Archive: News

Village of Lansing Trustees gave final, conditional approval to a PDA (Planned Development Area) that will brings an 80,000 square foot retail building, 12 senior housing units, and a wetlands/bird sanctuary closer to being realized.  Local residents voiced concerns about noise, traffic and light pollution on Oakcrest Road during a public hearing, but Village officials noted that the development will provide a better atmosphere for neighboring homes, because the senior housing portion along that road changes the zoning from commercial to residential.

"There is no traffic entrance on Oakcrest Road other than the housing development," said Mayor Donald Hartill.  "It is actually a lower impact than it would have been under the normal zoning law.  It's actually a down-zoning of that property."

The proposed stand-alone store will be connected to the existing Shops at Ithaca Mall parking lot, and is planned for a plot of land behind the Ithaca YMCA.  That land goes north to Oakcrest Road, which is largely residential, even though it is zoned for low-traffic commercial activity which includes sit-down restaurants and similar businesses.  The 12 senior housing units are planned for the portion that fronts on Oakcrest Road, with the wetlands, bird sanctuary, and new tree plantings as a buffer between the senior housing and the new retail store.  That buffer would further shield current Oakcrest Road residents from the new store.

A PDA provides a way for Village Officials to move projects forward that do not meet the current zoning requirements, but will provide a benefit to the Village and its residents.  A new law enacted early this year allows for PDAs in the Village, and sets out an arduous course of checks and balances, conditions and approvals that involve a collaboration between the developer, Trustees, Code Department, and Planning Board.


Trustees have been moving to protect Oakcrest Road as a rural residential area for some time.  When the Lansing Fire Department proposed a bigger fire station last year the Village offered land near the Village Office with the idea that the current fire station location would revert to residential land.  That plan has since changed, but the PDA would not only put residences along the east end of Oakcrest Road, but also write into law the zoning change that makes that strip residential.

"The property along Oakcrest Road is currently zoned as 'low traffic commercial'.," explained Village Attorney David Dubow.  "That includes a number of commercial uses that would be permitted on that portion that fronts on Oakcrest Road.  The (area where the new store and parking lot will be located) is currently also zoned 'low traffic commercial.'  The PDA was presented to the Village on the basis that the (store) area would be up-zoned to permit that commercial use.  The benefit that the Village was presented with is that the portion along Oakcrest Road would be rezoned as 'only residential use for 12 units of senior housing' under this plan."

Village officials noted that traffic studies show that the project will not have a significant impact on Oakcrest Road, and that a similar buffer has been effective in separating the mall from a neighborhood to the west.  Code Officer Ben Curtis noted that the Village has been proactive in protecting neighborhoods from noise pollution from truck deliveries, garbage collection, and so on.  He said the Village worked closely with the Lansing Tops Market to get 4am deliveries rescheduled to a less intrusive hour.

The Trustees also voted to declare a negative declaration on an environmental review,  and approved a local law that will redraw the zoning map. 

TCAD President Michael Stamm explained how a PILOT Increment Financing (PIF) agreement that could potentially use tax money collected from the retail store portion of the development to help fund the wetlands and senior housing part.  The Developers have approached the Tompkins County IDA (Industrial Development Agency) to discuss the possibility.  Stamm said the IDA is more conservative in terms of benefits it negotiates with developers in Tompkins County than other IDAs typically are.

Monday's vote clears the way for the developers to apply for permits that could allow them to begin construction if approved.  Village officials say that the timing is now in the hands of the developers, and estimated that the next phase of approvals will take a month or two.  The developer' Building Manager James Bold said that the permit applications would be forthcoming.

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