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The Lansing Meadows development dominated yet another Village of Lansing meeting, this time a joint meeting between the Board of Trustees and the Planning Board.  Many of the board members have been resistant to requested changes to the Oakcrest Road project because of the nearly decade-long history of changes they say has significantly moved it away from the character of the Planned Development Area (PDA) they originally approved, which includes BJ's Wholesale Club and the Lansing Meadows senior housing development that was approved as a condition of building the large retail store.  But Developer Eric Goetzmann (Arrowhead Ventures, LLC) said the development meets the goals of the Village and Tompkins County, and is attractive and unique.

"The point is you've got an opportunity here,to create senior housing for the seniors housing that people can actually walk to the YMCA, walk to child, restaurant, walk to the grocery store. You can't do that anywhere else," he said.

Mayor Donald Hartill began with a summary of the decade-long PDA history of intents and changes, saying he is inclined to vote yes on two changes requested by Developer Eric Goetzmann (Arrowhead Ventures, LLC).  Goetzmann is asking to reduce lot size from 10,000 to 2,400 square feet, and to reduce setbacks of each parcel from 75 feet  to zero, conditions which would allow him to subdivide the six approved triplexes into 18 separate parcels.  That would serve two purposes: it would meet water commission rules requiring separate parcels for separate residential water meters, and it would allow Goetzmann to sell the individual units, rather than rent them as was originally planned.

He and ArrowheadConstruction Manager Jim Bold have said that in the decade since the original proposal was made market conditions have changed, making sales more attractive than rentals.  He said people who are 55 or older that want to downsize don't want to rent.

"They don't want to rent at that age. They want to own something," he said.


A number of board members were not convinced, some saying they don't oppose subdividing the parcel, but don't want more development on the property.  Not for the first time, they expressed dismay at the number of changes, including density, green-space, and a bird sanctuary that was part of the original proposal, but no longer included in the project.

The biggest difference between Monday's meeting and the many previous meetings was when developer Eric Goetzmann made a 27 minute presentation outlining the history and reasoning for the requested changes, as well as showing specific plans and a rendering that had been submitted to the Planning Board, and some of the detailed engineering plans he has shared with the Village Engineer and Code Enforcement Officer.  Members of both boards had expressed confusion about which plans are current, and Goetzmann's presentation attempted to answer objections that have repeatedly been posed by board members.  He also argued that the current version of the development responds to the County's desire for senior housing with greater density as well as goals expressed in the Village's Comprehensive Plan.

After the discussion Trustee Randy Smith asked Hartill what happens next.

"The next step is for the Planning Board to make a recommendation to the Board of Trustees," Hartill said. "Any change to the PDA is a major change.  In the meantime I'm going to ask Bill to draft a resolution that contains only the part about a zero-lot line and the size of the lots.  We'll then have a public hearing where we can then discuss that resolution and the recommendations from the Planning Board."

Village Attorney William Troy noted that there could be no vote Monday because the agenda was for an informal discussion.  Hartill charged the Planning Board with coming up with a recommendation to the Board of Trustees at their meeting next week.  He also asked Troy to draft a resolution to approve or deny the two changes Goetzmann and Bold are asking for.  Hartill said he would like to vote on the resolution soon because the current construction season is coming to a close as winter weather begins.

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