Zoning Board of Appeals

City of Cortland – Zoning Board of Appeals Zoning Board of Appeals City of Cortland Regular meeting of August 12, 2019 A regular meeting of the Zoning Board of Appeals was held on Monday, August 12, 2019 at 5:31 PM in the Mayor’s Conference Room at City Hall. Present: Commissioners Scott Steve, Juliene Ray, Abigail Cleary, Thomas Larson, Brett Barnes, Karen Leahy, Maria Manning (arrived at 5:45PM). Staff: Zoning Officer Bob Rhea, Confidential Secretary Devon Rainbow Item #1 – 8 Frederick St. (Gross) – Area Variance (R2)  Reconstruction of the Driveway Copies of easement and copy of new survey were passed out by Mr. & Mrs. Gross who were present at the meeting. Mrs. Gross stated the gutters are set up and are to be used for the water runoff. Motion to close Public Hearing: Motion: Comm. Ray Second: Comm. Barnes Approved: Ayes – 5 Nays – 0 Motion to approve variance with down spout on driveway side: Motion: Comm. Larson Second: Comm. Ray Approved: Ayes – 4 Nays – 1 (Commissioner Cleary) Item #2 – 15 Monroe Heights (Bentley) – Area Variance (R4)  4’ Vegetative strip Zoning Officer Bob Rhea stated according to his notes The Planning commission had stipulated that they have a water collection system such as a drywell and a some type of barrier along rear parking area to divert the water to the South. Taylor Salsbury (Possible Purchaser) was present at the meeting. Taylor stated the barrier was to protect storm water runoff from going into the neighbor’s yard. Taylor is looking to redo the parking because of the water runoff issue. He is going to install a retention basin that has gravel in it to help infiltrate. There is going to be a slightly raised vegetative strip to the east where the low area is located. Minutes of the August 12, 2019 Meeting 1  City of Cortland – Zoning Board of Appeals He is looking to put in 4 parking spots (2 per unit). This is a 2 unit house that currently has six bedrooms total with 4 bedrooms upstairs and 2 bedrooms downstairs. There are 2 staircases within the property. There are 3 bathrooms in the house and there will be a kitchen installed upstairs. Commissioner Steve had a concern with one of the bedroom sizes and stated that it needed to be addressed because it was too small. Commissioner Steve also had concerns regarding the water runoff and the water collection basin missing the water shed, which would allow the water table to pass right by it. Mr. & Mrs. Desai of 96 W. Court are the neighbor who has concerns with water runoff coming into their yard. They also have density concerns with the house. Motion to table for 60 days pending engineering plans for water runoff: Motion: Comm. Cleary Second: Comm. Barnes Approved: Ayes – 6 Nays – 0 Item #3 – 10 Alvena Ave (Guthrie) – Area Variance (PO)  Parking lot improvements Denise Wrinn who is the VP of Finance at Guthrie Cortland Medical Center was present for the meeting. She stated the parking lot is dirt/gravel and some old asphalt from old driveways. They are looking to do temporary repairs. David Hitchman who is the Facility Director stated they are trying to scarify the lots, loosening up what is there, add gravel as needed and compact with a large roller so they get a smooth surface. Denise Wrinn the long range plan is to permanently pave the lots, proper drainage installed, have proper greenspace, lighting etc. This project is possibly 2 years out in being final. There are things in the works. There are no plans on expanding at the moment. They would like to do all the parking lots in one day. The Board reviewed the questions necessary for the deciding of granting or rejecting an area variance. Motion to close the Public Hearing: Motion: Comm. Leahy Second: Comm. Manning Approved: Ayes – 6 Nays – 0 Motion to approve the area variance for 3 years from today. Minutes of the August 12, 2019 Meeting 2  City of Cortland – Zoning Board of Appeals Motion: Comm. Larson Second: Comm. Barnes Approved: Ayes – 6 Nays – 0 Item #4 – 134 Homer Ave. (Guthrie) – Area Variance (PO)  Parking lot improvements Denise Wrinn who is the VP of Finance at Guthrie Cortland Medical Center was present. She stated the parking lot is dirt/gravel and some old asphalt from old driveways. Looking to do temporary repairs. David Hitchman who is the Facility Director stated they are trying to scarify the lots, loosening up what is there, add gravel as needed and compact with a large roller so they get a smooth surface. Denise Wrinn the long range plan is to permanently pave the lots, proper drainage installed, have proper greenspace, lighting etc. This project is possibly 2 years out in being final. There are things in the works. There are no plans on expanding at the moment. They would like to do all the parking lots in one day. The Board reviewed the questions necessary for the deciding of granting or rejecting an area variance. Motion to close the Public Hearing: Motion: Comm. Cleary Second: Comm. Larson Approved: Ayes – 6 Nays – 0 Motion to approve area variance for a period of 3 years. Motion: Comm. Ray Second: Comm. Larson Approved: Ayes – 6 Nays – 0 Item #5 – 126 Homer Ave. (Guthrie) – Area Variance (PO)  Parking lot improvements Motion to remove this item from the agenda. Motion: Comm. Barnes Second: Comm. Ray Approved: Ayes – 6 Minutes of the August 12, 2019 Meeting 3  City of Cortland – Zoning Board of Appeals Nays – 0 Item #6 – 160 Homer Ave. (Guthrie) – Area Variance (PO)  Parking lot improvements Denise Wrinn who is the VP of Finance at Guthrie Cortland Medical Center was present. She stated the parking lot is dirt/gravel and some old asphalt from old driveways. Looking to do temporary repairs. David Hitchman who is the Facility Director stated they are trying to scarify the lots, loosening up what is there, add gravel as needed and compact with a large roller so they get a smooth surface. Denise Wrinn the long range plan is to permanently pave the lots, proper drainage installed, have proper greenspace, lighting etc. This project is possibly 2 years out in being final. There are things in the works. There are no plans on expanding at the moment. They would like to do all the parking lots in one day. The Board reviewed the questions necessary for the deciding of granting or rejecting an area variance. Motion to close the Public Hearing: Motion: Comm. Ray Second: Comm. Cleary Approved: Ayes – 6 Nays – 0 Motion to approve area variance for a period of 3 years. Motion: Comm. Cleary Second: Comm. Leahy Approved: Ayes – 6 Nays – 0 Item #7 – 223 Central Ave. (Van Steenburg) – Area Variance (R2)  Carport in side yard Mike & Linda Van Steenburg were present at the meeting. They explained the carport is going to cover the existing driveway in front of the garage/room. There won’t be any walls, just a roof and supports are going to be right along the side of driveway. The Code Office will need to review for snow weight. The Board reviewed the questions necessary for the deciding of granting or rejecting an area variance. Minutes of the August 12, 2019 Meeting 4  City of Cortland – Zoning Board of Appeals Motion to close the Public Hearing: Motion: Comm. Manning Second: Comm. Cleary Approved: Ayes – 6 Nays – 0 Motion to approve area variance with the condition that a gutter & downspout are installed on the carport directing runoff towards the front of the property. Motion: Comm. Ray Second: Comm. Barnes Approved: Ayes – 6 Nays – 0 Item #8 – 99 Elm St. (Sawan LLC) – Area Variance (R2)  Lot area and front yard size Applicant wasn’t present at meeting to represent property. Zoning Officer Bob Rhea stated that the property is a use by right but the front yards are not deep enough. The driveway encroaches the on the 3ft vegetative strip. The lot coverage is well below the 60% that is allowed. There were questions regarding the parking lay out, window sizes, bedroom sizes and lot coverage. Motion to table due to lack of information. Motion: Barnes Second: Cleary Approved: Ayes – 6 Nays – 0 Approval of minutes Motion to approve the minutes as amended from June 10, 2019. Motion: Comm. Cleary Second: Comm. Barnes Approved: Ayes – 6 Nays – 0 Motion to approve the minutes as amended from July 8, 2019. Motion: Comm. Barnes Minutes of the August 12, 2019 Meeting 5  City of Cortland – Zoning Board of Appeals Second: Comm. Ray Approved: Ayes – 6 Nays – 0 New/old business: No new/old business was discussed. Adjournment Motion to adjourn. Motion: Comm. Manning Second: Comm. Larson 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 12TH DAY IN AUGUST IN THE YEAR 2019. SCOTT STEVE, ZBA CHAIR MEMBER Minutes of the August 12, 2019 Meeting 6