Planning Board - Regular Meeting

You need a sound machine.

Okay.

If there's anybody else that is going to speak at one of the public hearings tonight, there's a sheet at the end of the table. So please put your name and the item number that you'd like to be speaking on in that. Before we start the meeting, I'm just going to make a few quick announcements. If you do have a cell phone, I'm going to ask that you please put it on silent so that you don't interfere with the meeting or the discussion. If there is an emergency, we just ask that you please use the stairs and not the elevator. If you need assistance, ask and we'll help you. Restrooms are out the door, through the chambers, to the opposite side of the building. Men's is to the left and women's is to the right. The other things I want people to be aware of is that we are live streaming and we are reporting, so that I do ask that you respect that and respect the speakers. and the conversation at the table. If you have a conversation that you're not having with the board, we just ask that you please be outside of the room. You're welcome to use the chambers. And I believe the conference room, too, on the opposite side of the chambers is also free seating. So with that said, again, I'm going to ask anybody who wants to speak at any of the public hearings tonight, please put your name on the list, and we'll go from there. We are going to open the meeting at 6.04. My name is Suzanne Hale. I'm the planning director for the City of Kingston, and I'm going to turn it over to Chairman Platt to start the meeting and introduce the other members.

Thank you, Sue.

Welcome, everybody. I'll introduce board members.

Again, my name is Wayne Platt. We also have Vince Archer and Kyra Grundig. We also have in our appointments Baltimore woman Sarah Pasty and Alderman Dan Fall. and Fire Chief Chris Ray. Kyla D. Day is our assistant planner. All right. Item number.

All right.

Item number one is the adoption of the June 15th, 2026 planning board meeting minutes. Everybody's had an opportunity to take a look at them. Any additions, deletions, corrections? Seeing none, I'll make a motion that we adopt them. Do I have a second? Second by James Archer. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Gary? Public hearings, item number two is 86 Wall Street and 81 Fair Street, lot line of vision of the lands of Faro and 81 to Fair, LLC. Section Black and White is 56.108-2-3 and 56.108-2-28, Seeker Determination, Transect Zone, T4N, Ward 5, Robert and Tammy Farrell, and 81 Fair LLC of the owners and business directors. Correct. Anybody for this one? Yeah.

Yeah, to speak. I see.

I'm waiting on here. Yeah.

Yeah.

You can get that there. Oh, yes. Anybody besides the advocate? I want to wish you to speak on item number two. Yeah. Welcome. You know, I think the wall director, I wouldn't do that. We're going to virus engineers. Do you know anything? And, uh, we're here representing.

Proposed. Proposed lot line revision. The subject to the lot line revision and why it's happening is because it was a garage that was built, uh. At 1 time, I'm sure for 1 of the lots, but along the way it became divided and 1 party took. Just one side of the garage and the other party got the other side of the garage and he created a party line and we're here today to make a revision to dissolve that 40 line and put the garage along.

Any questions from the board.

The only thing we just want to recognize, and we've spoken to both the applicant and the representatives, is that the portion of the garage, which boiled originally with the Ferris Street property, is still within the historic district. That historic district line does not change with this subdivision. So if you wish to change that, that would be an act of the Common Council readjusting that boundary line. So that will stay the same. which they are understanding of and recognize.

And you would like that duly noted on the map somehow?

Yeah.

Okay.

All right. That was the only issue yet, or is it okay? Under Secrets of Type II Actions, so no further review of the board is required for that. We have not many conditions. She's writing, so she can't. So at this time we'll make a motion that we approve item number two. The standard five copies in one mile. Our copy needs to be submitted. Board policy six will need to be on the plans as well. historic boundary. Yeah, recognizing the historic boundary. We just talked about going through the property there. And what's that last one? The resultant. Okay, and the resultant are some descriptions. While I'm buzzing for tomorrow, make sure we have it just the way we want it. Okay. So that is a motion. Do I have a second? Second by Tyra Grundy. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Carried. Thank you, sir. Good seeing you.

All right.

Item number three is 73-75, Furnace Street. I plan to demolish an existing building and construct a 10-unit residential multiplex with major waiver from the ground finish floor requiring 18 inches with a proposed 6-inch. Section block and lot is 56.92-4-42. Seeker Determination, Transect Zone T4N-O, Ward 4, Joseph Herzig is the applicant, 73 Furman Street, LLC is the owner. We have a list of speakers here for that. All right, Alderman Van Falk.

Sorry, Monty. Does the applicant present first at all, or? No. Okay, sorry. Good evening, Chair, members of the Planning Board. Thank you so much for the opportunity to speak regarding this proposal. On First Street, I want to begin by acknowledging something that's very important. Obviously, Kingston needs more housing, and we are facing a genuine housing shortage. I believe Kingston's new reform-based zoning code deserves credit for encouraging infill development and making it easier to build within our existing neighborhoods. Those are important goals, and I support At the same time, I believe this proposal demonstrates both some of the strengths and some of the shortcomings of the new code. I do have some concerns with the prospect. The number of units, the height of the building, and the squeeze that it will put on our parking situation already. Now, I know that the applicant has demonstrated parking is not really an issue, and I commend them for doing that. I think we'll see how that bears out over time. Kingston has a long tradition of beautiful buildings, and density is not foreign to our city. In many ways, it is part of what has made Kingston such an attractive place to live. I personally welcome our new neighbors should this project come to fruition. My chief concern at this point is whether this project contributes to the character of the neighborhood in the same way existing buildings already do. One of Kingston's greatest assets is its architecture. The neighborhoods throughout our city tell the story of generations of thoughtful growth and that the character is one of the reasons people choose to live here in the first place. New development should absolutely add housing, but it can also build upon the legacy that good design isn't just about recreating the past, it's about ensuring that new buildings feel like a natural part of the neighborhood that they join. Although aesthetics are not within your purview, I would strongly request the developer consider a facade and roof assembly in keeping with the architectural narrative of the city and the neighborhood in general. I also believe this project highlights an opportunity to continue refining our zoning code. I believe our zoning code is a living document, not something fixed for eternity, but to thoughtfully expand upon and consider where there are strengths and weaknesses in given spots are developed. And this is not an indictment of the zoning code by any... And I don't... No, I'm sorry. So as products move through the approval process, I would hope that we pay attention to what is working well and where thoughtful refinements could better balance healthy production with neighborhood compatibility. My whole project is an example of both. I believe we can build the housing Kingston desperately needs, while also expecting development to respect the character of our neighborhoods and the people that already call them home. These goals are not in conflict. In fact, when they are done right, they can reinforce one another. And I really appreciate the time and your thoughtful considerations project. Thank you, everyone, for being here. Thank you, Alderman.

Brian Cafferty?

Hi.

I also thank the applicant for some of the efforts that he made to make some changes to the building. That said, I feel like it falls way short of myself and a number of other people on the street that are concerned about the size of the building. there is literally not a single bit. So the architecture, on site. The massing of the building is quite significant, particularly for the people who are going to be living broadside to the building, looking out in their backyards. And you've seen this 75-foot wall three stories high. It's really going to change the perspective from their house. As far as the impact on the, you know, I did a parking study myself, very, you know, detailed. It wasn't scientific. They didn't do it the way they did consulting, but they did to be the neighborhoods in a reasonable parking distance from the building. And it concurs with the number of spots that the consultant came up with pretty closely. They came up with a zone two, about 90 spaces. there were about 86 spaces. And currently right now, the unused spaces has increased. We had much more constriction in the neighborhood a couple of years ago, and then it changed. I'll leave you to figure out why that happened. It changed about two years ago. Anyhow, I think a lot of the challenges that they're following this, they're making an investment, they're following what the code, the new code allows. And, you know, I hate to be a person who disagrees with this, but, you know, I was the former chair of the Zoning Board of Appeals, was very familiar with the zoning beforehand. And I had various issues with this code as it was being developed. And I see what we have is a problem to try and solve. I think there's an overreaction to the housing problem. I'm not saying that there isn't a real need to build more housing. We do need to build more housing. We do need to probably increase the density. I think right now the code is allowing for buildings to be built that are out of character with your neighborhood and the neighborhood where this is being proposed, there are no three-story residential buildings. None. And the parking situation is constricted there. When the library comes back online, their programming is going to be more enhanced and they'll probably have program, non-slow programming where more parking is going to spill out onto the streets because they only have a 22-spot lot. My concern is that If we continue to stay in this course with the current code where we're building this size building on these size lots as infill projects, we're very, very quickly going to have, I think, a city and neighborhoods that are gonna be very, very different. It's going to reduce the quality of life and eventually, when neighborhoods become known as a place where you can't park, it will affect property values. I strongly urge the applicant to consider reducing the size of the building, and certainly I really urge them to consider some of the suggestions that are going to be made to change the facade, because at the very least, But it was, you know, dropped in overnight by a UFO because it looked so different than it was.

And thank you for your time. Thank you, Brian. You said glass?

No?

Okay.

Gang of banter?

Hi, everyone. I missed the deadline to submit, and I talked to Mr. Hartsley-Bertafiore. would like i'll echo some of what my neighbors said but i'm not really super concerned with the height and size i think other people have that covered um i did want to know the last thing we were here the planning board asked sort of vaguely for a redesign of the exterior um because the revision is slightly altered but not very much i think everybody has some idea of what they kind of want to see, but nobody's really articulated it. So I took the really annoying and slightly unethical liberty of throwing it into AI. A lot of instructions and reference images of other buildings in Kingston. So I have this printed out copy, but, you know, this isn't just sort of an idea, but like a classically designed buildings that these are at-home, both with the commercial and industrial mix that Ferdinand Hadley has had historically. And it's actually more or less a scaled-up version of the Ritchie building that's currently on that site. But it's totally messed up, but you can see how nice it is, and it has some architectural value just as reference. would love to see this property get developed. The current building is obviously not in productive use, nor will it be. But I agree that just as a matter of sense of place, the existing proposal sort of takes a dump on the neighborhood. It takes something like this into the day. And I have copies. Can you hold it up? Can you hold it up for the... Sure. It's like a... Just the basic... So, it's still three stories, still on the ground, there's a lot of access. From what I can tell, there's no interior couching that's required. Anyway, I think that's where you get it.

You know, it's still a great scene.

It's fun to look at.

Thanks.

Hey, I'm in the building across the street from the proposed profit and welcome Joe to the neighborhood there. Lent them a few shovels of figuring out its priority and stuff like that. Nobody wants more done over there than I do. I'm across the street. I'm taking a portion of my building and renovating it into two parks. So we kind of went through the same steps here a little bit. My concerns, parking, of course, right? Now, the whole thing about parking, and I saw the engineer did the study and stuff like that and he's saying that the 17 17 cars are going to be uh required for the apartments given given uh the uh the layout and stuff of the apartments and uh i could tell you uh brian is correct there uh my experience i've been there for 40 years uh hey when i first got over there was nobody over there all right it was a worth right and then slowly and i see the gentrification uh coming on uh houses being Renovated. Sorry about that. Houses being renovated. Porches started out with porches, started out with sidewalks, things like that. All of a sudden, recently we've had houses completely renovated. Ripped, sliding, everything. Very impressive. But they're keeping the character of the house. So the area is getting this... you know, feel back to it. They're respecting the look of the building, the character of the building. And I want to point out that, you know, on the end of the street, you know, there's a transarch built, right? That's on the corner of where I just been. On the end of the street there. And they just won a prestigious award in 2026 here. And it's from the, let's see. Preservation. Sorry about that.

Preservation.

It's the Preservation. It's a New York State renovation, historic restoration work. And very, very good. And then, of course, you have the library and all the things that are done there. And they're keeping with the brackets. The new construction has been, you know, ties you to the old construction and that kind of being respectful of the neighborhood. So, you know, a lot of the houses are still empty and the lots are empty. So, you know, when they do an engineering study, I'm sure, you know, they're taking into it, hopefully they're taking into account these empty lots and stuff. But, you know, when everything is back online, that's going to be a tight area. And numerous, numerous areas have been clogged up. And as far as like snow plowing and stuff, forget about it. And the weather, Mr. Glass over on Center Street there. Hey, they just can't get through, and we are the last block to get plowed. Okay? They have to drag them out, and they've got to go to the library or something like that. So that's a real problem. The other thing is the density and the height. There's nothing in the area. I just don't think it reflects the character of the area. I mean, a lot of details have been said about it, and I totally agree. I just think it's going to take away from the area. And I'm sure there's a design out there that can blend in better. I mean, it may be a matter for both of you, which I commend you on. But those two issues, the parking and the density of the building in that area, I just can't see it. The dead end street, you're back at the timely sign there. So very difficult. So thank you for your time. Okay, so last month, the planning board members

inappropriately requested that the applicants should submit a management plan. There's nothing in the code that says that they should. And there were some slightly biased against the non-resident's statements made regarding the sensitive, that it's a sensitive area and somebody should be there to handle situations that may arise. A formal parking study that abolished parking limits in the code and the generic draft, not generic, but the other generic Environmental impact statement addresses that. So not only are you not allowed to require parking or parking studies or totally people to do them, you're also, it's also addressed. It can't be addressed in the generic, in your secret review, because it's addressed in the generic environmental impact statement. And a couple of conceptual alternatives regarding the density and scale. And the layer of specified reduction in units can be welcomed to D.C., That's not appropriate for you guys to be talking about. I think that a couple of important topics were brought up by the concerned neighbors, but the way to address those is to ask for older people to introduce architectural standards or consider Midtown as a historic district. Otherwise, I think that we are sort of getting bogged down in things that are not your purview. Regarding the parking that is addressed in the Generic Environmental Impact Statement. I've submitted a couple of comments, and I really encourage you to read them. It doesn't seem like you guys are familiar with the Generic Environmental Impact Statement, and that you really should be. There are submissions that are not submitted yet, and I haven't seen any waivers and required submissions submitted. For instance, the late-stating standards. We're talking about grass. Is it going to be native grass? If not, if it's not going to be native grass, is there an explanation of why? Why have we not seen it before in public hearing? Those kind of things we should be seeing and should be discussing because they're in the code. If the parking does, if the Ownership of the property is figured out later and new parking is put on the property. We've got park on site parking standards that need to be identified and may need to come back to the planning board. May or may not, depending. So yeah, consistency with community character is addressed. That's 3.9 and other parts of the generic environmental impact statement. Parking, regarding compact growth and the T4 We're going to have more tax revenue by having it slightly denser, and that will cover the cost of keeping our utilities upgraded. The City of Kingston is woefully behind on our utilities, but that's because of our own zoning. That's because it was put together to support the 1961 comprehensive plan, which was passed which was, which are zoning primarily up until now with band-aids on top of band-aids on top of band-aids until now, was really, was making sprawl, was making it not densely populated enough. Everybody in Kingston who can't own a car owns a car because we built around the car. This zoning code was an intensive, process. And I didn't really see the planning board members engaging in that process. You guys were really lost when you were doing the zoning vote. It was all new concepts to you. So I really hope that you'll start to study that. The documents are still up online. I don't think you understand the intent of the vote. And I think that you are elevating things that are irrelevant and disregarding things that are important. Thank you.

Oh gosh, let me go then.

So hallelujah on that. And the other one is, thank you for even looking at this property. As you know, I'm very intimidated and I've been living there a long time because I am part of the project to help clean up in Midtown. So I take everything in Midtown very seriously. So I really am happy that somebody took an interest in this property and has good intentions. But it'll be the largest residential property in our neighborhood. Number one. Number two is parking is difficult. I have a sister that works in the kitchen. She runs restaurants, and she doesn't get home until sometimes 3 o'clock in the morning. Hmm. Parking over on Van Buren would not work for her as a 61-year-old woman trying to get home from work. So that wouldn't work. But, you know, the parking, I guess everybody has it under control a little bit. But let's look at the structure of the neighborhood. When I went into the neighborhood, it was mostly African-Americans that lived in that neighborhood. That's not longer because of gentrification. Number two is that you're changing the whole neighborhood structure by one building. I think that's really something to look at. And Jill, is that your intent? to change a whole neighborhood to your liking and maybe not the people that have been living here 20, 60 years, 30 years. How many years? 40 years? I mean, I would think that the people that have been here and cleaning up that neighborhood from drug dealers, shootings, stabbings, break-ins, and everything else, I think you would take a look at that and say, ah, let's see what the neighbors think. But that didn't happen either. Now we're talking about a building that is absolutely gorgeous, but I mean, your taste is split. But is that warm and fuzzy to invite families to come in and see the neighborhood and then you have the Taj Mahal? But meanwhile, you have a neighborhood that's keeping up with the times, still new changing. You know, really the last 10 years has changed to where we can actually sit outside walk our dogs, have the kids ride bicycles and stuff like that. I think you really need to downscale a little bit to maybe two story. My opinion, obviously it's the opinion of other people. And yes, the zoning code is really good, but it has to be tweaked to accommodate the area. We're not talking about downtown Bukkake. We're not talking about, we're talking about Midtown Kingstown that is rising. Because it is easier for people to get to stores. Actually, our prices in our housing has gone sky high. And it's easy to get around. But when you look at the neighborhoods, you're looking at two family homes, maybe three. There's only a few that are more than that. And they're probably on Clinton Avenue or one of the main streets. You're talking about a side street where you've had people there. I think it is over 25 years. Look at the structure. Hear what we're saying. The parking is going to happen. It's going to be something else. It's going to be something else. You're talking about older neighborhoods. I am not riding a bicycle anywhere between my hips and my knees. It's just not happening. Between my sister having asthma, it's just not happening. We need cars. We're an older crew. So let's adjust it to the neighborhood where none of us are going anywhere because we've all been there for over 25 years. So now you're going to bring in a bunch of people that are walking into a hostile neighborhood area. Yes, a lot of things are not our concern. Yes, Tanya. Very good. I get it because you did bring a lot of points up. Yes, I'm not being sarcastic or snarky, but yes. But let's get down to basics. These are our homes. Where you park, where your home is, parking is unbelievable there. So you have to have empathy for parking.

We're really getting off on a tangent of what's in the code. These are people's lives.

The building is too big for that neighborhood. That's really the bottom line. The parking is unbelievable, and you're heading to. I don't know. You want to do it your way? Do it your way. We can't stop you, but I'm going to tell you something. It's a bad feeling walking to a neighborhood and know that the whole neighborhood is very angry.

That building is too big. Bottom line.

Please build on it. We love the concept of you being here. We love it. We want our neighborhood better because we've seen the works. And that's really all I have to say. Thank you for listening.

Thank you. Those are all the folks on the list. Is there anybody else who wishes to speak right now on this property? Okay.

Joe, did you want me to share a presentation or are you still?

I want to share your presentation. I'm going to put something else there, so I'd rather share myself.

Okay. You can finish it. You can finish it. Thank you.

First of all, I want to thank everyone for coming down and showing support for the neighborhood. I'm honored to be surrounded by a bunch of really passionate neighbors that really care about the neighborhood, and I think it's best for all of us, and I hope to be able to contribute to that too as a builder and as a potential landlord as well. And I really hope to work with the neighbors to continue improving the neighborhood and continue making this neighborhood as beautiful as it could possibly be. So I'm going to start first with a presentation that we all saw online. And we'll then get to answering some of the questions that people in the room had. So I sent a request. You read it?

I just admitted you. Yeah. You're there. Did you have permission to share?

Yeah. You just asked and I allowed.

Do we see it on screen? Yeah. Right.

Fine.

So this is an idea of how the building might look, or should look. Obviously, we're open to making some minor tweaks. Assuming the board allowed some tweaks to be made after the approval. If we get our approval, I would love to hear some input from my neighbor. The proposal wouldn't change much. This is how the facade of the building would look. We're going to have windows in the front. I know some complaints about the balcony, which I'm open to have discussions about. But overall, this is the proposal, and this proposal follows all the zoning rules and follows the spirit of the Cambridge plan. So here's the area, as you see. There is... I mean, this is a square block, so I want to actually show a street view and an aerial map of the general area, because I think it gives a better idea of how it looks. I'm going to show that afterwards. And here's the street view of the block. Let me move over to that actual Google Maps over here. Okay, so as you see, as the neighborhoods confirm, there is quite a lot of density along Liberty Street, along Clinton Avenue, along Center Street. But I would like to show everyone how Furnace Street looks right now, in case anyone not had the pleasure of taking a look at Furnace Street. It is a relic of the sort of pre-residential Midtown Kingston. It's almost all the buildings in the block are industrial or used to be industrial, including this building over here, which is our building that we're converting. This building that's there went through many different phases over time, but it's been years since I had very productive days. As we go down over here, we get to the corner, we see that this house over here and, you know, it doesn't even front on the street. It has a long backyard the ones along the street along the side of the house and as we go further um this let's get to the corner over here So we have the same story over here, the house that is fronting on Liberty Street with a long backyard. We have this house directly across the street that is actually a shop. It has an apartment upstairs. It's a construction company. It's based out of the downstairs over here. It's also now in the best of conditions. The owner, he wanted to get rid of it. I don't find anyone to buy it so far. As we go further down, we see a beautiful, soon to be beautiful, house of our... where is he? The first neighborhood I got to be in the neighborhood and we're going to have some neighbors over here and be very excited in the neighborhood. Also a conversion from a former We're at an actual housing, which is great for Kingston. And as we get further down, we just have empty lots. This is some garage. I don't know to what extent it's used right now. And here we have a bunch of empty lots. Empty lot, empty lot, empty lot. These are old backyards.

But it's not such a backyard.

It's just a backyard. It's a backyard. It's a backyard. Sorry. I'm pointing at empty lots because... It's not front-end things. In the backyard, they go to the Prospect Street, and they are used as backyards right now, but... But they access their property speeder. Well, the accident property is still there. It's just not vacant. It's not vacant, but vacant as far as it's not expected to have any new construction happening anywhere there soon because the building actually fronts to the other side. And here is a building that was just converted. The house is being converted. I mean, it was a house. It's still being a house, but they're renovating it. And here's an empty lot. And here's a house with... Some empty lots over here. Not really empty lots, but oops, I went too far over here. But a house with a lot of empty space over here. So I'm just here to demonstrate that Furnished Street, unlike the rest of the neighborhood around it, is actually pretty remote density. And even though the area around it is high density and, you know, to some extent, furniture is being used for parking. There's still, as we saw on the parking report, there are still about 17 available slots overnight on Furniture Street. And it provides an opportunity to build a comprehensive plan and build a dense structure as Kingston would like to have That's the problem in Midtown. Now, I understand that a lot of the neighbors are not very happy with that. And, you know, people from around here understand that are not living in neighborhoods that are seeking, you know, more housing, more density. Just like the people in my neighborhood are hoping to have more density elsewhere in Kingston. So, yes, that's what I'm hoping to... That's what I'm going to report over here. So now that we've got the neighborhood, let me continue down my presentation over here. This is a rendition of the before and after of how this lot would look. Obviously, over here, it's a two-story building. Over here, it's a three-story building. As we see, the building next door is just as high and obviously a different shape. It's only two stories with an attic, but it's effectively just as high as half of this building would be. Here is an idea of where the building will be placed on the lot. We're going to have a 15 foot setback over here. And some of the floor plans over here. Now, the first floor, we are going to have two three-bedroom apartments, which is, I mean, the original proposal was 12 one-bedroom apartments. I heard feedback that the neighborhood is not looking for one-bedroom apartments, and they demand three-bedroom apartments and two-bedroom apartments. So I did adjust the plans. I lowered it from 12 units, 10 units, and I, you know, we have two three-bedrooms and one-bedrooms over here, two-bedrooms over here. This is going to be the second and the third floors. Okay. for the three-bedroom apartments downstairs are going to be wheelchair accessible. They're going to be FHA and they're going to have, and we're going to get there, you know, we're going to have a rent in front and I hope to get a, like an allowance to be able to lower the building and allow the rent to not be you know um such a further clot up the front of the building and we're going to get to that um here it is i mean we did have a parking review i'm sure you guys saw it um overnight parking um um the the estimators that were generally 17 new vehicles and study concluded that there is sufficient parking available in the neighborhood which um um Some of the commenters mentioned that they concur with the study. Obviously, some of them did not. But I mean, this is the results of the study. I was requested, I mean, both the study and site management are not practical requirements, but I was requested to produce them at last meeting. So I did pay a nice amount of money for a pocket study. And as far as the building management plan is concerned, I personally live 10 minutes away and I will personally oversee the management of the building. I'm going to be there during construction. I'm going to be there throughout the lifetime of the building, as long as I own it. And I don't plan on that ending any too soon. And I'll be glad to give all my neighbors my personal phone number so they can call me whenever they want, if they have any complaints, or if they have any, if they have any compliments or anything. And yeah, and we'll maintain it, we'll remove the snow, and we'll do all the interior and exterior repairs that are needed to keep this building as beautiful as we possibly can. And last but not least, we do, we are requesting waiver to lower the personal rate from 18 inches to six inches It's not needed in order to build a building, but as we see, if we keep it at 18 inches high, which is a requirement, we need to put a ramp for wheelchair access that will add a beautiful structure that I think much of the neighborhood would prefer. It's not there. It would also make it more of a hassle for the users to get all the way up instead of having to go straight. And I think overall, a 15-foot setback is good. intent of that, of the 18 foot height was to give some privacy to the first floor. I think overall with the 15 foot setback, we're going to somewhat achieve that intent. So I request that, you know, the board consider it.

Thank you.

So with some of the public, the speakers tonight, have you given, you said you were maybe open to modifying some elements of your building. Do you care to elaborate on what you would consider?

Yes. So everyone's favorite neighbor, Daniel, proposed an image and it seemed like a fine event. However, I'm a little reluctant to make changes right now because the next meeting is in two months and if the board could allow me to, assuming I get approved, if the board could allow me to do the, to get those changes, a full bag of the soup, in office, that would be, then I would be open to making those changes. Otherwise, it would be very difficult. Would the changes reflect like this? Primarily? Primarily, yeah. I would consider it, obviously. That's going to be less expensive. What? That's going to be less expensive. I don't want to be bound to it, but I would definitely consider it. It's my business as well as everyone's business, trying to make a building as beautiful as possible. And in fact, it was a beautiful building. I was glad to be able to do it.

I would be able to do something designed to be

If it's consistent with the architecture standards, then if you're comfortable with allowing staff to do it, I'm fine with that. As long as it follows the standards of the formless code, then I think.

I don't have an issue. But it would be as radical as something like this would be. So, really, it's up to you guys. Ultimately, I'm asking you.

He's provided a design that is consistent under the form-based code based on the architectural standards that follows them, and he's met those requirements. I was looking at that when he read the ATL and got that at 5 after 5 o'clock tonight. So I haven't really had a chance to really put that to the test. I can't say for sure if it meets all the form-based code standards.

So that would be another question that we would... Do we even know that this would change the floor plans at all? Would that alter those at all?

That I can't speak to that. As far as I'm concerned, the floor plans are not planning board at all. I could still refine them afterwards, so I don't think that should matter. But, you know, so far, this plan or some maybe slightly tweaked version of it could be made that's not changing the flow of fine metal. Obviously, I already found some issues with this plan that would have to be tweaked a little bit, but overall, it definitely keeps the overall aesthetic and, you know, I would love to work with people in the neighborhood and a planning board to come up with something that, I mean, I'm very familiar with all the planning board, all the planning board rules, and I know how to make things. I know all the code, and I'll work my heart out to come up with something that fits things more properly. But obviously, this is what I'm proposing right now.

No, and I just want to recognize that you know, with the public speaking, while I respect the position of most of the speakers, we may have more in common than VCI. So your proposal meets with the current form-based code. I mean, there are elements that I may not agree with, but this is what, you know, we have to follow. And any, you know, if you can make some modifications and still you're comfortable with it, it falls within what you're looking to do. And, I mean, you've already reduced the amount of units from 12 to 10. So, I mean, I don't think everybody's not going to get what they want out of this. But if we can find common ground and, you know, you get what you want. when you're comfortable with and the neighbors feel like they may have gotten something, you know, I think that's a good compromise, you know. And I applaud you for even considering, you know, changing this based on public comment. So, all right, I mean that.

If I can make a cooperative comment. You have a person with 50 years feeling in development in historic preservation. He's a project manager. You have an entire team of people that could be helpful to you, come up with something that I think everybody would love.

And I think he's doing that. After the public comments, we usually don't like to do it back and forth, but that's something positive that you just said. And I think that even considering something like that shows that there is some movement in that direction. Thank you. So we have, we'll talk about the affordability.

Yes. So at this point, I'm required to provide one affordability unit. Here is a New York State tax abatement program, which I'm going to do not commit to now, but if I choose to commit to it before I submit my building permits. I will, I will get another, or I'll get three, four blings, so I'll get it. So, you know, that will set me in the cards and work out and we'll settle on him. Okay.

I just wanted to get that, the record too. Okay. Explain the... I get it, but I want you to explain why you want to go with the major waiver from the 18 inches to a 6 inch.

Okay, I'm going to get back to this again. This is a demonstration of how the 18 inches would look, and this is a demonstration of how the 6 inches would look. And I am required, and I would love to as well, give... FHA adaptability or handicap access to the bottom floor apartments, and it's a federal requirement. And in order to achieve that, And if I put a conventional ramp at 18 inches, then this is the only way to get a ramp onto the property. It's not exactly anything that I think anyone would prefer. The beneficiaries of these ramps are going to be the people at the bottom floor. And the purpose of the 18 inches is to benefit the people at the bottom floor. And I think they would prefer something like this with a more reasonable ramp and lower first floor windows than a higher ramp and this roundabout. And I agree.

I agree. Our study that was done, was that put through, did John Schultes look at that too? That was?

No. No? We were required to. Okay. To explore the labor works. Okay.

Thank you for doing that.

One thing, I mean, obviously we're going to come back to the question about the architectural design. And, you know, obviously we do have a resolution to move this forward this evening. My instinct would tell me to move it forward as it's designed, which makes the form-based code. And obviously the board will meet again in September with if he decides to make changes, you can come back to the board to present those changes. You're not going to start construction before the September board meeting, so you've got a lot of other things, but it'll allow him to go forward with a design that is approvable under the code. And if you know, in the interim that you want to change things, you can come back and make an amendment request.

Okay.

Does that sound...

So, it sounds good with the problem. If I, I mean, if I want to make a change and then I have to wait until September to make that change, then I won't be able to submit my building department plans until September, adding to the building department. It's not very quick to have full plans and early Saturdays before the winter, then finally be done for another year afterwards. So it would be really helpful if we could, you know, work out a way for me to be able to make a facade change without having to come to another meeting. Or, I don't know if the building department allows this or not, but if I were able to do concurrent review with the building department and the planning department at the same time, I bet after September I could The stock building earlier instead of having to wait another month to build a new farm.

Well, can you discuss that at staff level with making a facade change? I mean, we can approve what's proposed right now. But then, you know, we're talking about making some modifications to something like that.

I mean, if it follows... And if it follows something along the lines of what the board has seen, then I think that's okay, as long as it complies with the form-based code. I would not, you know, if it's non-compliant, we'll let it fall in.

I would say, can you ever submit something non-compliant? I think I should see how okay with that. So then you would tweet, if you would, you know, from here on out and code that I think would be good. I think that satisfactory would stay at level two.

Okay.

I know the landscaping was brought up this evening and I know that you have a plan to work with the forester to develop landscaping using all native species in accordance with the code as well. And that's recognized within, we'll recognize that within the decision also, okay?

Then the rec fee, we're, just to put that on the record, we're at, well, $1,000. That's the savings, right? It's the first four exempt, right? Six. Six are exempt.

And then, so the fee is assessed on the remaining, the other four.

Right.

Then $3,000, so that's where the...

Right, and I think the portable housing units are event as well, so if I, if my state, if the state required portable housing ends up, I'll leave them for portable housing as well, then I would... You will have to, one will be required to be de-restricted.

Okay. Yep. Right now.

Okay. So before we go to the checklist, board members that are present here, I'm happy with how we're not having to do 18 inches and go to six in the front. We still have that switch back to get into the handicap accessible part of it. So we can go through the checklist. Maybe I'll make a request. Yeah, I'll read it. I've got to read resolutions.

This is the form-based code. This is the waiver request under 405.7.b.j. And it is for lowering the first floor level from 18 inches to 6 inches. So the first question is, the applicant has included a waiver request letter that clearly identifies and describes the waiver being proposed, accompanied by plans or other visual representations as applicable. Yes or no?

Yes.

Yes. All agree? Yes. In their letter, the applicant describes in detail why the waiver is needed and how the waiver request is consistent with the intent, design, and compatibility of the transit in which the project is located. Yes or no? Yes. Yes.

Everybody said yes.

We ran through the waiver, turning to the realization of the overall intent of the transit zone and result in an improved project, which will be an attractive and durable contribution to the transit zone. Yes or no? Yes. Yes. Yes. To support vulnerable neighborhoods and or mixed-use centers, the project emulates the neighborhood context for how Are the buildings related to the sidewalk and how the facade is designed and how the building interacts with the street? Yes, no, or not applicable?

I'd say yes.

I mean, I'm going to say yes, because how that would look, having to switch back on their hat, that doesn't really do much for the public service. I'm going to say yes.

Yes. Thank you. Thank you. The project supports a green and resilient future for, for example, reducing vehicular miles traveled by green infrastructure and more speed, including high quality as well as green space. Yes, no. Is that an N.A.? Yes. Because it does have a green front. You don't have the landscape planned. Your intent, we were talking about street trees. Well, in the throng, in shrubs, in the throngs, in the back, in the back, inside the grass.

I will have to put shrubs in the throng because I'm, I'm, we need to put them in my, in my frontage environment. Yeah. So, we store that, even though I didn't even put it right here. It's also allowed more grass on the ground, so this, this footback, this footback, that needs to be used up, used up otherwise, um, landscape gables.

So, having that thing eliminated increases the amount of range space and, you know, yes.

Basically, the whole lot is, is, is, It is not, there is no green space pretty much now.

It is not. This one's for us.

Yes, no, yes, okay. The project supports incremental development patterns in its size and density and supports infill development for the reuse of existing buildings. Yes, no, we're not applicable.

Say yes. This? N.A. N.A.? What N.A.? Surrounding buildings? There's no...

I think his picture is of the whole deli or something in the last. And the story structure and right. And there's no real...

Yes.

Yes. Okay.

Yes. Project supports the provision of a variety of housing types to support a range of income levels, age groups, and family units. Yes. Yes. Yes.

Yes.

Okay. The project specifies street design that is walkable, livable, and in a real, safe, and comfortable environment for all users. Yes, no, no, no.

We can't do this. OK. Please sign this, please. Will you? We're pleased to be drafted resolution. Do you recall when we asked each other to leave the video screen? This is for us.

Yep. Starting out, we're asked, you know, in the title, to revolutionize the city of Kingston planning board approving site for a redemolition of the new city building. CONSTRUCTION OF A DEFENDING UNIT MULTI-FLEX AND THE CITY FORM BASED CODE FOR 73-73 THROUGH 75 FRONT STREET, KINGSTON, NEW YORK, FLINT 2 CORPS 01. WHEREAS THE APPLICANT SUBMITTED AN APPLICATION, PLANS AND OTHER SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION TO THE CITY OF KINGSTON PLANNING COURT FOR DEMOLITION OF AN EXISTING existing vacant building and new construction of a 10-unit residential multi-plex action. And whereas the action is located at 73 through 75 Furnace Street in the city of Kingston, and whereas the board recognizes the changes to the environmental regulations of the ECL pursuant to the governor's budget adoption, the board now recognizes the project to be a qualified action and is therefore considered a type two action under seeker and exempt from seeker. And whereas the action includes a major waiver requested to deviate from strict adherence to the form-based code, which indicate or which includes lessening the ground finished full web above the sidewalk or finished grades from the required 18 inch to six inches hand. whereas the applicant submitted a site plan application with an initial review taking place at the April 20 and 26 planning board meeting, at which time there were several written comments submitted with any public interest expressed for a public hearing and to be held again, whereas the board voted to hold a public hearing at the next regular meeting with the applications with the applicant's consent in providing supplemental information as discussed at the April meeting and whereas the applicant has updated plans and the board held a public hearing on the project at the July 20th, 2026 meeting and whereas all comments, reporting documentation plans and meeting documents are posted to the City of Kingston website for access by the public and now therefore be resolved by the city of Phoenix and planning board as follows. Section one, after thorough review of all documentation and associated agency comments, the board votes to approve the site plan for our tenant unit residential unit class with associated site improvements and supporting infrastructure with conditions as identified in the following statements. Section two, Approval shall include conditions as follows. The payment and route of parkland in the amount of $12,000, 3,000 per unit with the first six fixed exempt will need to be submitted to the Parks and Recreation Department prior to the building permits being issued. Kingston City School District impact statement. Sidewalks along the street shall be replaced with concrete meeting ADA standards and city standards, curbing material will be determined in coordination with the City Engineer and Department of Public Works. A planting strip with streets, trees, and locations will be identified and location in coordination with the City of Kingston Urban Forester. All improvements within any public right of Ray Hsiao have final sign-off and associated permits issued to the Department of Public Works. Final sign-off designed by the City Engineer. Submission of utility details of locations and lateral conditions on final plans submitted to the planning. Submission of final lighting details to planning for final sign-on. City engineer sign-off of stormwater infrastructure to address the rooftop runoff on site. Submission of planting species to be reviewed by planning staff in City of Houston Urban Forester. Planting should be native species. Final plans and details for the refuse enclosure, all refuse containers will need to be stored within this screened enclosure. Refuse pickup will be done by a private hauler and will need to be frequent enough to eliminate any potential issues for overflowing. The following board policies are hereby incorporated into this project. Authorization, policy 1A, water, Stormwater compliance, policy 2. Replanting of trees, policy 3 and 3A and 3B. As-built plans and performance bond, policy 4, 4A. Lighting levels and adjustments after it beat it, policy 6. Affirmation of compliance with approved plans, policy 7. Active approvals one year, policy 8, 8A. Blurred of the works and project directory. Policy nine, survey MS mark out new construction limits prior to disturbance. Policy 10, signage compliance with 405.17. Policy 11, emptying of dumpsters during normal business hours. Policy 12, maintaining accurate contact information. Policy 13 and 13a, dig safety on plans, utility contact. Policy 1414A, zoning data abbreviation table. Policy 16, school district in-house. Policy 1717A, payment in lieu of parkland and signs and statements. Policy 18, noise ordinance compliance. Policy 20, carbon monoxide detectors. Policy 22, sidewalk standards. Policy 23, mouse box. Policy 24, required building permit and required timeframe. The city engineering office in coordination with 911 and USPS will assign you the numbers. Proposed numbers can be submitted to engineering. USPS final approval for male receptacles location on the property. Submission of a compliance set, a complete set of final plans signed by the owners or signature by planning chairman.

So in this section, then there's the other, this is where you would have to be, work with city staff to offer this textual design change line with on this code.

And so yours is going to be the submitted design. Yours is going to be the official cut. Yeah.

Okay. Okay. All right. Yep.

Other work with city staff for to authorize the facade change and make sure that it's combined with the form-based scope as per submitted design.

proposals.

As per submitted proposal. Submitted proposal.

Yeah.

Okay. Section 3, affordable housing is required to meet the City of Kingston's form-based code. The following calculation is accepted. 10% affordable out of 10 units equals one unit. The affordable unit must be deeded in Perpetuity for as long as the premises remain residential in future. Reporting and compliance will be coordinated through the Office of Housing Initiatives. Section 4, the Board finds the following with respect to the waiver request form FDC. Building Height, Section 405.7, DJ Minor Waiver. Requirement ground finished floor above sidewalk or finished grade, 18 inch minimum for residential use. Proposed waiver, the applicant is proposing a six inch high ground finished floor. Justification for the waiver. The ground floor units are proposed to be ADA accessible requiring an entry access that meets the requirement. The codes specifies entrances to the units shall be from the front street sidewalk in order to meet the slope Requirement, the applicant submitted two options, one with the waiver and the other with the addition of the switchback ramp B. The applicant submitted a document illustrating the options with B presenting the following impacts of the design. Long switchback ramp, long reduced to seven feet on ramp side instead of 14Z. General building aesthetic compromise, reduced privacy for window over ramp wheelchair access is common with them. The board discussed the names and the following to the nomination of the names.

So, obviously, you looked at the two examples where he had the two frontages, the one with the The one with the streetscape that has the larger ramp structure, which consumes greater portion of the front yard area versus the one with the lower first floor at six inches, which would allow for the handicapped access to go virtually straight in and retain two distinct green spaces on either side of the frontage. So it's whether or not you prefer to maintain that streetscape design. involve operability, the street itself, improved aesthetics, also helps promote some added stormwater area or absorption of runoff. Those would be my thoughts. I don't know if the board has any other thoughts.

Well, we've stated on this. You've gone into it pretty well there.

I mean, I think that when you look at it and it's that much of a difference in numbers, but when you actually see it and then you see the actual change visually, I don't think that one or the other is going to make it look smaller versus that much larger. But what you gain from a decision like this is that you gain the much more pleasing aesthetic, but it's also with the intention that these ADA regulated spaces now become available in the neighborhood, which I think is also very good. So what you get from meeting a waiver like this outweighs, you know, then there's no issue When it comes to structure, I don't think visually one is that significantly much higher than the other. I think that they're both high. But by that many inches when you're looking at the whole building, it's not going to make that much of a difference. I think if it was, this would be a different conversation.

I think that reduces it to six inches. a switchback. There's just a lot of a lot going on there for what you have to accomplish. Okay, Vince, any thoughts? So we've identified that as option A? Yes. So section 5

Approval of the board does not eliminate the need for obtaining the appropriate permits and approvals from the board's commission departments and relevant agencies. Section 6, the approval shall be valid for one year for purposes of obtaining the building permit. Section 7, that is the resolution that this resolution shall take effect immediately. Do you want to make that a motion? I would like to make this a motion to make this effective immediately. Approving the waiver. Okay.

So adopting resolution. Adopting the resolution to second this.

Okay. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Carried. I see.

Thank you, sir. Enjoy the rest of your evening.

my ability this thing i know I appreciate it. All right, so item number four, we're going to read into records. The applicant has requested this be tabled, but we're going to hold the public hearing on this tonight and keep it open until the next meeting.

You're going to say that it's still public hearing?

Yeah, so item number four is 79 Early Avenue, special permit to establish outdoor beer garden associated with existing brewery. Section block and lot is, and Sarah has, well, the woman passed the yes on here to get to that. Section block and lot is 48.71-2-11. Seeker determination, transect zone, T4N-1000. Club zone, A in the end, X. If you work one, Higginsville Station, LLC is the owner. Gillette, Ryan and Friends, Blue Duck Brewing Company is the applicant. Well, I'm going to pass you the button to speak.

Do you want me to take the chair here? Sure.

Okay. Hi there. Hi. So I am here on behalf of several constituents who live on Early Avenue, and I want to preface my remarks by saying that each person I spoke with said they wanted to compliment the owner of the Blue Duck Grooming Company because they had been so pleased. With its being there, the change it's made to the neighborhood, it's been very welcome. There's a liveliness that it's brought. And so far, the food outside has not been at all disruptive. In other words, they're very happy with the way it is so far. And all they had was just a couple of questions, which you can relate to the applicants. The first was, is there going to be any outdoor music? That was sort of their big concern. If it turns into sort of an outdoor music venue, that could change the character of the neighborhood. So they wanted to know, is there going to be outdoor music getting sold when they're being cut off? So that was a question.

I will say that under the code, outdoor is not allowed in T or in O. There we go.

And they're entertaining. So that's the answer. I mean, they understand that there's music sometimes indoors, but that's different than having an outdoors. So anyway, that's good. I will relay that to them. Also, they had the same concerns that I saw that the Conservation Advisory Council had had, just about drainage or any sort of impact on the wetland, et cetera. One person had a concern about whether there's going to still be access. bike access to the Empire Rail Trail. Because people love that right now.

And so they would want to see that. Yeah, it was more of an original site like that one.

So anyway, I think you're answering the questions already. And then the last one was really just about would this impact or would there be any sort of impact on the neighboring businesses? Because there are some professional offices there. You know, right now they said the parking is sufficient. There's not an only floor parking. It's like everything is working. but would this create any sort of impact on the neighboring businesses? And that's it. Those are the only concerns. Basically, they're very happy with what has gone on so far, and they wanted me to present that to the applicants. Good. Thank you. Okay.

Anybody else? I'm going to consider keeping this open for the next meeting, the public hearing. So right now, any questions from the board? Okay. So let's kind of make a motion and we table item number four. Do I have a second? Second by Karen Browne. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? None. Carried. All right. Followed? New business item number five is 46-50 and 52-56 and 58-62, a matter of place. It's a manager waiver request to exceed the driveway width. Single lot is 48.302-2-10.210. 48.302-2-11.200. secret of termination, transects OT4N-O, word six, manner of place, LLC is the applicant. Let the record show that Andy Kateras is here. Hi, how are you guys tonight? Good.

That's good. So basically, just like some of the other projects that we've been working on, we're looking to this vitamin curve cup. The reason being here is we... We added turbs out front per DPW that were on the original plans. So now coming in, you're driving in between two buildings. There's a one way in and a one way out. There's a lot of traffic constantly there along the sides of the room due to people parking, whether they're supposed to or not, when there's baseball games and stuff like that. So basically we're looking to keep that entrance actually driving through the one way the same. We're just looking to actually get a wider apron out front so larger vehicles can make the turn coming in. So that way nobody's staying at these buildings, is parking along the streets, they can access the back and we stay off the street. No laptops going in and out. Ambulances going in and out. It's just, it's very tight with the way the curtains are now along the street and when people are parked there.

Well, one of the things that is kind of going against it is that this was not an adaptive reuse. It was a new build, right? So... Now, what's the distance now with the curve, huh? 12 feet. 12 feet? Super.

We allowed 10. We allowed 10.

10 to the root of 12 for the widening of the apron.

Right.

All right, so you have 12 now in place when it was supposed to be 10.

Does that work? No, no, no. You're allowed up to 12 with Abram. Like 10 for the driveway, 12 for the actual, and up to 15.

Yeah.

So, I mean... So we added a curb for DPW, which was not in the original plan, right? But there wasn't a curb there. You could kind of come over and... where it is but now with the curb being there it's it's very difficult to get a larger vehicle in between the buildings and into the back for property we're not going to open a large vehicle with me i mean they're if it's residential i think it would be mostly like for example my truck when i just go to class enough for example any amazon man doing a delivery for example amazon is going to stop on the street i don't think that they're going to pull into the rear parking lot they should be pulling it trying to do a drive straight through and to make right back out so there's no street parking parking along the curve is it's very tight before this before they built this So I want to make that where it takes place. The whole thing is . I get it. Jose's parking lot next door, it's all blocked up all the way across. So it's not like we're changing anything major. We're still making it nice. We're not looking to do blacktop to blacktop in between the buildings in any way. We're just looking to have an easier access out by the route.

So we're moving up and down.

meaning being what one wants to be extending, right? Right. And it's 12, but they want 15?

Mm-hmm.

So the three-inch difference.

No, three feet. Three feet, okay.

Yeah.

So it's a fun happening side.

I mean, the thing is that, you know, it's new-build construction, so, you know, this was something that should have been identified, um, Technically, you know, he has developed, yes, he's put parking in the rear. There's no parking requirement for, under the form-based code, as you all are well aware. They've provided, you know, basically a one-way traffic flow through the site, one way in, one way out. There shouldn't be two-way traffic with this design.

And we're going to keep cameras.

Yeah. I mean, I think it's justification alluded to two way.

Is there on street parking across the street from this too?

There's parking in the park. Yeah. And then there is on street parking.

Yes. That's right. truck, you physically can't make it into the lot without driving up and over the curb when there's cars parked there.

Is the curb there now?

Yes. We requested, which again was not on our plan, so that's why we couldn't really bring this forward beforehand. DPW came to us after we already had the buildings in, and they asked hey, we would like to put a curb in, we want to keep the water out of the site, blah, blah, blah, it's nicer. We didn't fight that at all. We put the curb in, but now since we've put the curb in, we're not seeing this development issue, which before was not.

I was wondering if the board wanted to see it in person as they are ready.

And what's the width of the driveway down here? 10 feet?

Not based on a foot length. How do you decide? Nothing. Not looking to keep 20 feet. Not looking to just a foot and a half. How do you decide?

18 feet. 18 feet.

I mean, you know, in the justification, he says his property is located directly off of a busy main road.

I wouldn't necessarily consider it

in that place, a busy road.

That's pretty busy with baseball games, I do not know.

Well, OK. Well, the park is there.

Well, the park is there.

I mean, the pickleball park, yeah, it's in pre-existing condition. A narrow single lane driveway courses entering vehicles to wait on the main thoroughfare of another vehicle's exiting. So he's indicating two-way traffic, which shouldn't be the case. I don't know. I don't know.

Because if she wasn't insisting, like you said, prior to, it became an issue.

So a normal option then, if we follow the plan, could we backtrack then? And then I just go back to the DW and we rip the curbs back out. I said, I'm looking at an original site plan. We pull the curbs out. We stick our 12 dimensions.

Yeah, I mean, we don't review the site plans. That's simply something that went through Building Safety Division. We don't do the three families. That's something that they reviewed. I'm just asking if that's an option as well. They were requesting it, obviously, for drainage. I guess, purposes. That seems to be what the reasoning was. I don't know. I would think that, you know, my experience with Amazon deliveries, they don't go into the parking lots. They park on the sidewalks or in the street, and they'll deliver it to the front door.

So let's take an Amazon out that I'll use. Yeah, it's a multifamily building, so any vehicle now, a tonneau that's trying to go in.

Our chief, Chris,

Because it's one way going in, if there is some function going on at the fields, the ambulance has got to get off the main road and go into the complex. So if your pickup truck doesn't make it now, the ambulance has got to make it. Given that additional width to the driveway, allow the ambulance to get off the road into the complex. You'd like to see that increase for the smoothest transition going in and going out.

That's alternative. Anybody can make it. We can all get it there. I'm just trying to have the smoothest way possible. So I appreciate that.

All right. I mean, I understand both sides of the story here, but what we did, the fire chief did weigh in on that, and I think public safety is tipping the scale for me in the direction to approve it. We have to go through the checklist, too, for this, right? Does everybody else agree with that? I do. I was wondering, you know, any time that we've had something like

And this realm of things come up when it comes to the safety issue, public safety issue. It's just common sense has to lean into that before we're saying what should we do.

And then with Sue's concern, I certainly agree, hear what she's saying, that sometimes you can't notice these issues until everything's built. So if we can, you know, I don't know how involved you're going to be with future development, but if we can, you know, get this to our table beforehand.

The day we put the curtains on, just so you guys are aware, the day we put So I feel it looks like we're just here to keep doing this, which I understand that. I know it doesn't look the best, but we were doing it for a reason. And I wasn't insinuating. No, no, no. I'm stating it for the record for everybody that's been here, because I know I keep coming back for the same thing on multiple projects. I do feel, if I want to weigh in my tense, I feel that it should be larger than 12 feet. Vehicles are not compact cars anymore. It doesn't matter. If your mom has a minivan, it's a Tahoe, it's the fire chief's car. It doesn't matter. It's not a small vehicle anymore. 12 feet to get into any of these places? trying to access things, if we had 15 feet, it makes such a difference. Not widening to 10, just a little bit makes a huge difference all the way across for everyone.

That's it.

One of those.

I could. Yeah. I have two. Well, Joe's going to need Greg for his.

Yeah. You want to just use the ask the questions. We can create one.

Well, we can use this one for Joe Hersey's. This is. Yeah. I'm talking about park benches.

I got three things. Yeah, so we'll, yeah.

Okay, so this is a waiver request to increase the width of the paper, the apron from what's allowed in the form-based code to 15 feet. All right. So maybe question one is the applicant has included a waiver request letter that clearly identifies or describes the way it would be proposed, accompanied by plans and of the visual representation. I'm saying yes.

Yes. Yes. Yes.

In their letter, the applicant described in detail why the waiver is needed and how the waiver request is consistent with the intent, design, and compatibility of the transect zone in which the project is located. Saying yes.

Yes.

Will granting the waiver contribute to the realization of the overall intent of the transect zone and result in an improved project which will be attractive and global contribution for the transect zone? Say yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

This is Jason.

To support multiple neighborhoods and or mixed-use centers, the project emulates the nature of context, look how far the buildings relate to the sidewalk, how the facade is designed, and how the building interacts with the street. Yes, Noah. Yes, Jason.

Yes, Jason.

The project supports a green and resilient future by, for example, reducing vehicular miles travel, providing green infrastructure and or street trees, and or including high quality usable open space. I'm saying that. The project supports incremental development patterns in its size and density and supports infill development or the reuse of existing buildings. yes yes yes the project supports the provision of a variety of housing types to support a range of income levels age groups and family units the project specifies street design that is walkable and bikeable and rainforest safe and comfortable environments for all the users saying yes yes yes Almost there.

Hold it, guys.

So under Seeker, this will type two actions, and it will do what the board has required on this. Any other questions from the board? Okay. um so this time i'll make a motion that we approve item number five and you want to what is it all okay the waiver has been granted findings um lane width to 15 feet wide now the the increase the way what's all increases this is why you should write prescriptions you better read i can't read that

Basically, it would be because of public safety, if you need to pull off the road at the fire department chief's input, widen the two curves to 15 foot width at street and confirm one-way traffic flow and easements are required. Cross easements.

Okay. So that is in motion. Do I have a second on that? Second by Conrad Mundy. All in favor? Aye. Good. Opposed? Gary.

Thank you guys so much. I really appreciate it. I'm going to enjoy this summer.

Thank you. Thank you, Jamie.

Got a question?

All right.

I have a question. There's parking on that street. So why not just not allow parking on the other side of the down the street?

I agree with Jamie.

So is this setting unnecessary for all drivers?

Item number six is Rear Clinton Avenue site plan to construct a warehouse for storage. Section block of the lot is 48.80-1-27.110, secret termination, transect zone SD-C, Ward 2, and results of Y Company as the applicant owner.

Dennis, do you want me to share the screen? I know we're...

Yes, please. The record shows that Dennis Lario is here.

. .

.

. fire away thank you i'm dennis larios i'm here for uh the herzog supply company this is uh existing conditions with one

missing little building that was reconstructed there since we did our survey work a few years ago. 5.7 acres, Westbrook Lane, County Railroad property. Then of course, Kingston Plaza is immediately to the north and it backs up onto property on Clinton Avenue. Currently, this is a large gravel material storage area. And this topography is NAVD 1988, and the baseload elevation is 154.9. So we're right around at the baseload elevation. So we have to elevate the building two feet higher than the current ground to meet the two foot rule. Anything It's proposed to remove this old piece of warehouse here, but the owner has told me he would like to try to save that if he can. That's shown as to be removed so we can get tractor-trailer movement around and backing into the new warehouse. So they say they've done some field trials with tractor-trailers, and they We're not sure that needs to come down. So that would be an issue between now and the next meeting. We'll resolve that.

All right.

Maybe, Kyla, we can go to the next sheet. Yeah. OK. So this is a proposed 18,800 square foot warehouse. Let me preface by saying that Brian, Todd, and warehouse expert to Syringa Lumber and building supply hardware industry several years ago and kind of looked at their whole warehousing operation for both the Herzog store and for their construction materials industry business, which is mostly contractors. and recommended the floor plan that I passed out to you. Much more organized, efficient from a labor point of view and from a storage and distribution point of view. This is kind of how things need to be done for them to advance their business into the futures. That's a purpose for the warehouse.

So, Dennis, the material that is presently stored at the site now outside storage, so I'm assuming that's going to be relocated to a new, and then consolidated to the opposite side where they currently have storage.

Yeah, that's mostly pavers and concrete blockage, things like that, pallets. That would go to the fencing area. off of left field of the baseball field, there's a gravel fence in areas.

So that most of that product would go there.

Which is east of Hanford.

So this will be more than just a warehouse. This is also going to accommodate their repair their service, what they do with small snowmowers.

Where it's located, around the back of the plaza?

Yeah, that's another big benefit to them operationally. Currently, if any of you that have been back there, you've got to go around the back of Hannaford near the old rear entrance of OTB and AutoZone. And there's a shop back there where they service lawnmowers, snowmowers, etc. That would get moved here in the storage for the finished repaired appliances would be in a covered area right off the back of the workshop.

So this you warehouse is not going to have drive-through traffic like customers do through the middle?

No.

Not going to be like that? No. Okay.

But I would say that the employees, the two or three employees that sit here will be moved to here for the most part. And they'll have, you know, a restaurant and a lunchroom, et cetera, there. You see that on the floor plan.

Do you think that most customers, is this warehouse going to be geared more towards the Herzog's larger deliveries where they get the product in and then they load their own trucks and then deliver it to the sites and customers might be serviced out of the other warehouse or is this going to serve both?

It will serve both, but things like the Benjamin Moore paints, you know, they will come here and they'll be the portion of the warehouse that will be climate controlled. solids, compounds, paints. And it'll all be organized, and you can see on the floor plan that was done by a gentleman's name, Ron Johnson. He's from up in, I think, the New Hampshire area, but he's got a lot of time really assessing what their needs were, how much storage they needed. So a lot of it will be for things that are sold to the store, inventory for the store, to get moved down to the store. especially the paints and compounds. But millwork will be stored in here as well. The raw lumber was still, and sheetrock will be stored in these other buildings.

And then going to be re-tilled.

Okay, there's a water line that comes in and serves this building with a hydrant here. So we're planning to tap that line. The service we need has not been sized yet. It's going to depend on the design of the building and fire safety issues that are required to meet the code. But more likely it'll be a four-inch line. Sanitary sewer, there's a a septic system that serves the current office there. So we're hoping to reuse that. There's actually a septic tank buried right outside that big window there. So we're hoping to just reuse that because the sewer for the Kingston Plaza runs to a pump station down near the Hannaford building. And from there, it's a pressure line all the way up to Clinton Avenue. So there's really no

Reasonable way to get to that system.

And there's no city sewer on Westbrook Lane. So sanitary sewer, that is. So they would have to pump up Westbrook Lane and go to Clinton. It would be very expensive for a bathroom that's going to get very little use. So we're hoping to reuse that. I know the city engineer commented on that. We'll sit down with him.

And I know you said there's not going to be a drive-in for customers, but are customers going to, is this a proposal to, like, have customers drive up here to get product, or is it, this is probably something different?

No. The only thing that I would see, and it's on a limited basis, customers would come to pick up in a long moment, it's getting fixed, we got to snuggle over and stuff like that. Although usually they're delivered by Herzogs to the home. Okay. In the building on Clinton and Ferris Street that I know they were storing their paint products there. Is that building? Paint products were only stored in the old hotel on North 5th. Yeah, North 5th. Yeah, but it's still... This gets built where housing activities in that building would be retired. It's very inefficient.

I don't know if any of you have been through it. Work lifts have to drive a long way to go get stuff up there.

Yeah, and there's three or four stories and small little rooms that were old hotel rooms back a hundred years ago. So that would be retired as a warehouse.

Once this is built. Once you lighten the utility system.

Yeah, basically with the notes that have been developed, they've been shared with the applicants so they are aware of what staff is asking for in terms of additional materials and submissions. We've forwarded to them the comments that we've gotten from other city agencies as well. This does need to go to the Elster County Planning Board. So one thing we would ask you this evening is to make that referral if you feel that it's sufficient enough information to go there so that we can move forward. In the meantime, we'll supplement the information and get that as well to the county. So in September, when you come back, you would table that this evening. And you come back in September, you should have the county comments plus additional information as provided by the applicant as they expand their

Well, just so you know, his proposal, and it should have been on the second set of building elevations, is just some shielded wall packs for security on the building. They don't intend to use this. You know, this yard is really for business hours. It's not for anything. So they just have low-level security lighting, shielded wall packs in the building.

Okay. For stormwater, there's three catch stations?

Yeah, the stormwater hasn't been laid because I'm not sure where the roof leaders are going to be coming down yet to collect all that. But there is a drainage system that's been installed. First of all, the city put a big drainage system through the lumber yard and out to the creek through the plaza several years ago. And They have added some connections to pick up the low areas by the propane tank. So it's our hope to connect into that, keep our disturbance under an acre. And we'll talk to the city engineer about the stormwater controls. It's really a direct shot to the creek from here. So having attenuation doesn't necessarily make much sense.

What's the timeline on this? They got anything?

Well, he's got to engage. Scott Dutton will be doing the detail of the building. The warehouse consultant will be doing a vacuum system for the building. But there's a lot of design work with the HVAC, fire protection. We are, like I said, raising. You can see the proposed grades. Raising the building about two feet higher than the current graded lot.

So you're expecting me to fill in?

Yes. And it's just the filling out, it affects about half the area.

Do we want to be in depth with this one? What? We want to go fully more in depth. Do you want to wait until September?

Yeah, it will be in Burdick County. Yeah, but I mean, we're at a point now where

We're not going to go in there.

No.

Do you have any questions, color, things like that? Do you want to review the color of the building at, you know, where it's built?

Is it going to match the yellow for the other one?

I hope not.

I think they would be willing to take your suggestions on colors. Nice off-earth phone. Be good.

You did ask about landscaping.

As you know, this is heavily landscaped, screened area here and behind the building. I don't know what else he can do there.

We've had... I saw it landscaped. I'd call it vegetated.

That's true, but there are some very mature trees in here as well. Tall, you know, 24-inch trees in there. And there's some jungle here. But it's green, I guess is my opinion.

It is green.

Any other questions from the board? Looking forward to how the state progresses. Like Sue said, we're going to send this off to the county. And you'll be back here in September, right? Yeah. Do we need a formal? Yes, you do at your county.

Yeah.

All right. Thank you, Dennis. So this time I'll make a motion that we table item number six and forward this move. All right. Second. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Aye. Thanks, sir. Thank you. Thank you. We were friends longer than we were relatives, you know? So you know how that goes. Yeah. Thank you, though. Thank you. Have a good time.

Thanks, guys.

This will be the last one. The last meeting, you know, all business we have by the number 7. 140 dash 150 and 160 Boulevard. Site plan for construction of 3 residential buildings with 1 unit and a major waivers for 3rd floor with no attic. Setback in 2 units above allowed when you see. Section Black Alot is 56.40-2-4 and 56.40-2-6. Seek to determine the legal transaxle T3N Ward 5 in Park Ventures Corporation. This is the applicant over. OK, let's state your names for the record, please. Joe DiVentos, applicant over. Katar, Alan Solomon, colleague in the hands.

Kim Bloomberg, applicant over.

Good.

Welcome, everybody. So where are we?

I don't want to say something specific. I know we've talked about this a lot of times.

In general, I mean, there have been obviously modifications throughout the project lifespan. It's now had three buildings with 20 units, two of them with six and one for eight. Most of the waivers remain the same. The board has previously adopted the lot line deletion. That map has been filed. That's filed back in June. So that part of the project has been completed. With the proposal as it stands, at the last time you met, there were... a couple of remaining significant aspects. We had given them staff, they revised a majority of the plans to show responses to those questions and those comments and concerns. The city engineer has given his final sign off on all of the stormwater and sanitary sewer and just the stormwater management plan that is submitted. The largest, The remaining issue was with the water pressure and the water department and the fire department, as well as the water pressure for the fire protection sprinkler service. We received that sign off this afternoon from the building safety division. So that has been incorporated now into Schedule A, that document as well. A couple remaining cleanup things that I think we can probably deal with at staff level, like in iteration of plans, bike racks are now not, we can't find the bike racks on the plans. There's smaller aspects like that, that we want to just make sure that we do some final cleanup and we can work with the applicants, I think, at staff level to do that. There is one question about landscaping around the backside of that rear building and bringing either fencing or landscaping around that to meet the code. We'd probably recommend the fencing be extended around the corner that is along the upper property line as the screening there and just carry that around the back to make it simple. And what we're saying, I think that lighting, we do need to just make sure lighting is consistent with the code.

So the last time in the meeting, when we were talking about the lighting, we raised our concern that it would consist, that the board actually says...

I understand, but the code has a lighting limit level. And so it's got to be, it's got to follow the code or request...

But I thought the board kind of gave us a great guide that we can use those levels.

because they were more of like the concern of safely getting to the buildings rather than just being took down. So what happened? Did we approve the design of them, but they still have to stay within the code?

The code makes the statement about the intensity of the light, and that's what you're going to have to follow or ask for. No, we'll adjust it. I'm going to say it. I mean, it has to meet the code. No, no, I understand. No, no, we haven't discussed it.

Give it a point of view. and not saying I disagree. If it is below the recommended secure flight level to get from a car to the apartment, at least we have something to hang our hat on that this is the code, so that they should send, at least we're not as blind as they are.

This has been a long process, right? I think some things get lost in each meeting, or not completely understood.

No, if we have to adjust it, I mean, adjusting it down,

It's not a big deal.

All I'm saying is that it is bold and minimum rental. And if that's the case, that's the case.

All of the layers are going to have to be clearly

shown and you know so when we get the final plan set which can be done at staff level i don't think that there's any reason why that can't happen it's just we're going to make sure that all the elements are carried through on that frontal drawing set i'll go there a little thing yeah that's

Just a quick question before we go to the cost estimate for the performance part.

Is that for just the site work or for everything? Just the site work, not building constructions.

Can you give me some examples of how others have identified because it's a detailed cost estimate. So, for example, if you were doing curving, you would do the type of curving, the material, and the linear foot, you would give a total cost and based on linear footage. And the reason we ask for it to be detailed is that if you come for periodic reductions, we're able to use that matrix to reduce. Yeah. Okay.

Just to get that, what are we, seven?

Yes, so in this particular zone, with small multi-plex, you can, it's four units max, you can go to six units if two of them are affordable. So you've got three buildings that all have that at least six units. So that's six affordable units and two in each. And then you look at the total number of units being proposed, which is 20. You take and how does it get accomplished? It's in count of the works. Forgetting. No, the police don't. Yeah, that's it. 20.

I'll do that again.

20 units, you take out the good sticks. So, and then you have the first six, which are exempt. So there's 12 units that you take off 20, which leaves you with eight. And then you have to provide 10% of the eight, which is 0.8, which rounds up to one. So you have the six because you are adding the additional units. then you have the additional one so you have a total of seven board movements required they'll be dispersed throughout your building right there has to be at least two in each because of that and then the one can be put in any one of the buildings however they want to do it and those would be the d restricted okay okay

REC fee.

So the REC fee, I know, I know. It was also calculated.

Here we go.

So you have 20 units in the project. The first six are exempt for the code, at least 14 units. Minus the first seven, which leaves seven units remaining at the $3,000 apiece under the code.

That seven thing you mentioned, that's because they're affordable?

No, that seven is what's, the seven is exempt. The rent fee is a different calculation. So you take the first seven are the required, less than the required amount. It's lined up with the affordable. That's where the exemption starts.

So it's seven units times 3,000, which is 21,000. Did we already do the required modifications or recommendations from the

From the Elche County Planning Board, yes. We have incorporated them into the plan. If you recall, the one was to add additional landscaping in that front area along the boulevard, along the front hillside. So they've incorporated the county planning board. Okay.

else i mean we're going to talk about the waivers i mean really early on and then uh in the apple in the process remember we gave us basically blessing to go ahead and we were happy with granting those waivers then we're just going to do it on an official capacity today i think that still holds true that we're in favor of uh of that i'm granting those you want to do that now you got some other stuff do that now So we have three waivers requests. And one is building height. Second is the unit count. And the third is the fill-in-console weather. The zone says it has to be wet.

The street front would be the boulevard. And because of the irregular shaped line, it's possible. How would we be able to say that's...

So I know we're going to go over a checklist, but for me, I'm just reiterating what I've said at previous meetings. The building height, I think, doesn't become an issue for me because we're way down, and so that doesn't become an issue for me. The unit count, you know, we're looking for additional housing and... That's not an issue for me.

Yeah, and it's only with the one building, which is the rear building for this, the boulevard, and that's adding the two additional units there, or a total of eight in that building.

And really, those two got created because of the drop in grade.

And then the one for built to show, it would be difficult to this doesn't link to making that happen. So, I'll take the waiver on that. So, I mean, I don't know how the rest of the board feels. We're going to go through the checklist in a sec here.

Yeah. I mean, we've had these guys in front of us so many times. So, yeah. I feel like we understand this part of the talk. Yeah.

So, can I, in the spirit of not having to read through the checklist individually, can I go through

no if the board consents you can ask the questions and it would be applicable to all three and if there's one that you want to call out differently let me know and we'll identify it individually alright so we'll do that now just read what's it yeah

Are you going to check? Let's go. Okay. All right. So the applicant has included a waiver request letter that clearly identifies and describes the waiver being imposed, accompanied by plans and other visual representations as applicable. Say yes. Yes. Yes. In their letter, the applicant describes in detail why the waiver is needed and how the waiver request is consistent with the intent, design and compatibility of the transect zone in which the project is located. I'm saying yes. Will granting the waiver contribute to the realization of the overall intent of the transect zone and result in an improved project, which will be an attractive and durable contribution to the transect zone? I'm saying yes. Yes.

Okay.

To support walkable neighborhoods and or mixed-use centers, the project emulates the neighborhood context for how far the buildings relate to the sidewalk, how the facade is designed, and how the building interacts with the street to demand AFL asylum. The sidewalk.

Nope.

And we're not at the street, too. The project supports a green and resilient future by, for example, reducing vehicular miles traveled, providing green infrastructure in our street trees, and or including high-quality usable open space. I'm saying yes. Yes. Yes. Okay. The project supports incremental development patterns in size and density and supports infill development with the reuse of existing buildings. Yes. Yes. The project supports the provision of a variety of housing types to support a range of income levels, age groups, and family units.

Yes.

The project specifies street design that is walkable and bikeable, And reinforced safe and comfortable environments for all users. Yes. Yes. Okay. Great. And these all will be incorporated into the resolution.

Yep.

Okay.

Before we get to the resolution, I want to mention that this has been a lengthy process for us and you. And I appreciate what your team has done to incorporate concerns of the neighbors, the neighborhood, the planning board, planning staff, the county. I think that will make for a great project. I'm sure you're looking to put a shovel in the ground up there. It may have seemed like a lengthy process, but in the end, I think we're getting the best project that we can get. I appreciate your patience and Thank you. I got to do a bit of a secret for that checklist, for that receiving checklist. All right. So this was an unlisted action, right? And it did not qualify as the type 2 with the new state secret. So that's not under that. All right, so I have before me a short environmental assessment form, and we are going to go into the part two and part three of this. So the short environmental assessment form, part two is the impact assessment. On question one, will the proposed action create a material conflict with an adopted land use plan or zoning regulations? I'm saying no or small impact may occur.

No.

Okay. Will the proposed action result in a change in the use or intensity of use of land? Moderate to large impact may occur. Agree? Yeah. Okay. Will the proposed action impair the character or quality of the existing community? I'm saying no or small impact may occur.

No.

Will the proposed action have an impact on the environmental characteristics that cause the establishment of critical environmental area, the CEA? No or small impact?

No. Okay.

Agreed. Agreed. Okay. Will the proposed action result in an adverse change in the existing level of traffic or affect existing infrastructure for mass transit, biking, or walkway? Moderate to large impact may occur.

Yes. Okay.

Will the proposed action cause an increase in the use of energy and it fails to incorporate reasonably available energy conservation or renewable energy opportunities? No or small impact may occur.

No.

Small impact.

That's what I'm saying. Agreed.

Good.

Will the proposed action impact existing A, public slash private water supplies, moderate to large impact may occur?

Agreed. Yes.

B, public slash private wastewater treatment utilities. No or small impact may occur.

Yes. Okay.

Will the proposed action impair the character or quality of important historic, archaeological, architectural, or aesthetic resources? No or small impact?

No. Okay. Agreed.

Will the proposed action result in an adverse change to natural resources? Examples will be wetlands, water bodies, groundwater, air quality, flora, or fauna. Will the proposed action result in an increase in the potential for erosion, flooding, or drainage problems? Moderate to large impact may occur.

Yes. Okay.

Will the proposed action create a hazard to environmental resources or human health? No or small impact?

No. Okay.

Is the potentially affected disadvantaged community identified as having terrifically higher burdens? or vulnerabilities by the disadvantaged community assessment tool. Excuse me. No, we're small. Will the proposed action cause or increase a pollution burden within a disadvantaged community? No. That's part two.

Okay, so based on what's been identified by the board as moderate to large impact may occur, part three of the SEAF is a determination of significance and the following explanations are provided as needs of mitigating those impacts. On the impact on land, the current parcel is on developed property and will be built out with three more cut-down destructions associated with supporting the infrastructure. Resilience provides for the type of development on the site and the 20 additional units provide much needed housing for the community. On the impact on traffic, the project will generate additional vehicular traffic and potential bike and pedestrian traffic. Parking is provided on site, along with bike storage and EV charging. The main road is on a bus route and recently a new traffic signal was installed, which will assist with safety and traffic control. The applicant has also provided an engineered traffic assessment, which has been reviewed and made part of this determination. As far as the impact of flooding and erosion, the site is located in a geographic valley and the stormwater runoff has destroyed the pass through the parcel into the adjacent neighborhood. The applicants have designed an on-site stormwater collection system to remove additional flow. The system is designed to capture through runoff into 70 through a percolation and release of the reduced flow. The city engineers reviewed the plans and signed off on the system. Impact on water supply. The Kingston Water Department provided this study on the current equitable water system. and has provided the requirements for design to make improvements for flows with pressure to the applicants. The applicants have submitted documentation from their fire engineer, Sullivan Fire Protection, indicating the water supply will support sprinkler system. Building Safety Division has reviewed the information for the water pressure with respect to the required flows. The system will need to meet the requirements under the Informed Fire Code Providing every service when needed without impacting the balance of the water system should other users or final building safety division approval. And those are the explanations. So if the board confers with those, we would need a motion. Thank you. There is a resolution accepting that document.

so you let me check i have to have this so we're not doing this one first uh she's reading that when she read that you accept then you sign that okay resolution of the city of kingston planning board adoption and determination and negative declaration of environmental significance for 140 through 150 and 160 will arrive. And the SEVA process 6 and 5 will be on part 617. Part Ventures Corp. applicant submitted plans along with a completed part 1, Insured Environment Assessment Form, SEAF, to the City of Kingston Planning Board to construct a residential development with three buildings, totaling 20 apartments and supporting infrastructure and , whereas the action includes a lot line leasing approved by the board on November 17th, 2025 to combine the parcels into one, which was signed by board chairman on 5-5-2026 and filed on June 1st, 2026 at UC clerk's office as map number 26, Is it 26 through 98? Okay. And whereas the project is located at parcels formally identified as number 140, 150, and 160 Boulevard, SBL 5640-2-4 and 6 Kingston, New York. And whereas the board determined action to be unlisted under Seeker and whereas the applicants have submitted plans, applications, and other supporting documents to All is posted to the municipal website and as defined under Schedule A, attached and made part of the resolution. Whereas the board opened a public hearing January 21st, 2025, and it remained open until the closing on February 17th, 2026. All public comments received under the hearing in oral and written testimony have been fully considered to end. whereas under routine circulation, the Board has received comments, has reviewed and considered statements from the Ulster County Planning Board, the City Engineer, Kingston Water Department, Conservatory Advisory Commission, Urban Forester, and Kingston Fire Department, and whereas the project will comply with the stormwater mitigation and site construction activities prepared by Victoria. Victoria, thank you. CONPAD for our Venture Support dated May 14, 2026 with engineering comments and response dated May 14, 2026 and final sign-off under July 16, 2026 in the email and whereas a traffic assessment letter issued by Craig Manning identified in their conclusion that the project would not have a significant impact on traffic operations because the number of trips is low and site distances generally meet or exceed AASHTO guidelines for the posted speed limit of 25 miles per hour but fall short looking left where the speed limit is posted 30 miles per hour. This is not critically limited as the as they exceed stopping site census, but it's recommended that no landscaping assignments should be added to limit or restrict sight lines. And whereas the planning board recognizes the installation and activation of traffic signals at the intersection of Route 32 Boulevard and Golden Hill Drive. And whereas landscaping will include native species and will imply the section 405, We got point 14 K of the loan code. And whereas significant review study and discussion has transpired to confirm an adequate portable and free and fire protection, water service and pressure can be delivered to the project without negatively impacting the surrounding neighborhood. The specific improvements made to this system by the applicant under the authority of the Kingston water department and building safety division, BSD and recognizing final letter of satisfaction dating July 20th, 2026 from BSD. And whereas the project is provided with an engineered stormwater system designed to prevent runoff from the project to exceed pre-development quantities. And whereas the findings and recommendations of all documents listed under Schedule A review document listing dated July 20th, 2026 as applicable have been fully considered along with the public comments and technical advance advice from the municipal agencies. And whereas the board has completed and attached parts two and three of the SEAF, now therefore be it resolved by the city of Kingston planning board as follows. Section one, the pursuant to 6NYCRR part 617 of city of Kingston planning board hereby renders A determination of negative environmental significance, recognizing all conditions as described in the document presented, adopts a negative determination as final. This resolution shall take effect immediately.

Is that a motion?

That is a motion.

Is there a second?

Yeah, consortium is second. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Gary.

I think initially, I guess we sign that and we check your name. I think it stands on end. Okay. It's not difficult. I've been asking that for years.

It's always the same. I mean, in three years, we can read it for you guys. Sure. You got it? Yeah. Give me up.

of the City of Kingston Planning Board approving the site plans for a 20-unit residential development with three major waivers to be located at 140-150 and 160 Boulevard, Kingston, New York, 12401. Do I need to read the parentheses? No. Great. Whereas our Venture Corp applicant submitted applications, plans, and other supporting documentation to the City of Kingston Planning Board for construction of three buildings, housing six residential units in two buildings and eight units in the third for a total number of 20 units. And whereas the action includes a lot line deletion approved by the board on November 17th, 2025 to combine the parcels into one, which was signed by board chairman on 5-5-2026 and filed on June 1st, 2026 at the UC clerk's office as map number 26-28. And whereas the action ended with that, 2698. 2698, sorry. And where the action includes three major waivers, requires to deviate from strict adherence to the form-based code. Unit count, major waiver, 405.12K3, building type, small multiplex intensity, height, major waiver. 405.8B, P3N, building type, building to zone, major waiver, 405.8B-T3N, building form, and whereas the action is located at former parcels 140-150 and 160 Boulevard, HAA, formerly 140-150 Boulevard, and 66-92 Pettit, and whereas the board reviewed initial application proposing four buildings with 28 units and supporting documentation at the february 20th 2024 planning board meeting with subsequent plan revision and review meetings resulting in the current three building 20 unit configuration and whereas the board opened a combined public hearing on january 21st 2045 for both the lot line deletion and the site plan with with side hearing for the law line deletion, closing the November 17th, 2025 planning board meeting and site plan remaining open for written oral comments until February 17th, 2026 planning board meeting ends. Whereas the board determined the actions to be unlisted under thicker pursuant to six NYCRR part 617 and issued a resolution rendering a negative declaration of environmental significance on July 20th, 2035, And whereas the board has reviewed and considered comments from the City Conservation Advisory Council, City Engineer, Building Safety Division, City Fire Chief, Kingswood Water Department, Kingston City School District, and General Public. And whereas the board and others participated in site visits to the project location on March 5th and 6th, 2024. And whereas the traffic assessment letter dated March 13th, 2025, prepared by Creighton Manning Engineering, was submitted to evaluate the traffic and site distance. The board notes that since the report, a traffic light at an intersection of Golden Hill Drive at the boulevard has been installed and activated and whereas a stormwater mitigation plan prepared by Bacteriants and Conrad PC, updated on May 14, 2026, The letter dated 5-14-2026 and 7-16-2026 have been reviewed by the City Engineer, and whereas all documentation identifying Schedule A review document listing dated July 20, 2026 are made part of this review in their full form, and whereas all public comments supporting documentation plans, relevant studies, and meeting documents are posted to the City of Kingston Unicollab planning portal for access by the public, and whereas the action will be subject to a payment in lieu of parkland fee. And whereas the action will be subject to incorporating the restricted covenants, thank you, for affordable housing in accordance with the form-based code under section 405.19. And whereas the action will be subject to submitting a performance bond for site work in value approved by the city engineer and forms applicable to the corporate council and planning staff. And whereas the action was referred to the Ulster County Planning Board and recommendation was returned under referral number 2025-0411, dated April 2nd, 2025. And what were you doing? Okay.

From now, the report will be resolved by the City of Kingston Planning Board as follows. Section 1. After thorough review of all documentation and associated agency comments, the Board votes to approve the site plan for a 20-unit residential development with associated site improvements and supporting infrastructure with conditions as identified in the following statements. Section 2. Approval shall include all conditions as follows. Performance button. Submission of a detailed cost estimate submitted and approved by the city engineer with a standard 10% contingency line over the approved amount of the purpose of providing a performance fund. A compliance fund in the amount approved by the city engineer and performed satisfactory to plan and staff of the Corporation Council must be considered prior to the issuance of any permits for work. Periodic reductions to the performance fund are permitted with documentation of work completed and accepted by the city and approved by the planning board. Final release of the performance plan shall only be after the receipt of as-built site plans certified by a professional engineer or qualified professionals may be appropriate engineering sign-off, satisfaction on all components of the building safety, and planning staff inspection. All improvements within the any public right of way shall have final sign-off and associated permits issued by the Department of Public Works and Kingston Water Department as may be required. Have final sign-up of design decided through the engineer and or Kingston Water Department, as may be required. Kingston Water Department and Building Safety Division will need to issue final sign-up of water system, along with any required improvements for availability of potable and fire protection water supply to the project prior to the issuance of any commitments for construction or site work. Compliance with the stormwater mitigation plan by 1426 was later stated by 1426 and 71626, as approved by the city engineer, are made part of this decision. The following board policies are hereby incorporated. Policy 1 and 1A, stormwater. Policy 2, tree removal and replacement. Policy 3, 3A, and 3B, as-built plans and performance. Policy 4 and 4A, policy 6, affirmation of compliance with the plans. Policy 7 and 7A, approved time frames. Policy 8 and 8A, clerk of the works and project directors. Policy 9, sphere must mark out new construction limits prior to disturbance. Policy 11, emptying of dumpsters during normal business hours. Policy 12, maintain accurate contact information. Policy 13 and 13A, dig safely on plans and utility contact. Policy 14 and 14A, zoning data and radiation tables. Policy 16 and 16A, School District Impacts and Landlord Registration. Policy 17 and 17A, Payment in Rural Parkland and Ensign State. Policy 18, Noise Ordinance Compliance. Policy 20, Carbon Monoxide Detectors. Policy 22, Sidewalk Scanners. Policy 23, Knox Box. And Policy 24, Acquire Filling Permit and Require Thundering. Recusing Recycling Collection, Little V-Bug, Private Polar, Lighting Levels, and Customs DB and Compliance with Section 454B, Jaywick's Gathering. Standards of the zoning code. Final sign-off with USPS for location and design of nail receptacles. Conformance with all plans, documents, specifications as defined in Schedule A. Reviewing documents dated 7-20-26 unless otherwise edited herein. Also, founding planning board referred by my followers. Regularly, when findings are read, as identified in Section 5 of the Resolution. Building unimplicated and not destined to 9-11 in City of New Merion. Payment moved. Parkland fee submitted before any building permit is issued in the amount as determined under Section 4 of this resolution. Affordable and workforce number of units and having the de-restricted covenant reported at the Ulster County Clerk's Office. Units in compliance with Section 405-19 as outlined under Section 3 of this resolution. De-restricted covenants must be in place before any temporary or full certificate of occupancy is issued. Final easements and right-of-way agreements must be reviewed and approved by the Corporation Council. Final copies must be filed at the Ulster County Clerk's Office, and copies of filed documents submitted to the City Planning Office before any permits are issued. Compliance with comments of the Earth Forester, native species are required for all landscaping, and compliance with Section 405.14K. Length of approval is valid for one year to obtain a building permit. Required lease will open space in accordance with Section 405.24 be maintained and unchanged. Submit final plan set indicating bike parking complies with the landscaping screening requirements under the form-based code. Vehicle charging must be provided for ADA access by code. Submission of a complete set of final plans containing civil, architectural, and landscaping stand by professional and signed by owner for suing by planning board chair. Any changes or modifications made to the site will be presented to the planning office to determine further review process. So anything else the board wishes to incorporate?

Now, when you read these sections for the laborers, do you have to break the reading wall?

Section 3, affordable housing. These units must be dispersed throughout the project developed in the industry and would removal from other units. Oversight and monitoring for compliance with this requirement shall be under the City Housing Initiative's office or designate. The following calculation is accepted. Each building is a small multiplex that are allowed two additional units apiece. provided they are affordable and conform to 405-19. Affordable units, 6 units. Taking the total number of units, 20, removing the 6 units of affordable above, leaves 14 units remaining. By code, the first 6 are exempt, leaving a balance of 8, which must be 10% affordable, or 0.8 unit founded up, or unit 1. Total required affordable is 7 units, regulated per Section 405-19. Section 4. The board finds that the anticipated increase in population from 20 additional residential units to 5,000 need to continue to uproot the improvements to park facilities which provide recreational opportunities to residents. Recognizing that the project has limited green space and after considering the size and the development, the board concurs that this would result in an increase in program participation as well as utilization of nearby parks and facilities such as Forsyth, Environment Park, Steep Stadium, and the Andretto Pool. Such increases require strategic planning to meet the needs of our residents by quality of life experience for all. The Recreation Trust Fund is utilized to help supply new playgrounds, pavilions, and amenities to contribute back to the city parking programs and allows for the department to continue to grow its recreational opportunities to meet the community needs. Based on the code requirement for exempt units, the board hereby directs the applicant to remit a payment and move parkland To be placed in the Correct Creation Trust Fund, the following amount determined as follows, noting that no permit shall be issued until such fee is submitted to the City of Kingston. 20 units with the first six exempt per code equals 14, 14 units plus the required seven. Required affordable is seven, and seven units are fully assessed at $3,000 per unit, which is a $21,000 fee assessed. Section 5, the board finds the following with respect to the waivers from the fund-based code. Number 1, unit count, major waiver, Section 405.12.K.3, building type, small multiplex intensity. Zoning code permits small multiplexes with four units. However, under T3N, the maximum can be six units. Two are developed and designated as affordable under Section 405.19. The applicant is seeking to construct two six-unit buildings, buildings A and B, which are permitted in two affordable units, each to be dated in perpetuity. Building C will require two affordable units, and here is where the waiver is triggered for the additional two units to reach the request date. The applicant submitted the following reasoning for the waiver request. The purpose of this waiver is to request adding two additional units to Building 3 if occupied the additional lower story requested in the preceding waiver request form. filling eight units in building three. The purpose of adding the additional units is to further provide more affordable and equitable housing for the residents of the city in the form of additional affordable, workforce, and handicapped accessible units. The additional storage and subsequent additional units in building three will strive to be net zero, and all additional units will have only electric utilities with energy for roof-bound and solar panels. The residents will benefit from the maximization of units in this project specifically because it will allow residents the opportunity to limit a beautifully constructed building at an affordable price, with the intent of the T3 transect being to protect the integrity of existing small to medium-long detached homes and reinforce their role within welcome neighborhoods and to allow new neighborhoods with this component. The additional units will allow that objective to still be accomplished. Additionally, the property is not necessarily set within a neighborhood or detached houses, but rather on a busy corridor, which has an existing large mix of uses, including other multi-unit housing, a senior care facility, catering facility, as well as other commercial spaces. Finding this waiver request exceeds the small multiplex limit by two units. The other is proposing to establish two basement units that aren't built into the rear slope, but visually the front will look like the same height as the other two on the property. Yeah, it has reduced the height from four stories to three, with three and a half with a large dormant and wood roof building now. The increased height is discussed in relation to the slope of the site or recognize the impact of additional units in relation to the site. Parking on site contains climate spaces. Bicycle parking is provided to meet the code in area buildings A and B. BD charging spaces for two vehicles are present. The location of the building complex limits any on-street parking. Obviously, the building heights and unit counts require the sprinkler system and the utilities and water service for supporting the accounts is one matter which has been determined to be of critical nature. Two, building height major waiver. Two and a half stories are permitted in T3N. The applicants are requesting a waiver to allow three stories. The applicants submitted probably a reason to put a waiver. The property is located on the T3 and O Transit District. The property is located on the north of the large parcel of in the T2 Conservation District, where the open space is spelled to accommodate such an exception, and making the property use more of a concept like the T3 and O District. The other property also supports the request of an additional half-story. The proposed building's third floor elevation will be approximately 10 to 12 feet below street level, New York State Route 32, where the boulevard, and overall height in the roofline will be matching a standard 10-and-a-half-story building at street level, and in harmony with the existing nearby structures. The requested additional half story is an opportunity to demonstrate purpose behind the city's new zoning approach, where we can introduce a more combination of affordable market workforce and handicapped accessible units, keeping the building footprint and lot coverage under 50% to allow more green, common, communal space, playground, TV, parking spaces, bike stands for the community garden. Additionally, the house stories, mostly top format, comprised of large dormers that will complement the surrounding buildings and the goal of the building presence and T3N transit findings. The board discussed this waiver at different times over the course of the project changing. The applicant has revised the plan to lower the height of the buildings. The buildings will now be three stories or two and a half with 85% dormers on the front facade. This use of the dormitory helps to lessen the appearance of a number of stories while still creating a substantial living space for two units, thereby establishing a third level. Building C on this site is using the slope of the land below grade exception to create additional units. Number three, Build 2 Zone Major Waiver. The applicant originally submitted a waiver request to park in front of one of the buildings on the site. Staff reviewed the waiver and advised the applicant to file a waiver for the placement of the buildings beyond the Build 2 Zone The off-street parking area is behind two buildings, A and B, which are closer to the street frontage, while the third building, C, has parking to its front. However, in general, it's the same. Staff, in discussion with so many enforcement officers, determined that the issue is that it not complies with the built-to-zone requirement. The following reasoning was submitted with a waiver request. The purpose of this waiver is to request that buildings 1, 2, and 3 be constructed out of the 15 to 25 built-to zone that 25 foot, rather, build-to-zone. The way that property sits and the fact that the small size of the property border the boulevard, it does not allow construction of anything inside the build-to-zone. Construction of buildings, although not in line with the other houses on the boulevard, will fit organically within the site and will be strategically placed to blend in the lot and the surrounding buildings. Finding the shape and topography of the land create difficulty for construction on the site. The majority of the property sits well below the street and is shaped so that the majority of the land is behind the built-to zone. The board needs to consider whether to issue the waiver based on the individual circumstances of the law. Does the board concur?

Yeah.

Okay. Section 6, the board acknowledges the Ulster County Planning Board recommendation to approve and direct staff to make a response to a concurrence. Section 7, approval of the board is not a limit if you need for adopting if a Taney, the appropriate permits approvals from other boards, commissions, departments, and relevant agencies. Section 8, this agreement shall be valid for one year. For purposes of Taney, a building permit. Section 9, that this resolution shall take exactly view.

Motion to adopt this resolution. That's our second?

Agreed, yes. We have a second on that?

I remember thinking of a second. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Carried.

Yeah. Signature?

Yeah, the whole bag is full of holes, aren't it? It's been some years. My God. All right.

Appreciate it.

Thank you so much. Thank you for working on that. Yes. I like you. It's probably a game.

Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you all. Thank you.

Yeah.

Yeah. Okay.

Can you make her, she's all on there.

Can you make her able to share with Sally?

It won't be enough. It won't be enough. It won't be enough.

You signed it twice, right?

Yes, I did. All right. Item eight is destruction. Twenty-five field court was struck in our proposed plan to construct a mixed-use building with a commercial on the ground floor and residential above. That should block the notice 56.25-3-25 secret determination transexual key five at war cork deep ripple is the applicant did i say that correctly yes um city of kingston is the owner welcome everybody please welcome thank you uh my name is matt janesco i'm the ceo of the president of city charity housing and one of the partners on this project i'm uh chris bergen with street architecture

Yeah, correct.

Initially, we'll develop it, and so there's no question there's something for Duke.

Well, if you buy both, both of those are conservancy. This is Patty Brooks, who's right here. And this is Michael Marcotte, who's... Well, we're going to hold that against you. All right.

What do you got? So this is a parkland project at 25 Field Court. There's a... 100% affordable. Thank you. It redeveloped 100% affordable project. We're looking at redeveloping an underutilized site, remediate the contamination, serving the community with the ground floor commercial space. It's about 4,000 square feet of commercial on the first floor. It interacts with the Midtown Lanier Park. In the park space, we are engaging MWBEs. We have some workforce development goals. We're going to try and use as many sustainable construction practices as we can. And hopefully, you know, really have this interaction with the Midtown Lanier Park to promote pedestrian and bicycle transportation. pathways to areas around the city and hopefully do some vehicle sharing.

So we're hoping for a unit mix ranging from studio to three bedrooms and serving households from 30% of AMI to 80%. I'm also looking to, you know, not only engage with MWBs, but also with local hire to be a sustainable and good neighbor, a sustainable partner and a good neighbor for the surrounding area.

In the site context, 25 Field Court is circled in green on the image. So this is just some images of neighboring parcels and the neighbors immediately adjacent to the site. So from O'Neill and Fields Court, you can see the neighboring properties. Chris, do you want to talk to the site management?

The lot's an irregular lot that spans between O'Neill Street on the left side and Fields Court on the right. Most importantly, it borders along the linear arc and in consultation with the city and we've done many iterations of what a building could look like on a site. What we've opted for is a building that kind of straddles the north part of the lot and we have parking Franklin Field Court. There's also one south property line into the vehicular and pedestrian accessway that takes you from the parking lot to O'Neill Street to head back out to Broadway to avoid some of the traffic issues crossing Broadway.

We fleshed out the grading and utility plan just to show that we've done some preliminary due diligence on how that could look. We've, again, done several iterations with that and with the lighting plan. I'm trying to focus on what the most effective design is. And then this plan is nice because it begins to show the integration with the park, and we're sort of interacting more so.

And our landscape designer is Con, which is also the landscape designer for the Midtown Lanier Park, where you can have a really integrated park.

That's nice. I think it's also important to know it's not just purely a residential development, but it's an excuse. It's a strong commercial component that would be on the ground floor of the other side street of the property. That old street, a nice, vulnerable street there.

That area around Field Court has become... a very community-centered hot spot. Isn't that where they started doing the pickleball when the park came? And then they had a studio. Yeah, and then the Flood family has the music there, the Heart of Midtown. So to envision something like this there, I can't imagine the neighborhood. You mean at Flood? Yeah.

I mean, that is the perfect spot

to put housing.

I dream a little.

I was talking to Bartek. It would be really cool to do, like at the end of the street here, to maybe lose a little bit of the deadhead. I mean, this owner would lose access here, but he's got full access from Cornell. and do, like, a little pocket park right here. Do a little added, so you've got something past the entrance and exit to our site that would be just for community. Because it does get, like, a little street better. So I do a little...

However you lean into Midtown now, coming from, you know, just, like, a year or two ago, it's completely changed. Yeah. Um... And did you guys say that you were going to be working with, like, like to, I guess, like tenants? Do you try? Is that? So.

Okay. So good news and bad news. So the reality is that any time a development is funded by the state and supported, there are really serious or people or even locations, right? So it's now illegal to say, well, we're going to reserve, we're trying, you know, people who live in the city of Kingston or in this neighborhood.

It's a discrimination issue.

But it has certainly been our responsibility When we've done properties in Rockland County, it's certainly been our experience of making sure that those community groups that would be connectors to future residents... Like Financial Woodstock. Exactly. Talking to them about, hey, we have this application. It's a lottery. You need to fill it out. You need to get your applications. You need to fill out your application. And I think that given the mix of unit sizes, right, so from studios, which would be typical for some senior single people, up to three bedrooms, it kind of cuts across the whole spectrum. And then also for the average income, the income averaging. is also really important. That it will be folks who are probably in entry-level positions up to folks who are professionals but couldn't dream of buying a home right now because of interest rates. It's sort of the whole spectrum. And the way I would think about or describe the income levels is someone who is working at a hospital, someone from a nurse's aid Up through someone who's beginning as a nurse or thinking about if someone is in a police officer, someone who just got on the job, probably has not been there, probably been there for two or three years and is just starting. starter families and starter people in the community, as well as the smaller size bedrooms naturally skew towards people who are 55 and older, who otherwise being pushed out

project in New Paltz, right across from the college. And I was curious, a lot of concerns, because I lived there, wanted to make sure local residents got there. And out of the 51 units, 44 of them are people who families live within five miles, six miles of the development. So it really plays out well.

Are your funding sources driving the income levels, or is that more your choosing?

This was a collaboration talk with Bartek, talking with the mayor, looking at what the census data had to say. And then balancing flexibility with the need for funding because the construction costs are so high. That's kind of how we sort of arrived at the various income levels and trying to hold the upper end of the... What really surprised me about our development in New Paltz is how many poor seniors there were. I mean, like at the 30% of Indian level, we got eight vouchers from the federal government. where 30% of media households, they were like the first applicants there. And then we had to call Robco and got assistance from their voucher program locally to help out. So I was really kind of surprised at that demographic. But that's where it's going. There's a lot of them.

Yeah.

And you're seeing... all the people in this table, except the architect, the three of us, were actually competing for this property when the city offered it up, and we just all decided to work together. That's awesome. So what you're getting is three different organizations here, two of them are local, and that's more regional, extending to New York City, up here, all together. So Stanish and I, our organization, is all about it. Sorry.

Okay. Let's move back to the axons. This is just a view from the Midtown Lanier Park and from O'Neill Street to give you an idea of the massing.

Yes, we incorporated a pickleball court because we're going to have an active pickleball courts on field work.

Don't get rid of the pickleball court.

They will freak out.

Maybe it's because of that extended hours location.

And we'll build it, and the county's going to take it.

Yeah, the county has reviewed our plan.

That's how that little area started. People started playing pickleball, and they got approval from the mayor. And he was like, yeah, sure. I mean, literally, that field court. Popular. Yeah.

And the area that extends out with the frontage, it looks whiter in this image. We were thinking about having a mural to kind of keep with the midtown as far as the service. Aesthetic. Aesthetic, yeah. Elevations.

May I go back? So this face is O'Neill. This face is the linear park. This would be the mural area. And we'll have some covered seats so you can space that.

Yield to court elevation at the driveway, south-facing elevation. Some renderings. Different colors. This color's a little different now than we saw, I think, a little while ago. It was more red.

We had brown.

And now it's, yeah. We can switch back to that palette. We got some feedback from the council. Yeah.

I mean, I don't know.

Yeah, I don't know. Didn't bother me.

Yeah, if anybody has strong feelings.

Yeah, yeah, we're open.

I mean, I think color would be, I'm sorry, great. I mean, that's my personal opinion.

I have a two-year-old with crayons. I can let him go to town. That'd be cute. Send me over.

Well, I almost wonder, like, do people design... When you're thinking about color, when you're designing a project like this, being the size of it, is it, like, I don't know. Are we trying to, like, adjust the way that we usually see it to kind of make it think that we are blending it in? I mean, I just... I've never seen something bright and colorful and happy.

You want some accents?

Lights. Colorful. I don't know. Yeah, it's funny.

You see historic buildings all the time, but they're bright colors.

They are bright colors. Yeah. See some of the original color, even downtown in some of the buildings, they were bright. Yeah.

Then you see it isolated on a screen and you get all sorts of reactions.

I'm sure.

This is just coming out more gray, but it is a green.

Yeah, I think it might be the lighting and the rendering.

And this is the view to the residential entry. We thought the mural could even extend across the residential entry portion.

Yeah, we did this covered area for the handicapped parking, so in foul weather, you're not getting out in the snow or rain.

Yeah, that's thoughtful. Do you want to take the zoning analysis?

Yeah. Sure. I mean, not to... We didn't talk too much about it, but the form-based code gives a lot of variety, a lot of ability to do many things. We are under the maximum height in five stories, or so under the proposed lot coverage, which we're trying to balance with some parking. We know that's important. We're okay on the side yard setbacks and all. We just have some questions about access and forms of entry, I believe. But things that we may probably just need to work out. This is illustrative of that.

Yes.

You, I'm told you have like a Can you talk to that?

Yeah, we looked at what percentage of the people who live in Midtown actually drive. And I believe it was 70%. So our initial goal was trying to get 70% parking so there'd be no load at all. And balance that with, you know, How many units can we get on site? Because density was one of the things they wanted. Yeah, density wanted here. So we were able to get, what percentage? 60? Close, yeah. Close to 60%. So we'll live in a couple of spots.

And we have supported units also now, which, you know, the likelihood that they're vehicles is lower.

And as far as variance is needed, one is just the rear parking setback from five feet to two feet and the fact we have multiple curb cuts.

And really, the rear parking setback, I mean, we've had internal conversations about it because it's hard when you have such a weird shaped lot. Is it really a rear yard or is it a side yard? It's really been to interpretation, I think.

Is there any ground deal there? Yes. Like the, you're going to, the building will still be up, the Department of Labor building.

They're up, yeah.

What did they say was the contributor to the brownfield for that? What was it?

No, I know. It seemed like there was railroads. I'm not joking. There were multiple dry cleaning solvents. The garage. So it's a very dirty state. That's no secret. It's highly contaminated.

And there's likely a boom beneath that site. So with that...

and the the residential nature is there like with the with the outside and the green space the ground green space is there limitations on that because of the brownfield underneath that you're promoting it as an outdoor recreation you know maybe a you know a gathering space um I'm just curious about that. There actually isn't.

So there will be likely some sort of cut that we need to do. I'll grab a barrier that shows where that cut occurred. But there's no limitation. And the extent of it, the SMD isn't denying it, but the SMD will be taking the vapors up above the building elevation. So it should be helping the whole area with vapor extraction. Good.

We did attempt to contact these residents just to let them know we're trying to buy the parcels. Right. Because they, especially this person right here, just refused any type of mitigation to their structures. So one of the things that Sidney asked us, would you go to these folks and just enlarge the building footprint? They had no interest in talking to us. Okay.

Do you have any thoughts about what would be an appropriate tenant for your commercial space?

You know, we've had some internal discussions now that the C-Town is going in on Broadway. We were initially thinking it's a food desert, like an affordable grocery would be appropriate.

I still think that that's probably on the table with C-Town.

It's far enough away, but anyway. It could be on the table. So we're looking at also child care and whether that's a need. And then Parkside told us that there's facilities that are opening. So it's up for feedback on that. And we are reaching out to the Midtown Business Alliance to talk to them as well. And I think that's a good start for each time.

I can't say the exact, I can't remember, but we underwrote the commercial rents at a fairly low level because our mindset is, you know, we want to make it so good you can't say no. That's the whole point of this. is to bring mixed use back so normally when we do developments that have commercial for me it's almost like a giveaway space we don't make a lot of money on it you're just trying to get a sound business there because that promotes foot traffic which promotes community yeah there's a lot of options too that's a huge thing about people so many options and

additional things that people would really enjoy, especially the people that live here.

And you're, you're seeking, are you, are you seeking tax exempt status for some of the components of the, of the building? Yeah. But the commercial spaces that, I mean, that can't, can't be looked at.

No, only part of the household.

Yeah.

Like, but it's, you know, it's a factor in whatever mill rate. Yeah. And then the, the residential is discounted. Yeah. I mean, you know, some of the units where you're paying variable money for rent, you can't. The state's going to cover the entire cost of the truck. You just can't get enough to eliminate. So that's our presentation.

We actually have one more slide.

Sorry. Oh, yeah. Getting back to questions.

So some feedback items. The direction of the driveway between Fields Court and O'Neill, I know we had initially discussed there was some concern about turning off of Fields Court onto Broadway because we were late laying there. But Bartek had reached out to the county and he got accident data, which indicated that there actually aren't that many incidents that occur at that intersection. And we were thinking because Fields Court it's like harder to even park there in the evenings like it might be like we just to get feedback it might because O'Neill is less crowded might be easier to go turn into the driveway off of O'Neill and then in the morning people tend to leave with their cars and Fields Court is more empty maybe then they circle back on Fields Court

Just digest that and give us some direction about how you can traffic in your way. So give that some thought.

Maybe even the residents will find their own level as to where they work.

It's got to be one way. Yeah, it's too narrow to be two-way. It's going to have to be one-way.

Neil Street, because there's a traffic there.

Neil has a traffic light when you get to Broadway, so...

Depending on the field they're in. Yeah. There's a traffic light on O'Neill and Fort Worth.

It goes across to Henry Street. There's a traffic light there.

Yeah.

So it'd be easier for them probably to exit there and use the light as...

It looks like when finding their own level, I know that leaving, leaving, not, you know, if they might find that it's easier to leave, go into O'Neill Street at a certain time of the day. and hit the traffic light instead of trying to fight traffic on the Broadway to Field Court, you know?

Yeah.

That makes sense.

Sorry, the other, number two, so this diagram, it's showing the curb line, the existing curb line on Field Court closer to Broadway. Right. Should I see it in green there?

That steps back.

So our curb line at Fields Court, which is where our curb line is drawn on our drawings currently, is actually a step back significantly from where it is on Broadway. And I think the reason that we made it, I'm not totally sure why, but there's a substantial curb cut basically along a whole adjacent building at Catskill Carpentry. use it for truck loading right now. So there's not really a sidewalk that's significant in front of their space, but you know,

So just consider what you'd like us to do here. Leaving it where it is certainly leaves the street wide or allows for some parking on the street. Stepping it in would require a session of property. But I just want to point out that the sidewalk goes near, it's going to go like, it's going to be a strange, you know, just a strange feel. But let us know what you'd like to do with that. The color palette of the murals.

And the property line follows the highlighted blue. The blue. Yeah. Right?

Okay. We actually recommend an additional parking. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah.

Well, but then you'd really lose street parking, right? Right. No, you could still park. You could still double load the street? Okay.

It was just the curb would be where the green dashed in to make it. Right. Yeah. Yeah.

The color palette we've talked about, we'll come back with some selections.

So a couple of things I might suggest.

Obviously, we're here for the discussion, and they're looking to make their formal submission to come back to the board in September. And so a couple of things we're going We've been talking, we're going to try and do this in between this meeting and the September meeting is that we're going to pull all of the agencies together and have them do a presentation so that we'll have the GPW engineering building department, water department, fire department and the groups like that come in and sit with them and have like this interagency kind of meeting so that they all know what everybody is thinking as well and give them feedback from their perspectives so that when they come in September, they'll hopefully be really fully prepared to address all of the issues. And I'll probably invite Wayne to that as well as the planning board chair. Um, the other thing I'd like to do is I think it's, you know, with issues like this and with the traffic, it might be good for the board to do a site visit, um, in August to go in and meet on Skype, look and see, get a feel for, yeah, this curve does, you know, skirt around like that. Is it appropriate to, you know, because those are things that, you know, may end up having to get counseling put. you know, to extend the curb line out into the public right-of-way. I don't, you know, we'd have to, you know, look at that. But just to get a general feel for the neighborhood, I know you probably have all been over there, but just to really focus on, you know, what circulation patterns are going on now, really take a look at what's happening along the linear trail now, if you haven't been there. And We have a very skeleton crew right tonight on the planning board, so we are missing four other members. So, you know, I think for the whole board to get out there on site would be a great thing to happen as well. And if you'd like us to join.

I don't think a nice dad. Thank you very much. Yeah, thank you. I was going to kind of progress.

Does the board have any questions or any comments that you want to share? Yeah, exactly. Yeah, and the new park design is .

Thank you.

There are three letters of support that the planning board was asked to give on grants that the city is making application to. One is for an application for Hasbro Park Soccer Field. I can kind of pass this around. One is for Deep Stadium Solar. You want to take a look at that three. We'd like to ask the board to authorize Wayne to sign those.

They're going to convert those?

Do you know, Sarah? What? Is Hasbro Park softball fields and soccer?

Is that what that's called?

Actually, I think it is. I think it might be. Okay. Yeah, I can't remember.

Is this interesting?

That is for Hasbro. I didn't realize yet. Yeah, I think it is to put in soccer fields. There are parks that have soccer fields and You know, there are a lot of faces. What?

Is it just in the book? Well, no, it has the picture around it. Some of the other parts don't have. Yeah. Yeah. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

Yes. Yes.

Are you the lucky ones to sign all three?

All right.

And then I gave a motion to adjourn. I'll make a motion to adjourn. All in favor?

Aye.

All in favor?