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Lansing Meadows developer Eric Goetzmann and construction manager Jim Bold were back before the Village of Lansing Board of Trustees Monday to ask for rule changes to facilitate a plan to subdivide triplex buildings in the Lansing Meadows project.  About a month ago the pair said that subdividing the properties would facilitate selling the units, rather than renting as the original plan proposed.  On Monday they said the reason for the subdivision was because of water commission rules that allow separate water meters if each unit is in its own parcel, and noted that subdividing would not also mean changes to the building plan for the four buildings being completed or the two other proposed buildings..  But Deputy Mayor Ronny Hardaway exploded with years of frustration, scolding the developer for nearly a decade of changes that Hardaway charged have resulted in a project that is not what the Village agreed to.

"If we have to do it, we have to do it. But personally, I'm going to say no -- no more," Hardaway said. "I can be out voted. That's fine. But my vote on this is so far... no. No more givings. Work harder next time."

Goetzman said several times that the requested changes were minor and that the physical plan is not changing at all.  Four of the six tri-plex buildings are under construction, including the one containing the unit that would require the smallest lot space if subdivision is approved.  But Hardaway was adamant that allowing the changes would not benefit the Village.


Lansing Meadows was part of a compromise reached in 2010 when Goetzmann's Arrowhead Ventures, LLC approached Village officials with plans for an 82,000 square foot retail building that turned out to be the BJ's Wholesale Club property to the north of the Shops at Ithaca Mall.  The idea was to provide a walking neighborhood for tenants aged 55 and up, where tenants could walk to shopping areas and enjoy wetlands and a bird sanctuary proposed for the site.  It would also become a 'buffer' between high density commercial zoning at the mall area and residential properties to the north.  BJ's opened in early 2012, but a series of delays and a myriad of changed plans increasingly irritated village officials.

Planning board members and some trustees charged that the changes moved the project farther and farther away from the pastoral walking neighborhood they had agreed to, and Hardaway didn't mince words Monday when he lambasted the developer.

"From my perspective, we're moving towards something that was totally opposite the original intent of this property," Hardaway said. "It was supposed to have a residential feel. It was supposed to have an open space, green space. It was supposed to have areas for the residents to move around. This is getting closer and closer to nothing but building stacked side by side. And it's just, for me, it's not attractive. I know they've already been built, but my concern is making each one of those an individual lot is going to make the possibility of buying those buildings harder and harder."

Mayor Donald Hartill acknowledged the problems, but took a more reconciling approach, asking the Trustees to find a solution that accommodates everyone.

"There was a fair amount of pressure from (Tompkins County Area Development) to increase the number of units on this property. And so it's been a mixed bag all along. There's certainly been some confusion on all sides, but we are where we are now. And so I think we ought to take a careful look at what we have and try to accommodate something that works for everybody, including the Village," said Hartill.

But Hardaway insisted agreeing to the changes needed for subdivision would actually harm the Village.

"This project does not do anything for the Village, but make it look like the Village will allow a developer to do as poor a job as he can on a project and still get it done. I want it on record that the Planning Board, the Board of Trustees, and the Board of Zoning Appeals have bent over backwards to try to make this project work. And we're still dealing with problems down to the last nail in the last wall of the last building problems after problems after problems. And my concern is that the next problem, what is it going to be?"

Changes to the allowable lot size would have to be reduced from 10,000 square feet to 2,600 because of the size of one of the units in one of the already constricted units.  The amount of road frontage would have also to be reduced, as well as allowing zero space between parcels because the triplex units actually share dividing walls.  Code Enforcement Officer Michael Scott said Monday that he thinks buffers in the land between the buildings would also have to be adjusted if the units are subdivided. 

When requesting the subdivisions earlier this year Bold said the new plan to sell the properties was necessary because of a changing real estate market in Tompkins County. Bold reiterated Monday that the market is driving the developer's desire to sell, rather than rent the units.  Goetzmann is currently negotiating with the Tompkins County Industrial Development Agency (IDA) to be able to sell the units without consequence to incentives already granted to the project.  Goetzmann characterized the plan as

"The market has dramatically changed since the time that we started the construction of this project," he said. "When I say dramatic, I mean the rental market is flooded and there is a shortage of homes for sale in this marketplace. One of the most desirable places to be is the Village of Lansing. It's the nature of development that opportunities change as projects are developing. And in order to be able to respond to that change, which is ownership versus rental, this type of thing in the long run, would have to be facilitated. It's a simple market conditions."

Trustee Randy Smith asked Bold whether he could have a tour of the property in order to better understand Goetzmann's request.  Trustee Pat O'Rourke and Hardaway also asked to be included, and Bold said he would give them a tour yesterday (Thursday) morning.  No vote was taken Monday.  The next Board of Trustees meeting is scheduled for August 17th.

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