Planning board reviews church, collision center plans

VILLAGE OF EAST SYRACUSE – The East Syracuse Planning Board heard from representatives for the relocation of The Potter’s House Christian Fellowship Church of Syracuse and the proposal for a Caliber Collision service center on Feb. 13, marking the second appearances in front of that particular board for both applicants.
The contingencies to explore in connection to the 212 E. Manlius St. site that stands as potentially the church’s next address were resolved or at least disregarded for the time being to keep from impeding on the anticipated move.
The planning board looked into the concerns related to traffic flow and parking for the space situated immediately off Bridge Street, a spot previously used by Sitka Insurance and Sylvan Learning for its tutoring services. Currently the non-denominational church operates out of pastor Matt Stowell’s home on Canfield Drive in Syracuse.
It was decided that the village will look into cutting down the row of trees that block a line of sight for drivers turning right off Bridge Street next to the property’s entrance. Chris Shields, the village’s code enforcement officer, said swapping out the two yield signs at the bottom of the curve for a stop sign or else signage cautioning that a church exit is on the right would involve a lengthy process with New York State and Onondaga County before those changes could happen—too lengthy a process to hinge an approval on, he said, adding that it could result in a six-month holdup for a conclusive answer.
Stowell had noted at the prior planning board meeting on Jan. 23 that there are 21 parking spaces on-site but that it would be surprising to him if every spot was filled at one given time by the church’s parishioners.
By the end of the segment of last week’s meeting devoted to the Potter’s House site plan, the planning board unconditionally approved the relocation to let Stowell proceed with an appearance in front of the village board for a vote on a to-be-determined date.
Caliber Collision is looking to have a 17,000-square-foot service center constructed at 3133 Erie Blvd. E. The center would be placed in the vacant lot beside the parcel that contained a Pizza Hut until its demolition last summer.
The building went from roughly 14,600 square feet to 17,000 because the plans now call for a parts storage area to be covered with a roof rather than fenced in as an outdoor section. Allen Yager, the project manager, said the repair center for collision-damaged vehicles would contain a working body shop and two paint booths as well.
He further stated that the intention is to share 60 parking spaces with CNY Gym Centre and the neighboring David’s Bridal. According to Yager, there would be 15 full-time employees of the center and a dozen round trips into and out of the site made daily by each of them, making for less overall vehicle traffic on an average day than there was for the Pizza Hut, he says.
“From a traffic consideration, it’s a huge win for the Erie Boulevard corridor,” Yager said.
He said Caliber Collision sees market growth in the Syracuse area. Already the national company has collision center locations on West Genesee Street in Syracuse and state Route 31 in Baldwinsville.
At its most recent meeting, the planning board approved Caliber’s submitted subdivision application. A public hearing for the site plan and the subdivision will take place at some point in the ensuing few months after an appearance in front of the zoning board of appeals for multiple variances.