Zoning Board of Appeals

Schenectady Board of Zoning Appeals Minutes October 4, 2023 I. CALL TO ORDER Commissioner Gleason called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. After calling the meeting to order, Commissioner Gleason explained to the members of the public how the consideration of the applications would proceed. He stated that the applicants would have an opportunity to make their presentation to the Board, followed by any members of the public who would like to speak in favor of the application. Next, any members of the public in opposition to the application would be invited to speak, followed by any further discussion or questions the Board Members wished to put forth prior to the vote. He added that after the initial presentation of the proposal the applicant would not be given another opportunity to comment unless directly questioned by a Board Member. The meeting is being recorded. II. ROLL CALL PRESENT: Jim Gleason, Chair; Dave Connelly, Vice Chair; Helene Lester, Brendan Keller, Mary D’Alessandro-Gilmore, Mary Zawacki, Jack Connelly- Department of Development staff, Chris Marney, Assistant Corporation Counsel, and Sylvia Jimison, Department of Development Staff III. EXCUSED: Fred Clark. IV. CONFLICT OF INTEREST CHECK None. V. APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES The minutes were approved for the September 6, 2023, meeting. The motion was made by Commissioner Keller and seconded by Commissioner Connelly. The motion carried unanimously. IV. Old Business A. Chris Maddalone requests an area variance for 192 Erie Blvd. (tax parcel 39.71-3-20.12) in the C-4 Downtown District to allow 58 parking spaces where 78 are required, pursuant to Section 264-44(B) Mr. Luigi Palleschi from ABD Engineering representing Chris Maddalone summarized that the former Trustco building at 192 Erie Blvd. had been previously converted to apartment units. Floors 4-7 were already being lived in, while the owner was planning on fully converting floors 1-3 to allow further tenants. They were requesting an area variance to allow 58 parking spaces, instead of the 78 required by code. They provided pictures showing available parking spaces at different times of day. They argued that one parking space per unit would be sufficient in a downtown area, and that on-street parking and public lots could also be used by residents if needed. There was discussion about Trustco Bank having an easement for 20 parking spaces on the property. Counsel Marney stated that those 20 spaces controlled by Trustco's easement could not be counted towards the parking required for this project. It was also mentioned that the applicant did not provide any documentation showing that Trustco was releasing their easement on those parking spaces or agreeing to provide some for the residential parking. Commissioner Gleason asked if any public comments opposed or supported the project. Mr. David Hogenkamp of Metroplex spoke in support of the project. He noted that Metroplex subsidizes parking downtown to encourage development of a live/work community. Their policy is to charge for parking during the day when businesses are open but provide free residential parking at night. They stated there is plenty of available parking downtown and overflow could be accommodated in nearby public lots if needed. They felt one parking space per unit would be sufficient in an urban downtown setting like this. RESOLUTION The Board of Appeals granted an area variance to allow 58 parking spaces for Chris Mattalone's request for an area variance for 192 Erie Blvd. in the C-4 Downtown District. This was instead of the 78 parking spaces that were required by code under Section 264-44(B). It was noted by Commissioner Keller that it was the applicants responsibility to ensure 20 spots, as there are currently only 38 spots in the lot, not including the 20 exclusively used by Trustco. Commissioner Keller motioned that the Board grants the area request area variance request for 192 Erie Blvd. to allow 58 parking spaces for an area variance for 192 Erie Blvd. in the C-4 Downtown District. Seconded by Commissioner Connelly. SEQR RESOLUTION The application was declared to be a Type II SEQR Action which requires no further actions to take place. AREA VARIANCE APPROVAL 1. An undesirable change will not be produced in the neighborhood. 2. The benefit sought by the applicant cannot be achieved by another method. 3. The variance is not substantial. 4. There will not be an adverse effect on physical or environmental conditions in the neighborhood. 5.The alleged hardship is not self-created. Motion carried unanimously. V. Applications: New Business A. Broadview Federal Credit Union requests an area variance for 1742 Union St. (tax parcel 50.39-2-20) in the C-2 Mixed-Use Commercial District to allow Broadview name and logos on two directional signs where business names and logos are not allowed, pursuant to Section 264-63(C) Ms. Tina Arcuri from Broadview Federal Credit Union requested an area variance to install two directional signs at 1742 Union Street to direct customers to their parking lot and drive-thru ATM. The signs would each be 2 square feet and double-sided, with one side saying "parking" and the other saying "drive-thru ATM", all of which is acceptable by code. They wanted to include the Broadview name and logo on the signs to identify themselves as they have merged with another credit union. This portion of the request violated Section 264-63 of the city code. No questions were asked and no one else spoke against the request. Commissioner Gleason asked if there were any comments from the public who opposed or supported the project. There were none. RESOLUTION Commissioner Connelly made a motion to grant an area variance to Broadview Federal Credit Union for 1742 Union Street in the C-2 Mixed Use Commercial District to allow Broadview's name and logos on two directional signs. Seconded by Commissioner D’Alessandro-Gilmore. SEQR RESOLUTION The application was declared to be a Type II SEQR Action which requires no further actions to take place. AREA VARIANCE APPROVAL 1. An undesirable change will not be produced in the neighborhood. 2. The benefit sought by the applicant cannot be achieved by another method. 3. The variance is not substantial. 4. There will not be an adverse effect on physical or environmental conditions in the neighborhood. 5.The alleged hardship is not self-created. The motion was approved unanimously.  B. James T. Pollard requests an area variance for 108 State St. (tax parcel 39.71-1-11.11) in the C-4 Downtown District to allow 74 parking spaces where 111 are needed, pursuant to Section 264-44 Schedule F James T. Pollard requested an area variance for 108 State Street to allow for 74 parking spaces where 111 were required by code. He described the mixed-use development project which includes a brewery/distillery, bakery, pizzeria, 74 apartments, and 70,000 square feet of office space. He currently controls 114 parking spaces on site but needs the variance as he believed setting 111 of those spaces aside for solely residential use would hurt the nearby businesses. He argued that downtown parking requirements of 1.5 spaces per unit are excessive and that shared parking would work well given the mixed uses. When describing the proposed development at 108 State Street, Mr. Pollard mentioned they would be constructing condominiums as part of the project. He said the residential and office space would be in condominium form, with the apartments/condos on upper floors and commercial space on the ground floor along State Street. This suggests the residential units would be owned as condominiums rather than rented as apartments. Commissioner Gleason asked if there were comments from the public that opposed or supported the project. Mr. David Hogenkamp commented that Metroplex subsidizes parking downtown to encourage a live/work/play community as part of their economic development efforts. Their policy is to charge for parking during the day when businesses are open but provide free residential parking at night. They stated there is plenty of available parking downtown and nearby public lots that could accommodate overflow if needed. It was also noted that the parking spaces near Bountiful Bread and the community college could adequately serve those businesses. Keeping some spaces unassigned was proposed to help keep tenants like Bountiful Bread happy and ensure their parking needs were met. RESOLUTION Commissioner Connelly made a motion to grant an area variance to James T. Pollard for 108 State Street in the C-4 Downtown District to allow 74 parking spaces where 111 were required by code under Section 264-44(F). Seconded by Commissioner D’Alessandro-Gilmore. He stated the following findings in support of the motion: SEQR RESOLUTION The application was declared to be a Type II SEQR Action which requires no further actions to take place. AREA VARIANCE APPROVAL 1. An undesirable change will not be produced in the neighborhood. 2. The benefit sought by the applicant cannot be achieved by another method. 3. The variance is not substantial. 4. There will not be an adverse effect on physical or environmental conditions in the neighborhood.  5.The alleged hardship is not self-created. The motion was approved unanimously. C. Mohawk Opportunities, Inc. requests an area variance for Maxon Rd. (tax parcel 39.26-1- 9) in the C-3 Waterfront District to allow for front yard parking, pursuant to Section 264-43 D. Mohawk Opportunities, Inc. requests an area variance for Maxon Rd. (tax parcel 39.26-1- 9) in the C-3 Waterfront District to allow 53 parking spaces where 90 are required, pursuant to Section 264-44(B) Mr. Palleschi from ABD Engineers explained that Mohawk Opportunities was no longer moving forward with their proposed project at Maxon Road. They had withdrawn from the project the previous night. The landowner had since asked ABD to proceed with the variance application for the property. It was noted the application was originally for apartments and supportive housing as proposed by Mohawk Opportunities, but if approved, the landowner now intended to develop the property for supportive housing. Counsel Marney stated that proceeding with the variance application for Maxon Road with a fundamentally different project than what was originally approved by the Planning Commission would not be procedurally acceptable. He said the applicant should either withdraw and go back to the Planning Commission with a new site plan, or the BZA could deny the variance requests. However, the board could provide feedback on the new proposal if the applicant wanted to revise their plans and go through the Planning Commission process again. When it became clear the project proposed for Maxon Road had changed significantly from what was originally presented, Commissioner Gleason directly asked the applicant if they wanted to withdraw the application. The applicant confirmed they would like to withdraw it, and Commissioner Gleason accepted the withdrawal of the application. VI. Other Business – Jack Connelly, Department of Development staff suggested starting December 2023 for BZA meetings to be held on the second Wednesday of the month to give applicants more time to properly prepare applications. All Board members agreed on this change. VI. Adjourn 7:23 p.m. motion made by Commissioner Keller and seconded by Ms. Lester. The motion was approved unanimously.