Site plans sent to the planning board for review

By Hayleigh Gowans

Staff Writer

Members of the public got a chance to learn more about the DeWitt Community Library’s proposal to build an $8.3 million freestanding two-story library on Jamesville Road in Jamesville on March 10 at the first public hearing relating to the project.

For the past decade, DCL officials have been looking to get the library out of its limited rented space at ShoppingTown Mall and move into a bigger building so they can offer a wider array of services to the area. Their solution is to build a freestanding two-story library on a subdivision of land on 5146 Jamesville Road, a property currently owned by J.K. Construction.

Steven Schroeder, chairman of the planning board, said that although the library did not have to hold a public hearing for the project according to town code, it was recommended that they do because this project has close ties to the community.

Chad Rogers, a representative from King and King Architects, presented the DCL’s renderings with the planning board. The building materials to be used in the project are stone, metal paneling and wood. The new library would allow for the addition of an expanded teen area, quiet study areas, meeting areas, rooms for tutoring, outdoor space for meetings and programming and a dedicated area to be used as a maker space.

Rogers said the total size of the land is 7.6 acres, and the total area of the building is about 24,000 square feet across two floors. A tower, which can be seen in the artistic renderings, has a functionality of allowing patrons to be able to see where the library is located as much of the building may not be visible from the main road because the project will be built into a steady decline.

The building would include a parking lot with 80 spaces available, Rogers said. Solar panels will be places on portions of the roof and library officials are hoping to have planted roofs — roofs with vegetation growing on it — both for environmental and educational purposes.

“The [library] board did a nice job of giving the building a residential feel to it,” said Schroeder.

The library relocation project is expected to cost somewhere around $8.3 million, but almost $3 million has been set aside by the library, according to Wendy Scott, executive director of the library. Taxpayers in the town of DeWitt approved a 2015 library tax rate of $85.28 per $100,000 home assessed value in May, and some of that money will go toward helping costs associated with the project. Scott said the library is also applying for state grants to provide additional funding, and will begin a community campaign once the project is approved.

Scott said in 2016, the library is seeking an additional $54,526, or a 4 percent increase, over the 2015 tax levy for the budget vote that occurs in May. This would result in a tax rate of $88.69 per $100,000 home assessed value, which would be an increase of $3.41.

According to a document distributed by the DCL, this location is near the center of the chartered service area, which covers the town of DeWitt and the hamlet of Jamesville, as well as sections of East Syracuse, the town of Pompey and the town of Onondaga.

Scott said that although less than 2 percent of the patrons who responded to the 2011-12 user survey said they used public transportation to access the library at its current location, the library is looking to work with CENTRO to ensure there is public transportation access to the site.

“CENTRO currently goes out as far as The Nottingham so we believe we will be able to work with CENTRO as soon as we close on the property. It will be great to know we have the community support in this matter,” said Scott.

Sam Gordon, director of planning and development for the town of DeWitt said the library has been working with the town to create access to recreational community trails to connect the Butternut Creek feeder with the Erie Canal State Park. Gordon said residents currently are able to access that part of Butternut Creek, but there are no formal walking trails, and that the town was recently awarded a grant to develop these in the future.

“The library has offered to work with the town to create these community recreation areas…We thing the library in this location can be an anchor,” said Gordon.

Several members of the public asked questions at the public hearing about the project, which were answered by the developers and the planning board. John Groat, a neighbor of the proposed library, said that he spoke on behalf of some of his other neighbors saying they supported the idea of the project, but wanted to ensure that there would be ample natural screening of the library and that the lighting would not affect their quality of life.

“We support the idea of the library,” said Groat. “But we want to stress more green and more screen … Many of us bought these properties because of the scenery and we wouldn’t want to lose that.”

Officials from the DCL hope to gain approval from the town of DeWitt soon so the property can be closed on. Officials say they hope to begin site work this spring and that construction for the project could take 10 months to a year.

The library project must hold a public hearing in front of the zoning board relating to a height variance request. Rogers explained that the maximum height for a structure within the town is 35 feet, and the tower for the library will be a total of about 37 feet, which it why they must gain a height variance for the project to move forward. This public hearing will be held at 7 p.m. on Monday, March 21 at the DeWitt Town Hall.

For more information about the DCL and its freestanding library project, go to dewhome.wordpress.com.