Zoning Board of Appeals

City of Cortland – Zoning Board of Appeals Zoning Board of Appeals City of Cortland Regular meeting of October 15, 2018 A regular meeting of the Zoning Board of Appeals was held on Wednesday, October 15th, 2018 at 5:03 PM in the Mayor’s Conference Room at City Hall. Present: Commissioners Scott Steve, Maria Manning, Abigail Cleary, Juliene Ray, Geoffrey Peppel, and Thomas Larson Excused: Commissioner Karen Leahy Staff: Zoning Officer Bob Rhea, Chief William Knickerbocker, and Confidential Secretary Devon Rainbow Item #1 – 34 West Court St (VanDonsel) – Special Use (R1) -Part time Law Office Ric VanDonsel was present to speak. He made it clear that the office will not be used for clients and there will not be any signage, it is only going to be used as a home office for mailing things out, answering the phone, and getting work done. Since there will not be clients at the office, there will not be traffic issues with parking. -Kevin Sheets of 32 West Court St. was present to speak regarding the office. Although Kevin appreciates and respects his neighbors, he is against the proposal. His concern is any precedent that it might set, which would invite or open others on the street to make a business out of their homes. He is not worried about changing the character of the R1 district, his concern is more about the precedent it would set. The board responded by explaining that each proposal is treated as a special case, which means that no precedents could be set. Each scenario is treated separately. -Jerry Ruggerio spoke on behalf of Jeff Grodinsky on West Court St. He mentioned that he was not sure that a special use permit is necessary for Ric’s situation. He added that if the board finds that a special use permit is necessary, Jeff would be in support of the office. Motion to close the public hearing: Motion: Comm. Cleary Second: Comm. Ray Approved: Ayes – 6 Nays – 0 The Board members reviewed the test questions to determine whether the variance should be considered for granting or denial. Motion to approve as presented with no increase in traffic, signage or client meetings. Motion: Comm. Manning Minutes of the October 15, 2018 Meeting 1  City of Cortland – Zoning Board of Appeals Second: Comm. Ray Approved: Ayes – 6 Nays – 0 Item #2 – 1318 Carroll St (Taw) – Area Variance (GB) -Parking for a Multi-family Housing Project Jeff Taw was present to speak for the Christopher Community and the Cortland YWCA. Jeff updated the Board with changes that have been made. Jeff said that they had spoken with the fire department and there was a comment made about the access around the perimeter of the building and requested an added 2nd gate to the playground on the east side. There was also a comment regarding a sidewalk on Carroll St. They extended it, lining the parking area on west side of the property to Carroll St. The height of the building is exactly 12ft. There will be merging of properties that has been approved by the city, however, approval from Cortlandville is in the process of being granted. For parking, there will only be one driver per unit, hence the majority of the building is single women with children. For visitors, there will be controlled visitation only so only 1 or 2 at a time. The service providers are regular staff, and they also have parking. There will be a manager and a maintenance superintendent who will be splitting their time between this building and Riverview. There was mention of a needed 10ft buffer. There is a cooling dry tower outside the building. -Tom Fracillo, a lawyer for the Cortland Agriculture Corporation was present to speak. He mentioned important issues that are going to need to be addressed. The first one is the flag shape parcel that is proposed in this project, the corporation has used and maintained for decades. There was discussion and confusion regarding property ownership on the land. There were also comments made about the gravel road in the area to be used and that it is private property. The Board is going to get more information from their lawyers and have a meeting with members for this project about the property and what other steps need to be done to move forward. -Martha Bush, a member of the Board explained that months ago, she had spoken to Mr. Yaman and informed him of some of her concerns regarding the private gravel road. Motion to table this item: Motion: Comm. Ray Second: Comm. Peppel Approved: Ayes – 6 Nays – 0 Item #3 – 2 James St (Ruggerio) – Interpretation (R1) Gerry was present to speak. He explained that with the new R1 law he would be grandfathered in and would not need a special use permit to rent his building, and that he would sue for that right. Gerry said that the City did not have the right to tell him he cannot rent the property, since he had permission before the law was passed. He asked Bob for a CZO granting him (that he is the CZO) and that the property does not need a special use permit, but Bob and Ric had said no. What Gerry wants is Minutes of the October 15, 2018 Meeting 2  City of Cortland – Zoning Board of Appeals recognition from the City in the property file in his possession so that he can sell it and does not need a special use permit, nor will the person he sells it to. Motion to close the public hearing: Motion: Comm. Cleary Second: Comm. Manning Approved: Ayes – 6 Nays – 0 Zoning Officer stated that usually only the primary use, conforming/nonconforming, and any conflicts with Zoning are the things that go on the CZO. Motion to release a CZO: Motion: Comm. Steve Second: Comm. Cleary Approved: Ayes – 6 Nays – 0 Minutes Motion to accept and approve the minutes of the previous meeting: Motion: Comm. Larson Second: Comm. Cleary Approved: Ayes – 6 Nays – 0 Old/New Business There was new training information that was sent out. There was discussion on changing the Zoning Board meeting time to later. Motion for a meeting time change from 5:00 PM to 5:30 PM Motion: Comm. Manning Second: Comm. Peppel Approved: Ayes – 6 Nays – 0 Adjournment Motion: Comm. Cleary Second: Comm. Peppel Minutes of the October 15, 2018 Meeting 3  City of Cortland – Zoning Board of Appeals Approved: Ayes – 6 Nays – 0 I, SCOTT STEVE, CHAIR MEMBER OF THE ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS FOR THE CITY OF CORTLAND, NY, DO HEREBY CERTIFY THAT SAID RESOLUTIONS WERE ADOPTED AT A MEETING OF THE ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS OF THE CITY OF CORTLAND, HELD ON THE 15TH DAY IN OCTOBER IN THE YEAR 2018. SCOTT STEVE, ZBA CHAIR MEMBER Minutes of the October 15, 2018 Meeting 4