Archive: News

Developers Steven and David Beer faced Village of Lansing Planning Board members and Village Trustees Monday in their uphill battle to get a 105 cottage community development accepted.  The Beers have requested a Planned Development Area (PDA), a way to supersede zoning for projects a municipality thinks would be beneficial when conditions outside the existing zoning are necessary to complete a project.  Planning Board Chair Lisa Schleelein was not convinced that the project as it stands, or the granting of a PDA would necessarily best serve the Village.

"Our normal zoning is pretty flexible as it stands," she said. "In the history of the Village we have approved three PDAs.  It's kind of a big deal.  It's a different approach.  We have to take into consideration with a total look all around our village, is this the kind of thing we want to have in our village.  Some of the things that you've mentioned certainly tie into the Comprehensive Plan, but the density issue seems to be something we're all struggling with."

But the developers seemed flummoxed by objections raised by Planning Board members, saying they have answered over a score of questions posed by Village officials, and demonstrated that their proposal meets many of the objectives of the Village's recently revised Comprehensive Plan.  The Beers handed out thick booklets laying out the reasoning behind the proposal, illustrating specific Village goals outlined in the Comprehensive Plan that the project would meet, and maps of the project.

Lansing Village Cottages, if approved, will be on 41 acres north of Craft Road and southeast of Millcroft way.  Envisioned in phases to be constructed over eight years, the development would consist of nine pocket neighborhoods, and a total of 105 small cottages of between 800 and 1,000 square feet -- larger than a tiny house, but smaller than a conventional cottage.  Each cottage, intended to be occupied by one or two people, would have a front porch facing the common green space and a one-car garage at the back.  About two thirds of the cottage will be two-bedroom, with the remainder one-bedroom homes.

The cottages would be clustered around a common green space in each neighborhood.  A club house would include a common gathering space and indoor pool.  The Beers estimate the rent at about $2,000 per month, and expect to attract an older clientele consisting of seniors who are ready to downsize, but want to remain in the Village in their retirement.  the entire development will be ADA (Americans with Disabilities Ac) compliant.

The Beers said that tax revenue would be of benefit to the Village, as well as other affected taxing authorities, and noted they re not asking for tax abatements.  David Beer said that the uniqueness of the development would be attractive to longer-term residents than the numerous other rental properties in the Village that attract a more transient clientele such as students.

"I frankly don't see more of the same being a benefit to the Village," he said. "More of Lansing trails being a benefit to the village.  What we're offering is something very different, very attractive, and something that will attract older village residents that want to stay in the Village, as opposed to going elsewhere in the county or elsewhere in the country."


Schleelein said the Planning Board must consider the impact of the project on the Village as a whole, noting that projects taken one at a time may fall within infrastructure capacities, such as the limited sewer capacity allotted to the Village of Lansing by the Village of Cayuga Heights sewer treatment plant, but when you consider all proposed projects together they may exceed those capacities.  She said that if this project is approved she wants to insure that it can be completed.

"A PDA necessary because the proposal is a sort of subdivision that has different setbacks and several close-knit neighborhoods that aren't permitted in the medium density residential zone," Steven Beer said. "Another reason is to make it financially feasible we need a bit more number of residents than would be possible under the medium density residential consideration."

Planning Board members asked whether the project could go forward with the 84 units allowed by current zoning, saying that traffic and density are concerns in that portion of the Village.  They also challenged the rental model, with Schleelein saing she would prefer a condominium ownership approach. The developers noted that because larger houses could be built under existing zoning an 84 house project could bring 250 people to the property, rather than the 150 or 160 anticipated by the Beer's proposal. David Beer said that 105 is the number needed to make the project financially feasible, and reducing it to 84 and/or selling individual homes would substantially change the character of the proposal.

"That's a big difference from what we envision," he said.  "Our proposal is dramatically different from anything that's in the Village.  I don't see how making it unattainable serves the Village's interests.  Whittling a few houses off of each neighborhood doesn't positively affect anybody in the Village.  If there are are 105 houses or 84 houses it's still a big rental complex with little cottages.  The only people that it really affects are the developers.  I fail to see how losing a few cottages here or there improves the project."

David Beer said that they wanted to get a reading on whether or not the Planning Board could accept the concept of the proposal to inform the developers on whether or not to continue to pursue it.

"Right now we are looking at a schedule where we are due to make a substantial non-refundable payment on the land," he said. "Depending on how things go tonight, it's going to bear on how we go forward with this project at all.  We've already spent tens of thousands of dollars on design work on this, but we're kind of hitting our head against the wall in trying to convince you all about the merits of this project."

But no conclusions were reached after well over two hours.  After more questions by Planning Board members and Village trustees, the decision was made to keep the developer's conference open, to be continued at a future meeting.v14i41