- By Dan Veaner
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That project is a proposal by The Shops at Ithaca Mall to construct three new buildings near the Best Buy store that would feature smaller boutique-style shops with parking and walkways outdoors that form a kind of commons area. In the initial proposal around 40 apartments were shown on the upper floors. The mall's Eric Goetzmann explained last month that with changing shopping habits and needs that this approach would help the mall stay up to date and provide a different kind of shopping experience for customers, as well as providing a living environment in which residents could walk to where they shop.
The response from the planning board was unanimously positive, and when the recommendation to change the zoning law came to the Trustees earlier this month, most also thought it was a good idea. Tompkins County Commissioner of Public Works Ed Marx also endorsed the plan in a response to the Village required when such changes are proposed. "We support and commend the Village proposal to permit mixed-use development in its Commercial High Traffic District," Marx wrote.
Only Trustee John O'Neill dissented, saying that the quality of the arrangement could cause conflict between residents and shopkeepers. "It depends on who moves in," he said.
"There's a movement all across the country for mixed use," explained Planning Board Chairman Ned Hickey. "There's no reason not to have it. There are a lot of people, seniors particularly, that would like to be as close to their shopping as possible, because they don't want to drive very much, and they don't want to walk. There's no reason to keep it out, and it will meet the needs of some of the population."
"I can think of a number of reasons," replied resident Mary Sirois. "There are a number of advantages to it, but there are also disadvantages. One of the greatest ones is the ecology of the whole thing."
Sirois worried about adding areas of impervious surface, parking lot materials that do not allow water to find its way into the ground. She also mentioned noise, and complained that parking lot lighting at the mall has not been hooded sufficiently to block the light from her home, across Route 13 from the mall. While she did not seem to object to the idea of apartments, she worried that the law as stated could allow housing developments in commercial high traffic areas.
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But Hickey noted that realistically there is only one more developable space in a high traffic area in the entire village. Dubow added that the special permitting procedure could nip such projects in the bud. Sirois also asked whether the infrastructure is in place to handle the project, and was told that it is. Mayor Don Hartill noted that the mall area is where existing infrastructure is centered, making it more economical. He also explained that the current mall is below the amount of space and traffic earlier permitted and the new construction will still be less than that amount.
"Maybe the concern is that if we approve this law, what if commercial is coming to a residential area?" said Planning Board member Mario Tomei. "I think the people who would be renting apartments (at the mall) would already be aware that there is a commercial area there, so they would be accepting of the fact that they would be living in a commercial area. It is similar to what is happening in the city."
The storm water law, part of a requirement by the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and State Department of Environmental Planning, could be more intrusive for residents. It will require permitting and compliance with strict regulations when a natural area affecting the flow of storm water is affected. The Village will provide a form for any resident that plans to disturb such an area, which could include planting a new garden, though is more likely to apply to the construction of buildings, septic systems and so on. Hartill theorized that he would need a permit to replant his lawn.
But Code Enforcement/Zoning Officer Ben Curtis says the law, based on one developed in Dryden, is user-friendly. He says that if land is disturbed owners need a plan for managing it. But he said that for projects like putting in a garden it doesn't have to involve an engineer's review or even a formal plan. "It could be on the back of a napkin," he says.
Two other laws define exceptions to the definition of a lot for the purpose of defining tax parcels that is already encoded in Village law. Another one raised the price of sewer rent fees, to align with water charges that they are based on. Bolton Point recently raised water charges, necessitating the change in the sewer law.
All five laws passed unanimously.
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