Planning Commission

City of Schenectady Planning Commission Meeting Minutes July 15, 2020 I. CALL TO ORDER Commissioner Wallinger called the meeting to order at 6:05 p.m. Due to the closure of City Hall because of the Covid-19 Virus, the meeting was conducted online via WebEx. II. ATTENDANCE PRESENT: Mary Moore Wallinger, Chair; Bradley Lewis, Vice Chair; Ryan Bailey; Randall Beach; Richard Ferro; Andrew Healey; Matthew Smith, Senior Planner; Andrew Koldin, Corporation Counsel; Jennifer Mills, Secretary EXCUSED: Jason Bogdanowicz-Wilson III. CONFLICT OF INTEREST CHECK Commissioner Beach recused himself from the consideration of New Business Item C, the Highbridge Broadway 318, LLC application. IV. APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES Motion by Commissioner Lewis, seconded by Commissioner Healey, to approve the revised Minutes of the May 20, 2020 meeting as submitted. Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Commissioner Ferro, seconded by Commissioner Bailey, to approve the Minutes of the June 17, 2020 meeting as submitted. Motion carried unanimously. V. NEW BUSINESS A. ARI MALISZEWSKI requests site plan approval pursuant to Section 264-90 M of a proposal to operate a business office at 1653 Rutgers Street, tax parcel # 49.66-2-17, located in a “C-2” Mixed Use Commercial District. Ari Maliszewski presented the proposal. Mr. Maliszewski explained that he would like to use the office behind his mother’s dog grooming business as the physical location for his auto dealer’s license. He stated that no vehicles will be stored on the site as he serves mainly as a broker for used vehicles, buying them and then  reselling them immediately. He noted that if he ever does need to store vehicles, he has written agreements with other dealers who will allow him to store cars on their lots. The landscaping on the site was discussed and it was determined that additional landscaping and a street tree would be required. PUBLIC COMMENTS None. SITE PLAN APPROVAL Motion by Commissioner Lewis, seconded by Commissioner Beach, to accept the proposal with the following conditions: 1. The address will be prominently displayed so that it is easily visible from Rutgers Street. 2. Metal roll gates and iron bars are not permitted on any doors or windows at any time in the future. 3. The asphalt will be removed from behind the sidewalk and the utility strip on the Rutgers Street side of the building. Grass will be planted in the utility strip and grass or a mulched landscaping bed with flowers and shrubs will be installed between the sidewalk and the building. A small flowering tree will also be added to the site. The applicant will submit a landscaping plan, showing the placement of the tree and the landscaping to be installed, to the City Planner for final approval prior to installing the landscaping. The landscaping will be installed by October 15, 2020. Motion carried unanimously. B. CHRIS SPRARAGEN requests site plan approval pursuant to Section 264-90 L of a proposal to redevelop the site at 426 Franklin Street, tax parcel # 39.72-4-45, located in a “C-4” Downtown Commercial District. Chris Spraragen, Luigi Palleschi of ABD Engineers, and Luigi Stochetti of Re4orm Architecture presented the proposal. Mr. Spraragen explained that he is renovating the interior and exterior of the building and will have retail space on the first floor with office space on the upper floors. Mr. Palleschi reviewed the site plan, noting the proposed parking areas. Mr. Stochetti reviewed the elevation drawings and explained the proposed exterior materials. After some discussion it was determined that  once the final decision regarding the exterior materials and colors are made a revised site plan and elevation drawings should be submitted to the City Planner for final review and approval. The landscaping on the site was discussed and it was determined that a final landscaping plan should be submitted to the City Planner for final review and approval. PUBLIC COMMENTS None. SITE PLAN APPROVAL Motion by Commissioner Beach, seconded by Commissioner Lewis, to accept the proposal with the following conditions: 1. The address will be prominently displayed so that it is easily visible from Franklin Street. 2. Metal roll gates and iron bars are not permitted on any doors or windows at any time in the future. 3. The applicant will submit the final site plan and elevation drawings to the City Planner for review and approval once exterior colors and materials are finalized. If, during the course of construction, changes are necessary to the approved plans the applicant will return to the City Planner for further review, and if the changes are deemed significant, to the Planning Commission for further consideration. 4. The applicant will submit a plan for the parking areas to the City Planner for final review and approval. As discussed at the meeting, the landscaping will include the required 4-foot buffer at the rear of the building, between the parking and the sidewalk, and the larger parking area will include landscaped areas. 5. Any awnings or canopies that overhand the City right of way will require a revocable permit from the City. Motion carried unanimously. C. HIGHBRIDGE BROADWAY 318, LLC requests site plan approval pursuant to Section 264-90 I of a proposal to expand the building at 318 Broadway, tax parcel # 39.79-2-16, 17.1, & 29, located in a “C-4” Downtown District. John Roth, Principal of Highbridge Broadway 318 LLC, Luigi Palleschi of ABD Engineers, and Luigi Stochetti of Re4orm Architecture presented the proposal. Mr. Palleschi reviewed the site plan and explained that two smaller buildings will be removed from the site and the two larger buildings will  be joined with an infill addition. He stated that the use of the building will most likely continue to be medical office space. Mr. Stochetti reviewed the elevation drawings. After some discussion it was decided that the applicant should submit a final landscaping plan, reflecting the landscaping shown on the elevation drawings, to the City Planner for final review and approval. PUBLIC COMMENTS None. SEQR RESOLUTION Motion by Commissioner Ferro, seconded by Commissioner Lewis, to accept the Negative Declaration. Motion carried unanimously, with Commissioner Beach recusing himself from the vote. SITE PLAN APPROVAL Motion by Commissioner Ferro, seconded by Commissioner Healey, to accept the proposal with the following conditions: 1. The address will be prominently displayed so that it is easily visible from Broadway. 2. Metal roll gates and iron bars are not permitted on any doors or windows at any time in the future. 3. The applicant will submit a final landscaping plan to City Planning staff for approval. The plan will incorporate the items discussed at the meeting, including the plantings shown in the elevation drawings and the addition of two street trees by the parking lot entrance. Motion carried unanimously, with Commissioner Beach recusing himself from the vote. D. JEWAIN UDAIRAM requests site plan approval pursuant to Section 264-90 M of a proposal to operate a laundromat at 1400 State Street, tax parcel # 49.67-4-11, located in a “C-2” Mixed-Use Commercial District. Amanda Udairam presented the proposal. Ms. Udairam explained that her father-in-law, Jewain Udairam, would like to open a laundromat on this site. The Commissioners and the applicant discussed landscaping on the site and the removal of the asphalt between the fence and the sidewalk. It  was determined that the applicant should submit a final landscaping plan to the City Planner for review and approval. It was noted that there is adequate on-street parking available for the business and the rear parking lot shown in the application will not be necessary. PUBLIC COMMENTS None. SITE PLAN APPROVAL Motion by Commissioner Lewis, seconded by Commissioner Bailey, to accept the proposal with the following conditions: 1. The address will be prominently displayed so that it is easily visible from State Street. 2. Metal roll gates and iron bars are not permitted on any doors or windows at any time in the future. 3. The asphalt between the fence and the sidewalk will be removed, except in the area of the front walk, and will be replaced with landscaping. The applicants will submit a landscaping plan to the City Planner before the landscaping is installed. The asphalt will be removed, and the landscaping installed by October 15, 2020. 4. The applicant will submit the exterior paint colors to the City Planner for approval prior to painting the building. 5. All signs from the previous business are considered abandoned and must be removed. 6. The boarded window on the façade must be replaced with glass prior to the opening of the business. 7. The dumpster will be enclosed and locked at the rear of the property. The applicant will submit a plan showing the enclosure and its location on the site prior to the opening of the business. 8. Window signs may not cover more than 20% of the glass area of the windows. Motion carried unanimously. E. JONATHAN WOCHER requests site plan approval and Special Use Permit review pursuant to Section 264-90 J and Schedule B of a proposal to develop the site for use as a gasoline station at 1108 State Street, tax parcel # 49.50-4-1.11, located in a “C-2” Mixed-Use Commercial District. Jonathan Wocher, Planning Consultant from McBride, Dale, Clarion, Scott Gross, Construction Manager for Speedway, and Steve Wilson of Bohler Engineering presented the proposal.  Mr. Wocher briefly reviewed the site plan and explained that the applicants would like to construct a Speedway convenience store and gas station on the site. The site plan was discussed at length by the Commissioners. At issue was the location of the building at the rear of the site, the location of the gas pumps, the lack of safe pedestrian access to and around the site, and the traffic patterns of cars exiting and entering the property. The Commissioners also reviewed the Special Use Permit criteria and discussed whether the proposal met the necessary standards for a Special Use Permit. It was determined that the proposal should be tabled pending the submission of the traffic study results, a landscaping plan, and a revised site plan. PUBLIC COMMENTS None. MOTION TO TABLE Motion by Commissioner Lewis, seconded by Commissioner Healey, to table the proposal pending the submittal of further information, including: 1. The results of the traffic study. 2. A detailed landscaping plan for the site. 3. Revisions to the site plan that better address the City requirements for setbacks and pedestrian consideration. Motion carried unanimously, with Commissioner Ferro abstaining. F. TOM LYNCH requests site plan approval and Special Use Permit review pursuant to Section 264-90 I and Schedule B of a proposal to develop the site at 27, 31, & 35 Waldorf Place for use as a storage facility, tax parcel #’s 49.42-5-24, 25, and 26, located in a “C-2” Mixed-Use Commercial District. Luigi Palleschi of ABD Engineers presented the proposal. Mr. Palleschi explained that his clients, Schenectady Hardware and Electric, would like to build an indoor storage facility on the site where they currently have outdoor storage of their electrical supply inventory. The Commissioners discussed landscaping on the site and the replacement of the asphalt sidewalk with a concrete sidewalk as required by the zoning code.  Following a review of the Special Use Permit criteria by the Commissioners and on the advice of Counselor Koldin it was determined that the proposal should be tabled because the criteria states that there cannot be any variances needed and the project requires several variances that have yet to be considered by the board of Zoning Appeals. MOTION TO TABLE Motion by Commissioner Lewis, seconded by Commissioner Beach, to table the proposal pending the outcome of the Board of Zoning Appeals decision regarding the necessary variances. Motion carried unanimously. VI. MISCELLANEOUS None. VII. MOTION TO ADJOURN Motion by Commissioner Beach, seconded by Commissioner Healey, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 8:32 p.m.