By Kate Hill
Staff Writer
The Cazenovia village board held a second public hearing Sept. 3 to consider the application of Housing Visions Unlimited, Inc. for a zone change (R-10 to PDD) to construct “The Landing at Burke Meadows” — a 70-unit senior and family housing complex on 14.96 acres of land east of Burton Street.
Housing Visions is a Syracuse-based nonprofit developer that specializes in providing affordable housing for families and revitalizing communities.
Community Resources for Independent Seniors — a Cazenovia, Nelson and Fenner area organization — reached out to Housing Visions nearly a decade ago to address the community’s need for senior housing.
Housing Visions eventually commissioned an independent market study, which revealed a need for both senior and family housing in Cazenovia.
On June 3, David Cox, P.E., a civil engineer from Passero Associates, presented a preliminary plan for a combined senior and family housing project to the village board.
The proposal featured a three-story, 40-unit senior building, as well as five two-story family townhouses, each containing six units.
The board forwarded the proposal to the Village of Cazenovia Planning Board for further review.
A sketch plan was presented to the planning board on June 10, and discussion on the project continued at the board’s July 8 and Aug. 12 regular monthly meetings.
On Aug. 19, the planning board held a public hearing on the proposal, which drew more than 50 residents from Burton Street, Evergreen Lane, Emick Lane and the surrounding area.
The Burton Street area residents voiced a number of concerns regarding the scope of the project; including potential sewer and drainage issues associated with the project; its ability to meet the needs of the community; its effect on the character of the neighborhood; and its impact on traffic and safety.
The planning board is currently reviewing the public input and the applicant’s proposal in order to make a recommendation to the village board regarding the zoning.
The village board’s Sept. 3 public hearing began with an update from Cox and Housing Visions President & CEO Ben Lockwood on the latest version of the applicant’s proposal.
“We are trying to be an organization that listens,” Lockwood said. “It’s impossible to have everybody agree with everything all of the time, but we want to be transparent and have things that are going to enrich the community and not detract.”
Cox and Lockwood reported recent and potential changes to the proposal,
The Housing Visions representatives presented the following information:
The approximately 15-acre site includes 1.19 acres of designated federal wetlands — none of which would be disturbed, accoridng to their presentation.
The applicant would disturb 5.7 acres of the total 15 acres to complete the project.
According to the plan, the elevation change between the entrance to the complex and top of the slope (the senior building location) is about 40 feet.
The planning board-recommended traffic study will begin sometime in September when school is in session.
The study will be conducted by Passero Associates from 7 to 9 a.m. and from around 2:30 to 6 p.m., and it will follow the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) protocols.
“We have someone that goes out there and they count every single car that goes by and [they record] if they turn,” Cox said. “We can look at specific times within a 15-minute increment to see if there was a peak in traffic. We can also look to see if there were any traffic issues, if traffic was being backed up, or if there was a queuing problem — all things that [simply] recording the number of vehicles that go over [a strip] would not get you. We really want a human out there to see if there is some other traffic problem that you would not see just counting cars.”
They said the water supply for the project meets both the fire and the domestic flow requirements.
The tree buffers along the property lines would be largely preserved. While the trees along the south side would not be touched, some of the trees on the north side (near the clubhouse) would be removed.
Housing Visions is willing to add fencing and shrubbery around the proposed storm water management facilities to address safety concerns.
Per New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) guidelines, the post-development runoff would be equal to or less than pre-development conditions. For most storm events there would be a 50 percent reduction versus existing conditions according to the presentation.
All units would have storage. Housing Visions is contemplating adding basements to the family units. All rooms in the senior center would have closets. Seniors would also have access to a large (20-25 square foot) storage locker.
There is no Phase II project planned for the site.
The senior building would be open to seniors only, regardless of whether or not Housing Visions is able to fill all of the units.
The income restrictions for the workforce housing would be $26,000 to $56,000. The income restrictions for the senior housing would be $15,000 to $36,000.
In addition to meeting the income requirements, renters would be required to pass a sex offender check, a criminal background check and a credit check. They would also need to provide five years of landlord references and complete an interview.
Rent would vary based on income.
On-site property management and maintenance would be available 40 hours per week. Tenants would also have access to 24-hour emergency services.
In response to feedback regarding traffic and population density concerns, the developer is considering reducing the unit count.
“There is a chance we might be eliminating one townhouse building and perhaps taking that senior building from 40 units down to 33 units,” Cox said. “That would [mean fewer] cars and less impervious area.”
Even if the number of units is decreased, the plan will include the original number of parking spots.
The applicant is open to the idea of transforming the three-story senior building into a longer two-story structure.
The developer is also willing to eliminate the community center from the plan, as long as other community gathering spaces — either in the senior building or close by in the village — would be available to tenants.
Lockwood predicts that while the complex will likely attract some people from outside the area, the majority of the tenants would be from other parts of the Cazenovia school district.
The applicant plans to look into adding garages to the plan for senior residents to use for an additional fee.
Housing Visions is currently working to identify partners, like CRIS, that would help to provide transportation for seniors residents.
Following the update, a number of Burton Street area residents reiterated many of the concerns expressed at the planning board public hearing regarding the impact of the proposed construction on the existing municipal infrastructure; on the traffic through the area; and on the safety and character of the neighborhood.
Burton Street resident Suzanne Munger spoke on behalf of many of her neighbors who oppose the project.
She said although they believe that high population density is desirable and necessary in some places, they questions whether their neighborhood is an appropriate location for such a large number of people.
“This is not an issue of ‘not in my back yard,’” Munger said. “We love the idea of new residents coming in. The school would be happy if it had more students . . . but it [comes down to] the appropriateness of this kind of density in our neighborhood [and to the idea of] doubling the size of the neighborhood in a very small [area].”
Susan Smith, of Nelson Street, commented that she is personally on the fence about the project.
“There are people like myself, who would benefit from affordable senior housing — [people] who would prefer to age in place, but may not realistically be able to do that,” she said. “If there was housing that was more affordable and that I didn’t have to keep it up, [I would consider it] . . . I think sometimes people think there isn’t any need, but there really is. [However,] you’re not going to get this through if you don’t address some of these other issues that the neighbors have.”
Two village residents — Stefan Lutter and Jennifer Marotto Lutter — voiced their full support of the project.
“I am a professional planner, and one of the things we see increasingly facing rural communities is shrinking population,” Lutter said. “It needs to be combated with the efficient use of existing open space in population centers. This is one of the final real opportunities for Cazenovia to capture appropriate, dense growth in the village.”
Lutter added that he wishes the plan would include even more units, rather than fewer.
“I think it’s a shame that a lot of times in affordable housing you see these projects proposed and they end up meeting vociferous opposition and [becoming] watered down [versions] of what they should be . . .” he said.
Marotto Lutter — who is also a planner in Madison County — commended Housing Visions for proposing a plan that uses the limited developable land in the village to its maximum potential.
“If you take that same property and you put 10 houses on it, how many kids are you adding to the school,” she asked. “How many people are going to be downtown and going to events? This is our chance to substantially grow our population and support the vitality of the community.”
She also said she believes the project would incentivize seniors in the area to vacate their single-family homes, which would free up desirable housing for younger people in the community.
The public hearing will be continued at the Oct. 7 village board meeting. In the meantime, the board will continue to accept written comments.
The village board will make a determination on the zone change only after it closes the public hearing; receives the planning board’s recommendation; reviews everything in the public record; and consults with its team of experts.
If the village board grants the zone change, the planning board will then make a determination on the final site plan.
The village board meets on the first Monday of each month at 7 p.m. in the Village Municipal Building, 90 Albany Street. To learn more, visit villageofcazenovia.com.
