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More discussion of the Lansing Meadows project dominated the Village of Lansing Board of Trustees meeting Monday.Developer Eric Goetzmann (Arrowhead Ventures) continued his plea for two changes to the governing Planned Development Area (PDA) that would facilitate subdividing individual triplex units and allow separate water meters for each unit. Trustees continued to express concern about future development on the site and frustration with multiple changes that have pushed the project nearly a decade past the building of the other significant portion of the PDA: BJ's Wholesale Club.

Goetzmann is asking the Trustees to allow smaller than usual lot sizes and road frontages because the townhouses would each have a different owner, but are physically attached.  The allowable lot size would be reduced from 10,000 square feet to 2,600 because of the size of the smallest unit in the already constricted triplexes.  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. 

Goetzmann says they are 'paper changes' because they would not affect what can be or has been built on the property, nor will it impact the allowed density of the development.  But Trustees took a broader view, expressing concern about future development, especially inside the 'ring road, where new buildings would block the view of buildings in the current phase of development. 

They also expressed concerns about the water and sewer systems, which Goetzmann said are being constructed to Village and water commission standards, and has been approved by the county health commissioner.

"We changed all the materials we used in order to comply with what the Village of Lansing and Bolton Point (Water Commission) requires," Goetzmann said.  "We've done everything.  We just can't take the final step until we get the subdivision."

But Village Superintendent of Public Works John Courtney said the plans don't meet Village standards.

"It is designed for a private distribution main," Courtney said.  "It's not designed for a public main.  You qualify for a private distribution system at the minimum.  This is what they will accept.  But for what the Village accepts you need a 20 foot easement.  The lines need to run within 10 feet of the buildings.  If it's private it falls under a different category.  I'm sorry, this is not what we would approve."

Mayor Donald Hartill said the Village would have to accept responsibility for the water and sewer lines, but they would have to be brought up to Village standards before that would happen.

At one point Planning Board Chair Lisa Schleelein tried to pin Goetzmann down on future development plans for the lot.  As in the past Goetzmann would not be pinned down.  He has repeatedly argued that any future development would be subject to Planning Board approval, giving the Village the power to control what is built there within existing district regulations and zoning law.  But Trustees were hesitant to approve any more changes to the PDA that has undergone countless changes in the nearly ten years since the PDA was first approved, with the 55-and-older Lansing Meadows project a condition of allowing the large retail store that became BJ's Wholesale Club to be constructed.  Hartill reminded the Trustees that the BJ's portion of the PDA has been beneficial to the Village.

"BJ's has been a strong addition to the Village," he said. "It's well used. The rest of the Shops at Ithaca Mall except for Target is not terribly well used.  Whenever I go to get gas at BJ's the parking lot is about half full, which is exceptional for these times in our lives with COVID-19 out there."

Hartill said the simplest approach to moving the project forward is for the Board to decide whether or not it wants the parcel to be subdivided.  He asked Village Attorney William Troy to create a resolution to allow the two changes in time for the next meeting.  Once the resolution is accepted a public hearing is required before the Trustees vote on whether to pass the modification into law.

"I think that's the only clean way of going forward at this point," Hartill said.  "We have to have a resolution.  The Board of Trustees would accept that resolution and then schedule a public hearing."

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