Zoning Board of Appeals

City of Troy Agenda Zoning Board of Appeals June 5th, 2024 New Business PLZBA 2024 0022 125 River St (100.68-1-1. /1|3.23ac| DMU| Downtown II) Area Variance -SEQRA (Unlisted). The applicant, Taylor II LLC, is proposing to construct two new mixed-use buildings consisting of 308 residential units and 2,135 sf of ground-floor retail space. Each building will consist of a six-story building built on top of a one-story parking structure. The following variances are requested for the project: • Front side setback required is 0 ft min. – 10 ft max, 11.5 ft and 13.2 ft are proposed for building 2 and 3 respectively. Seeking relief of 1.5 ft and 3.2 ft for building 2 and 3 respectively. • Side setback required is 0 ft min. – 10 ft max, 24.6 ft and 35 ft are proposed for building 2 and 3 respectively. Seeking relief of 14.6 ft and 25 ft for building 2 and 3 respectively. • The applicant is seeking relief from ‘freestanding parking structures and surface parking lots shall not be built adjacent to the river or any public pathway easement to provide parking adjacent to the Hudson River. ‘ • The applicant is seeking relief from ‘buildings with four or more floors shall have a step back of at least 10 feet on each floor above the third floor on the riverside to mitigate the visual impact of buildings from the river.’ • The required building frontage is 80% min-100% max, 44.8% is proposed, a relief of 35.2% is requested. • LZ wanted to know if the project was a type 1 action or unlisted. o Alaina Finan (council)- SEQRA done by the ZBA is specifically for the area variances. • Applicant presentation. • Board members deliberation and questions to applicant. o Lindsay requested that the applicant share the revised TDMP when its ready. o LZ requested for the congress St project design. o SM wanted to know more about partnership agreements. o YD requested correspondence between applicant and DOT. o LZ requested applicant to provide actual easement from DOT. o LZ requested applicant to provide a map of utilities. • Applicant response: • Request for public comment: Received public comment from Russ Brooks via email (attached to meeting minutes). • YD motioned to table application to next month; SM seconded. Absent Yes No Abstain Recused Lindsay Zefting Yes John Normile ✓ Jack McCann ✓ Yvie Dondes Yes Stephen Miner Yes • Motion to table application passed 3-0. Written by Angie Apindem Executive Secretary. For additional information, visit: https://www.troyny.gov/government/boards- commissions/zoning-board-of-appeals/agenda-minutes/. As required by the Americans with Disabilities Act, auxiliary aids and services are available upon request. Please give one-week advance notice for services needed. Page 2 of 3 City of Troy Agenda Zoning Board of Appeals June 5th, 2024 • SM motion to adjoin meeting at 6:45 pm, LZ seconded. Absent Yes No Abstain Recused Lindsay Zefting Yes John Normile ✓ Jack McCann ✓ Yvie Dondes Yes Stephen Miner Yes • Motion to adjoin meeting at 6:45 pm passed, 3-0. Written by Angie Apindem Executive Secretary. For additional information, visit: https://www.troyny.gov/government/boards- commissions/zoning-board-of-appeals/agenda-minutes/. As required by the Americans with Disabilities Act, auxiliary aids and services are available upon request. Please give one-week advance notice for services needed. Page 3 of 3 Zoning Board of Appeals 433 River St., Ste. 5001 Troy, NY 12180 Public Mee ng - Wednesday, June 5, 2024 Please make my comments part of the public record for this mee ng as I will not be able to a end in person or by Zoom. PLZBA 2024 0022 125 River St (100.68-1-1. /1|3.23ac| DMU| Downtown II) Area Variance -SEQRA (Unlisted). Please consider the following:  The project is too large for the site given the Applicant is trying to design around the ramps to the Congress Street bridge. All five of their requests for a variance arise from trying to fit the project inside of the bridge ramps.  The project needs to slow down and go back to a design based upon the one developed through many community and planning mee ngs. This plan was presented to the Planning Commission in October 2020. A rendering from that applica on is a ached for reference.  I have heard three reasons that the Applicant must design with the ramps remaining. All are ques onable: o The ramps are structural and can’t be removed.  Only a por on of the ramps are structural. The structural por on of the ramps ends at the pylon where the structural steel ends. This needs to be confirmed as part of the Congress Street Bridge Project. A Google Maps photo of the site showing this is a ached. o It is too costly to remove the ramps.  This can be incorporated into the Congress Street Bridge Project, which now has funding and is going to final design. I assume that this is what was planned in the October 2020 applica on.  o NYS DOT has a permanent easement on the ramps.  While this may be true, you can request the NYS DOT to declare the ramp land surplus to their needs. This also can be done as part of the Congress Street Bridge Project.  The Applicant is reques ng five variances. Gran ng any of these variances sets an extremely bad precedent given the fact that the salt pile is finally being moved and extensive development of the riverfront south of this site is in the works.  I request that the Zoning Board of Appeals recommend to the Applicant that they slow down, and design based on the projected Congress Street Bridge Project.  With the ramps removed, the added land may allow the Project to be redesigned to be in compliance with the Zoning Ordinance.  I do feel that the Project will s ll have too many units and will be difficult to meet the Zoning requirements.  What is the rush to finalize a design when a major project going through the middle of their site is about to be finalized?  If the reason is that there are financing deadlines to meet, then this is a self-imposed hardship and not a valid reason for a zoning variance. Respec ully submi ed Russell Brooks 37 1st Street Troy, NY 12180 (518) 421-8194 rbrooks5147@gmail.com The following is more in the scope of the Planning Commission but if it has any bearing on your review, please consider the SEQRA issues below: The Project is classified as SEQRA “Unlisted” on the Agenda. o According to the NYS SEQRA Handbook the Project should be Type 1. o From the SEQRA Handbook 617.4(b)(5) “construc on of new residen al units that meet or exceed the following thresholds: 10 units in municipali es that have not adopted zoning or subdivision regula ons; 50 units not to be connected (at the commencement of habita on) to exis ng community or public water and sewerage systems including sewage treatment works; In a city, town or village having a popula on of 150,000 persons or less, 200 units to be connected (at the commencement of habita on) to exis ng community or public water and sewerage systems including sewage treatment works; 617.4(b)(9) any Unlisted ac on (unless the ac on is designed for the preserva on of the facility or site), that exceeds 25 percent of any threshold established in this sec on, occurring wholly or par ally within, or substan ally con guous to, any historic building, structure, facility, site or district or prehistoric site that is listed on the Na onal Register of Historic Places (Volume 36 of the Code of Federal Regula ons, parts 60 and 63, which is incorporated by reference pursuant to sec on 617.17 of this Part), or that is listed on the State Register of Historic Places or that has been determined by the Commissioner of the Office of Parks, Recrea on and Historic Preserva on to be eligible for lis ng on the State Register of Historic Places pursuant to sec ons 14.07 or 14.09 of the Parks, Recrea on and Historic Preserva on Law;  By access or receipt, the User acknowledges, covenants and agrees that the documents, provided by Dattner Architects D.P.C., including but not limited to plans and specifications, in any media (the "Documents"), are copyrighted instruments of professional service. 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Plotted: 10/8/2020 2:02:08 PM C B A 1 1 Revitalize Riverside: Phase 1 Phase 2 as originally planned and presented during the community 2 2 forums Phase 1 as originally proposed before being changed to the 7-story 3 3 building currently under construction. Phase 3 as originally planned and presented during the 4 4 community forums October 08, 2020 SD Submission Date I, I Scale 547 River Street WRT 143 Main Street Drawn By Key Plan 125 River Street 1 of Sheet No.: Project No. Revisions: DR Pilla 1301 N 31st Street Checked By 31-15 14th Street Key Plan: Civil Engineers 1700 Market Street, Suite 2800 Troy, NY 12180 Taylor I, LLC Nyack, NY 10960 - Structural Engineers Troy, NY 12180 Landscape Architects - Philadelphia, PA 19121 - Long Island City, NY 11106 Issue: SD Submission - Skyline Engineering Dattner Architects Tax Map ID: 100.68-1-1./1 Revitalize Riverside: Philadelphia, PA 19103 Cover Sheet © 2020 Dattner Architects D.P.C. 10/08/20 2006 DA DA - The Chazen Companies - - RIVER STREET Seal Mechanical/Electrical/Plumbing Engineers FIRST STREET ALLEY - tel 212 247 2660 1385 Broadway, 15th Floor - www.dattner.com - I I 7 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __J ,·1·- ._v I New York, NY 10018 N µ, '1 T-001.00 Phase 1 This portion of North ramp up to structural point can Structural portion be removed of ramps end here This portion of South ramp up to structural point can be removed