Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutZBA Minutes 2026-03-23 Town of Ithaca Zoning Board of Appeals Tuesday March 24, 2026, at 6:00pm 215 N. Tioga St. AGENDA  Public Hearing and Consider: ZBAP-26-1 Appeal of Ithaca Terrain LLC, owner of 630B Elmira Rd., Ithaca NY 14850; Paul Kriegstein, Agent; is seeking relief from Town of Ithaca Code section 205-2 (Prohibited acts), which does not allow for an accumulation of unregistered/unlicensed automobiles to be on the property or any automobile to be in a state of disrepair, where the applicant is requesting to have a parking area dedicated to unregistered/unlicensed automobiles that may be in a state of disrepair. The property is currently located in the Light Industrial Zone and the Inlet Valley Center Overlay Zone, Tax Parcel No. 33.-3-3.  Recommendation of a ZBA board member to the Town Codes & Ordinance Committee *Appeal materials are available at the Town website via the “Public Meetings”. *Comments on the appeal(s) can be made in person or via ZOOM during the meeting. Comments & questions can be emailed to codes@townithacany.gov up until 3pm the day of the meeting. All comments become part of the official record. Accessing the Meeting:  Youtube Live: “Town of Ithaca Public Meetings”  Zoom: Meeting ID: 852-5587-1576  Zoom: Call (929) 436-2866 same meeting ID as above  The Youtube recording of the meeting is archived Youtube.com/@TownofIthacaVideo. Marty Moseley Director of Code Enforcement ZBA 2026-03-23 (Filed 3/27) Pg. 1 MEETING OF THE TOWN OF ITHACA Zoning Board of Appeals March 24, 2026 Minutes Present: Connor Terry Chair; Kim Ritter, Matthew Minnig, Larry Sallinger and Barry Segal Absent: Stuart Friedman Marty Moseley, Director of Codes; Paulette Rosa, Town Clerk; CJ Randall, Director of Planning and Susan Brock, Attorney for the Town Mr. Terry opened the meeting at 6:00 p.m. 1. Public Hearing and Consider: ZBAP-26-1 Appeal of Ithaca Terrain LLC, owner, Paul Kriegstein, Agent for 630B Elmira Rd., Light Industrial Zone and in the Inlet Valley Center Overlay Zone, TP 33.-3-3, seeking relief from Town of Ithaca Code section 205-2 (Prohibited acts), which does not allow for an accumulation of unregistered/unlicensed automobiles to be on the property or any automobile to be in a state of disrepair, where the applicant is requesting to have a parking area dedicated to unregistered/unlicensed automobiles that may be in a state of disrepair. Mr. Kriegstein gave an overview of the business and how he uses the vehicles in question, explaining that some are simply spares, others are for parts if a vehicle goes down. They all are operational enough to get into the garage bay for his mechanic. None leak fluids, and they are shielded from view from a lot of angles by being parked in the back, behind the building. He explained that his company is the only one that offers wheelchair-accessible transportation after Bangs discontinued the service because it isn’t profitable. Wheelchair-accessible vans are hard to find, so he buys them when he comes across them, to use, keep on hand or cannibalize for parts when necessary. His drivers sometimes take the work vehicles home, and weekends there are a lot of cars in the lot from staff and business vehicles. He said he did consider a fence, but this business is on a shoe-string budget given the reimbursement rates and he would need to understand where that would be required. Board questions and comments Ms. Brock noted that this prohibition doesn’t apply if the vehicles are not visible from a neighboring property or road. Mr. Kriegstein responded that the neighboring property is an empty field and there are trees that block the view from the road during much of the year. The area is at least 250’ feet from the ZBA 2026-03-23 (Filed 3/27) Pg. 2 road, and you would have to look very hard to see the parking area, and the speed limit on that stretch would also limit the ability to focus and see the parked cars when traveling by. Ms. Brock responded that whether there is a house or the field is empty doesn’t matter, it is whether a person standing on the neighboring property can see them. Mr. Moseley shared a live google maps view; Mr. Terry thought the vegetation was pretty thick there, even in the October view. Mr. Moseley stated the part of the law that says all vehicles must be registered, inspected and able to move and asked how many of the vehicles can meet those criteria. Mr. Kriegstein responded that almost all of them can be driven, at least as far as the garage bay, some might have registration/inspections that are expired. For example, if a vehicle goes down due to a major mechanical issue or accident, the registration and inspection may expire, and I don’t renew until or unless they are put into service, so probably 2 or 3 are completely undrivable further than the garage bay. He stated there are 14 vehicles that can go on the road in the future, and 14 that are parts cars. He has been working with his mechanic and thinks he can get that down to 18 total. Mr. Sallinger asked about the zoning requirements associated with the overlay district and Mr. Moseley responded that this is a pre-existing, non-conforming use and therefore it does not have to meet those requirements. Discussion followed on the parking area depicted in the application materials and the view from various angles and how to mitigate that. The Board members felt this was a unique situation in that the business or use has been in existence for many years and is typical for the surroundings and not out of character as well as being grandfathered in. They did want to mitigate the impact to the extent possible by conditioning the variance on no more than 18 vehicles not meeting the requirement, specifying where they can be parked, and conditioning the variance to follow the use, not the property, because this is a very important service provided to the community they would like to preserve. Public Hearing – Mr. Terry opened the public hearing; there was no one present in person or online and the hearing was closed. SEQR Determination Mr. Moseley went through the changes on the SEQR form from the one sent in the packet. The Board had no questions on the SEQR form as revised. ZBA 2026-03-23 (Filed 3/27) Pg. 3 ZBA Resolution ZBAP-26-1 SEQR - Property Maintenance 630B Elmira Rd TP 33.-3-3 Resolved that this Board makes a negative declaration of environmental significance based upon the information in Parts 1 & 2 and the reasons stated in Part 3 of the SEQR form. Moved: Connor Terry Seconded: Kim Ritter Vote: ayes – Terry, Ritter, Sallinger, Minnig, and Segal Determination ZBA Resolution ZBAP-26-1 Property Maintenance 630B Elmira Rd TP 33.-3-3 Resolved that this Board grants the appeal of Ithaca Terrain LLC, owner, 630B Elmira Rd., TP 33.-3-3 seeking relief from Town of Ithaca Code section 205-2 (Prohibited acts), which does not allow for an accumulation of unregistered/unlicensed/in disrepair automobiles on the property, to be permitted to have said automobiles on the property, with the following Conditions 1. That the parking spots indicated on the map submitted with the packet materials and attached to these minutes showing spots 1-10, 20-23, and 33-35 and an open space adjacent to #35, are permitted to have non-compliant vehicles in view from neighboring properties or the road right of way, and 2. That this variance terminates if wheelchair transport services cease to be provided from this location, and with the following Findings That the benefit to the applicant outweighs any detriment to the health, safety and welfare of the community, specifically: 1. That there will not be an undesirable change produced in the character of the neighborhood or a detriment to nearby properties given that this use has been in effect for at least the past 8 years with cars in similar condition(s) in respect to property maintenance, and the property is set back about 250 feet from the road and the automobiles in question are parked behind the building, and 2. That the benefit sought by the applicant can be achieved by some method, feasible for the applicant to pursue, other than a variance such as the installation of privacy fences or shifting the parking, and ZBA 2026-03-23 (Filed 3/27) Pg. 4 3. That the request is substantial in that zero automobiles as described are permitted and 18 are being granted, and 4. That there will not be an adverse effect or impact on the physical or environmental conditions in the neighborhood given the negative declaration under SEQR made by this Board, and 5. That the alleged difficulty was self-created as these automobiles are not required on the property, and 6. Compliance order can or will substantially interfere with the use or enjoyment of the real property in that these vehicles are vital to this business to provide a valuable service to the community, and 7. Granting the variance would be in keeping with the intent and spirit of this chapter and is in the best interests of the community in that the use provides a vital service to the community and the conditions placed upon the variance by the Board will mitigate the impacts on the view from the neighbors and public roads, and 8. There are special circumstances in the particular case, as described in the packet of materials and in the discussion held by this Board cited above, including that this use is a pre-existing nonconforming use and the need to have such vehicles close by for servicing and parts to continue the services provided. Moved: Connor Terry Seconded: Kim Ritter Vote: ayes – Terry, Ritter, Sallinger, Minnig, and Segal 2. Recommendation to the Town Board to appoint a representative from the Zoning Board of Appeals to the Town’s Codes & Ordinance Committee Mr. Terry noted that Ms. Jung has retired and there is a vacancy in the position. He offered to be the representative. Motion made by Mr. Terry to recommend Connor Terry as ZBA representative, seconded by Mr. Sallinger; unanimous. Meeting was adjourned upon motion by Mr. Terry, seconded by Ms. Ritter, unanimous. Submitted by Paulette Rosa Town Clerk Attachement 1