11.61.20 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 375 (CITY OF ALBANY UNIFIED SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ORDINANCE) OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF ALBANY IN RELATION TO PARKING LOTS IN MU-CU ZONE DISTRICTS The City of Albany, in Common Council convened, does hereby ordain and enact: Section 1. Subsection (B) (Permitted Use Table) of section 375-3 (Use Regulations) of Chapter 375 of the Code of the City of Albany is amended to read as follows: Table 375-1: Permitted Use Table P=Permitted Use | C=Conditional Use | A=Accessory Use | T=Temporary Use | V=Vacant Property Use Special Residential Mixed-Use Purpose Proposed Zoning District R-1L R-1M MU-NE MU-NC MU-CU MU-CH MU-DT MU-CI MU-FW MU-FC MU-FS MU-FM Use-Specific R-2 R-T R-M R-V I-1 I-2 LC Standard in Section LAND USE CATEGORY 375-3 COMMERCIAL USES Vehicles and Equipment A Parking Lot A A A A A A A A C A C A A A A A P P A (C)(4)(g)(5) Section 2. Clause (v) (Parking Lots) of subparagraph (g) (Vehicles and Equipment) of paragraph (4) (Commercial Uses) of subsection (C) (Use-Specific Standards) of section 375-3 (Use Regulations) of Chapter 375 of the Code of the City of Albany is amended by adding new items (B) and (C) to read as follows: B. In those districts where a Conditional Use Permit is required, it shall be only in those cases where the parking lot use is to be established as the principal use of the land. A Conditional Use Permit shall not be required where parking is to be established as an accessory use. C. In the MU-CU zone district, no Conditional Use Permit shall be approved unless it is determined that the proposed parking lot: 1. Responds to a demonstrable parking need of the use or uses to be served, as evidenced by factors including but not limited to whether the use has otherwise provided the minimum parking required pursuant to Section 375-4(E)(2)(a). 2. Is designed in such a way that it does not foreclosure the possibility of liner buildings being constructed along any street frontages, to the greatest degree practicable. 3. Does not result in the demolition of buildings or structures having an economically viable use or reuse, as determined pursuant to the provisions of 375-5(E)(17) (Demolition Review) or a 375-5(E)(19) Major Certificate of Appropriateness, whichever applies.  Section 3. Subparagraph (d) (Off-Site Parking) of paragraph (3) (Parking Alternatives and Adjustments) of subsection (E) (Parking and Loading) of section 375-4 (Development Standards) of Chapter 375 of the Code of the City of Albany is amended to read as follows: (i) In the Mixed-Use zoning districts Where allowed as a permitted or conditional use in Table 375-3-1 (Permitted Use Table), and as an alternative to providing required on-site parking, required parking spaces that are not required to be provided on-site by the Americans with Disabilities Act or state law may be provided at a location up to 1,000 feet walking distance from the development or redevelopment it serves. (ii) Off-site parking for a nonresidential use shall not be located in a Residential zoning district unless the use for which the parking is provided is a permitted or conditional use in that Residential district. (iii) (ii) The applicant for approval of off-site parking shall provide evidence, at the Chief Planning Official’s request, that the proposed off-site parking location will remain available for the proposed parking use for a period of at least two years. Section 4. This ordinance shall take effect immediately. APPROVED AS TO FORM THIS 22ND DAY OF MAY, 2020 ________________________________ Corporation Counsel To: Danielle Gillespie, City Clerk From: John-Raphael Pichardo, Esq., Research Counsel Re: Request for Common Council Legislation Supporting Memorandum Date: May 22, 2020 SPONSOR Councilmember Kimbrough ORDINANCE 11.61.20 TITLE: AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 375 (CITY OF ALBANY UNIFIED SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ORDINANCE) OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF ALBANY IN RELATION TO PARKING LOTS IN MU-CU ZONE DISTRICTS GENERAL PURPOSE OF LEGISLATION: To allow parking lots as a principal use of land in the MU-CU zone district, subject to a Conditional Use Permit review and use-specific design standards. The legislation also corrects inconsistencies between the current off-site parking allowances and the permitted use table. NECESSITY FOR LEGISLATION AND CHANGES TO EXISITING LAW: The zoning amendment was initiated in response to the desired construction of ancillary parking by the Capital Reparatory Theatre at 329 North Pearl Street. The request seemed reasonable in response to the demonstrable parking need of the intended user and the predeveloped characteristics of the area, which inhibited the accommodation parking on-site. However, those predeveloped characteristics also exhibited a need to reinforce the walkable urban fabric extant in the area. In evaluating the particular request exhibited by Capital Reparatory Theatre it was evident that these same general circumstances may again present themselves on future occasions. This lack of uniqueness bodes unfavorably for a variance and instead exhibits the need for a legislative change. Proposed changes are limited to the MU-CU district because the accompanying use-specific standards respond to characteristics unique to those areas, and also due to general compatibility of parking lot uses with the scale of other uses already extant and allowed within the MU-CU district. FISCAL IMPACTS: To be determined Council Member O’Brien introduced the following: RESOLUTION NUMBER 62.71.20R RESOLUTION OF THE COMMON COUNCIL REGARDING POTENTIAL BROWNFIELD SITES WHEREAS, Albany 2030, the City of Albany Comprehensive Plan, was adopted by the Common Council on April 2, 2012 as the foundation and reference point for the city’s policy and decision-making over the next approximately two decades; and WHEREAS, the Plan was put together over a three year process in six phases of development, enlisting much community and professional input; and WHEREAS, preparation of a Brownfield Nomination Study was integrated into the Albany 2030 planning process; and WHEREAS, of the various potential brownfield sites in Albany, the 2030 Plan chose seven sites pursuant to the NYS Department of State’s Brownfield Opportunities Areas Program. Among the seven sites is land identified as Site E consisting of 60 Colvin Ave (1.8 acres) and land immediately behind it (2.4 acres) identified as 60B Colvin Ave which property currently belongs to the City of Albany and is used as the dog park area of Westland Hills Park; and WHEREAS, this area was used by a wrecking company and by an auto company that stored building debris and auto components. According to Albany 2030 Plan Appendix A, environmental assessment of the property, which was done several years ago, shows that subsurface soils on site have been impacted by asbestos, heavy metals, and other hazardous materials. Additionally, old maps of Albany show wetlands on this area identified as Schafers Pond; and WHEREAS, currently a developer is seeking approval to construct 63 apartments and some commercial space on the 60 Colvin Ave portion of the site and the matter is currently scheduled before the City of Albany Planning Board as Project #00357; and WHEREAS, the developer’s application makes no mention of the site’s listing in the Brownfield Appendix A of the 2030 Plan but public comment submitted at the June 22, 2020 Planning Board meeting requested that the site should be reviewed by consultants independent of the applicant developer to determine whether proper mitigation standards will be met in developing this site; and WHEREAS, the Planning Director stated “Reference to a site location as a brownfield, or as in the case of the Comprehensive Plan, a potential brownfield, is not de-facto evidence of contaminants at the site. The designations are sometimes based upon perception alone if that perception is encumbering of a higher and better use of the site”; and WHEREAS, it appears that the Albany Planning Board is preparing to override the 2030 Plan’s declaration of this site as a potential brownfield cleanup area; NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, the Common Council declares that if the Planning Department and/or the Planning Board believes that any 2030 Plan site designation or characterization is in error, it should not make any such ruling on its own, but instead refer the matter for consideration in the same manner by which the 2030 Plan itself was enacted. To: Danielle Gillespie, City Clerk John-Raphael From: Pichardo, Esq., Research Counsel Re: Request for Common Council Legislation Supporting Memorandum Date: June 25, 2020 SPONSOR Council Member O’Brien RESOLUTION NUMBER 62.71.20R TITLE RESOLUTION OF THE COMMON COUNCIL REGARDING POTENTIAL BROWNFIELD SITES GENERAL PURPOSE OF LEGISLATION Should the Planning Department and/or the Planning Board believe that any 2030 Plan site designation or characterization is in error, it should not make any such ruling on its own, but instead refer the matter back for consideration in the same manner by which the 2030 Plan itself was enacted. NECESSITY FOR LEGISLATION AND ANY CHANGE TO EXISTING LAW See body of text. FISCAL IMPACT(S) None. Council Member Fahey on behalf of the Committee on Planning, Economic Development, and Land Use introduced the following: Resolution Number 69.72.20R RESOLUTION OF THE COMMON COUNCIL REAPPOINTING ANDRE LAKE AS A MEMBER OF THE SUSTAINABILITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that Andre Lake is hereby appointed as a member of the Sustainability Advisory Committee for a term expiring June 30, 2023; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this resolution shall take effect immediately. To: Danielle Gillespie, City Clerk From: John-Raphael Pichardo, Esq., Research Counsel Re: Request for Common Council Legislation Supporting Memorandum Date: July 9, 2020 SPONSOR Council Member Fahey on behalf of the Committee on Planning, Economic Development, and Land Use RESOLUTION NUMBER 69.72.20R TITLE RESOLUTION OF THE COMMON COUNCIL REAPPOINTING ANDRE LAKE AS A MEMBER OF THE SUSTAINABILITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE GENERAL PURPOSE OF LEGISLATION To reappoint Andre Lake to Sustainability Advisory Committee for a term expiring June 30, 2023 NECESSITY FOR LEGISLATION AND ANY CHANGE TO EXISTING LAW Requires Common Council Approval. Andre Lake was appointed to a 1-year term in 2018 (Resolution 26.51.18R) expiring 6/30/19, but was never reappointed. FISCAL IMPACT(S) None. Council Member Fahey on behalf of the Committee on Planning, Economic Development, and Land Use introduced the following: Resolution Number 70.72.20R RESOLUTION OF THE COMMON COUNCIL REAPPOINTING PETER SHEEHAN AS A MEMBER OF THE SUSTAINABILITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that Peter Sheehan is hereby appointed as a member of the Sustainability Advisory Committee for a term expiring June 30, 2022; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this resolution shall take effect immediately. To: Danielle Gillespie, City Clerk From: John-Raphael Pichardo, Esq., Research Counsel Re: Request for Common Council Legislation Supporting Memorandum Date: July 9, 2020 SPONSOR Council Member Fahey on behalf of the Committee on Planning, Economic Development, and Land Use RESOLUTION NUMBER 70.72.20R TITLE RESOLUTION OF THE COMMON COUNCIL REAPPOINTING PETER SHEEHAN AS A MEMBER OF THE SUSTAINABILITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE GENERAL PURPOSE OF LEGISLATION To reappoint Peter Sheehan to Sustainability Advisory Committee for a term expiring June 30, 2022 NECESSITY FOR LEGISLATION AND ANY CHANGE TO EXISTING LAW Requires Common Council Approval. Peter Sheehan was appointed to a 2-year term in 2014(Resolution 69.62.14R) expiring 6/30/16, but was never reappointed FISCAL IMPACT(S) None. Council Member Fahey on behalf of the Committee on Planning, Economic Development, and Land Use introduced the following: Resolution Number 71.72.20R RESOLUTION OF THE COMMON COUNCIL REAPPOINTING TINA LIEBERMAN AS A MEMBER OF THE SUSTAINABILITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that Tina Lieberman is hereby appointed as a member of the Sustainability Advisory Committee for a term expiring June 30, 2021; BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this resolution shall take effect immediately. To: Danielle Gillespie, City Clerk From: John-Raphael Pichardo, Esq., Research Counsel Re: Request for Common Council Legislation Supporting Memorandum Date: July 9, 2020 SPONSOR Council Member Fahey on behalf of the Committee on Planning, Economic Development, and Land Use RESOLUTION NUMBER TITLE RESOLUTION OF THE COMMON COUNCIL REAPPOINTING TINA LIEBERMAN AS A MEMBER OF THE SUSTAINABILITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE GENERAL PURPOSE OF LEGISLATION To reappoint Tina Lieberman to Sustainability Advisory Committee for a term expiring June 30, 2021 NECESSITY FOR LEGISLATION AND ANY CHANGE TO EXISTING LAW Requires Common Council Approval. Tina Lieberman was via Resolution 27.51.18R expiring 6/30/18, but was never reappointed FISCAL IMPACT(S) None.