Planning Commission

City of Schenectady NEW YORK CITY PLANNING COMMISSION Minutes May 15, 2024 I. CALL TO ORDER Meeting called to order at 6:04 p.m. II. ATTENDANCE Present: Mary Moore Wallinger; Chair, Bradley Lewis; Vice Chair, Jason Bogdanowicz-Wilson; Randall Beach; Michael Tearno; Hayden Engert; Jack Connelly, Planner I and Sergy Dossous, Assistant Planner Excused : Colin Evers; Susan Nadler; Dharam Hitlall III. Conflict of Interest Check Commissioner Wallinger noted a conflict of interest with agenda item D for 1101 State Street and would recuse herself from that discussion. Commissioner Wallinger : informed everyone that the meeting will start with the consent agenda, and she started with the roll call of all the Commissioners that were present, as stated above. Commissioner Wallinger went on to list the projects that were going to be discussed for the evening, and if anyone was there to speak about a project that wasn’t on the list, the Commission wasn’t going to be able to speak on it this evening. If the Commissioners have questions, the projects will be introduced, and applicants can come forward to speak about the project to the commissioners. The public will also have an opportunity to speak to the projects. Commissioner Beach made a motion to approve the April 17 minutes with Commissioner Engert seconding. The motion was carried unanimously. I. NEW BUSINESS A. Larapa Serafini Partnership requests a one year extension on site plan approval pursuant to Section 264-93 for approval granted on June 20, 2023 for the construction of a 12-unit apartment building on Sir Benjamin Way, tax parcel # 60.61-1-24, located in the R-3 Multi-Family Residential District. Mr. Angelo Serafini appeared before the Commission. Mr. Serafini mentioned that there were no changes being made to the previous application and was prepared to meet all approvals and conditions granted in June of 2023. Commissioner Wallinger was told that the reason for the delay in going through with the project was financing. Commissioner Wallinger opened the public hearing. There were no public comments so Commissioner Wallinger closed the public hearing. SITE PLAN EXTENSION RESOLUTION Motion made by Commissioner Beach to grant the one year site plan extension. Seconded by Commissioner Engert. Motion carried unanimously. B. Tim Rankins requests site plan approval pursuant to Section 264-90(I) of a proposal to add a 1,200 sq. foot patio to the rear of the restaurant on 38 North Broadway, tax parcel # 39.64-3-40, located in the C-4 Downtown Commercial District. Mr. Tim Rankins came forward to discuss the proposed patio on the rear of Vice and Virtue on North Broadway. Mr. Connelly informed Mr. Rankins that the staff comment was not referring to the location that the garbage was to be stored, but how the issue of smell would be addressed for customers using the patio adjacent to refuse. Mr. Rankins stated that there would be an 8 foot wall built around the garbage and the garbage would be picked up three times per week instead of once. Mr. Rankins assured Commissioner Wallinger that the setup would be much nicer than it currently is and the trash would be fully enclosed from public view. The back of the building was to be painted the same color as the front to hide the graffiti on the back wall. The patio would be made of stamped concrete. There were no comments during the public hearing. SEQR RESOLUTION Motion made by Commissioner Beach to issue the project a negative declaration. Seconded by Commissioner Engert. Motion carried unanimously. SITE PLAN RESOLUTION Motion made by Commissioner Tearno to issue site plan approval as proposed. Seconded by Commissioner Lewis. Motion carried unanimously. C. Pete Montalto requests site plan approval pursuant to Section 264-90(F) of a proposal to operate a 8- unit apartment building on the second and third floors of an existing office building at 148 Barrett Street, tax parcel # 39.72-4-11, located in the C-4 Downtown Commercial District. Mr. Rich Nolan appeared to discuss 148 Barrett Street. Mr. Nolan said the offices on the first floor would remain while the second and third floors would be redone to each have 4 apartment units. An agreement was in place to use the Clinton Street lot owned by Metroplex to accommodate the 12 required parking spaces for the apartment units. Mr. Nolan went through the staff comments and had no issue resubmitting to address them. Most of the changes made were minor and did not require any input from the Commission. The comment regarding trash enclosure was discussed as the current chain-linked fence was not sufficient for blocking the trash from view. The applicant had no issue remedying that. Mr. Connelly discussed that an area variance would be needed to allow for non-contiguous residential parking. The variance could be applied for as soon as site plan approval was received. Mr. Connelly mentioned that Mr. Montalto was planning on going through the process of making the property a designated historic structure. The property would appear in front of the Historic Commission later this month, and then need to return to the Planning Commission to receive a recommendation for designation to the City Council. Although the Historic Commission could not approve the fencing as the structure was not yet Historic, they could provide input on what they may want to see for the fence if the applicant wanted to discuss with them prior to Historic designation. Mr. Nolan stated that there would be no exterior changes to the building. Commissioner Wallinger reminded the applicant about the necessity of a street tree in front of the site. The applicant had no issue complying with that request. Commissioner Wallinger opened the public hearing. There were no comments during the public hearing. The public hearing was closed. SEQR RESOLUTION Motion made by Commissioner Lewis to issue the project a negative declaration. Seconded by Commissioner Engert. Motion carried unanimously. SITE PLAN RESOLUTION Motion made by Commissioner Engert to issue site plan approval with the following conditions. Seconded by Commissioner Lewis. 1. The address will be prominently displayed so that it is easily visible from Barrett Street. 2. Metal roll gates and iron bars cannot be placed on any doors or windows in the future. 3. Property must obtain an area variance for non-contiguous parking from the Board of Zoning Appeals. 4. The garbage to be properly enclosed in alleyway. 5. Proper vehicular plan for internal demolition should be reviewed by Department of Engineering 6. Sewer report must be submitted to the Water Department and approved by DEC prior to issuance of any building permits. Motion carried unanimously.  D. DePaul Group requests site plan approval pursuant to Section 264-90(I) of a proposal to operate SCAP headquarters at 1101 State Street tax parcel # 49.51-1-1.11 located in the PMD Planned Mixed-Use District. Commissioner Wallinger reminded the Commission that she would be recusing herself from discussion on this agenda item and requested Commissioner Beach take her place as Chair. Ms. Deb Schimpf of SCAP introduced the project for the SCAP campus which would consist of a 2.5-acre site on the corner of State Street and Brandywine Avenue. Building A would be a two- story building that would have a daycare capable of having up to 70 children as well as SCAP offices. Building B will lay solely along Brandywine and will be 4 stories with 60 apartment units. Mr. Dan Glading of SWBR Architects detailed the site plan. Mr. Glading discussed a small connection in the parking lot with 1119 State Street which currently has an easement through the property to access Brandywine Avenue. That easement would be altered slightly to fit with the newly proposed entranceway to the site, but would remain available to 1119. Sidewalks and curbs would be repaired as needed. Mr. Glading noted a staff comment saying that the lack of street trees along State was an oversight and the applicant is more than happy to add them to that area. Mr. Glading pointed out a courtyard on the interior of the site meant for the apartment residents as well as two playgrounds- one for the apartments and one for the day care. Building renderings showed the bottom of the building being made of brick with cheaper but still aesthetic materials being used for the upper floors. The idea was to have the sturdier materials down low where they would be more likely impacted by snow and salt. Mr. Glading acknowledged the importance of recognizing some of the prominent architectural features displayed throughout the area and designed the building to capture that as much as possible. Commissioner Beach asked about the connection with 1119 State and was told that after the improvements to the connection were made that land would be transferred to the other property so that 1119 State Street matched 1121 State Street in parcel depth. The easement will then continue through the parking lot to the exit on Brandywine Avenue. Commissioner Wilson thought the planting plan looked great, and asked how the neighboring residential units would be screened from the parking lot. Mr. Glading said that a 6 foot high white vinyl fence was proposed along the back of the entirety of the parking lot. Mr. Glading noted that Brandywine occasionally backs up to around the exit location of the first driveway but mentioned that the second driveway is generally always clear of traffic. Commissioner Tearno had concerns that the proposed dumpster would not be adequate to sustain the entire project. Mr. Glading responded saying that the dumpster would be cleared frequently and from his experience less dumpsters with more frequent clearings is more beneficial than the other way around. Mr. Glading detailed the landscaping that would occur on the interior of the project. The Commission agreed that it was sufficient and would be great for the project. The parking situation was addressed and although the applicants are aware that they will need a variance for not having the required spaces they believe that they will still have more than enough to accommodate their site. Snow storage will partially happen on the back of the parking lot but similar to the trash much of the snow will be removed off site in the case of a severe storm. Commissioner Beach opened the public hearing. Mr. David Hogenkamp of Metroplex praised the applicants as the site in question has been an area of need for some time. The public hearing was closed after Mr. Hogenkamp spoke. Mr. Connelly said that the applicant would need to come back before the Planning Commission for subdivision approval as there were multiple parcels that needed to be combined to make this project possible. There were no issues with this. Mr. Connelly spoke to the uniqueness of this site as it is in a PMD zoning district and therefore there were requirements in the motion for approval that were not applicable to standard site plan approvals. As part of these PMD requirements, the Commission agreed it appropriate to issue an acreage waiver as the site did not meet the minimum 3 acres for development. Furthermore, the site plan showed that setbacks for adjacent zoning districts were not met. The Commission did not view these as issues and agreed to issue waivers for them as well. The Commission also discussed the parking variance that would be needed. The site requires 206 parking spaces by code, while only 93 were proposed. The Commission found it appropriate to refer the applicant to the BZA to obtain an area variance. SEQR RESOLUTION Motion made by Commissioner Engert to issue the project a negative declaration. Seconded by Commissioner Tearno . Motion carried 5-0 with Commissioner Wallinger abstaining . SITE PLAN RESOLUTION Motion made by Commissioner Wilson to issue site plan approval with the following conditions and findings of fact. Seconded by Commissioner Tearno. 1. The address will be prominently displayed so that it is easily visible from State Street. 2. Metal roll gates and iron bars cannot be placed on any doors or windows at any time in the future.  3. The acreage of the site is appropriate, and a waiver is given to allow the site as proposed. 4. The proposed setbacks were appropriate, and a waiver is given to allow them as proposed. 5. Property must obtain an area variance for parking from the Board of Zoning Appeals. 6. The impact of the proposed use would be beneficial to the neighborhood and would not offer any adverse effects to traffic, parking or the health, safety or general welfare of the neighborhood. 7. The landscaping is viewed as appropriate and will be an upgrade over the existing vacant site. The applicants’ willingness to add street trees on State Street is much needed and beneficial for the area. 8. The proposal shall not overburden existing utilities in the area. 9. All covenants, deed restrictions and easements will be recorded and may not be modified without consent of the City Council. 10. Common property on the site is found to be appropriate for the site and the neighborhood with playgrounds available for the daycare. 11. Private common property is appropriate with a courtyard and playground available for usage of the residents of the 60-unit apartment complex. Motion carried unanimously. ADJOURN Motion to adjourn made by Commissioner Engert , seconded by Commissioner Wilson . The meeting adjourned at 6:57pm.