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Please click on the picture or the link below to see the entire proposal (pdf file) created by Mike Stanton. It will definitely open your eyes to perfectly viable possibilities here in Eastwood. Proposal for a Kinneys . . . → Read More: We could have this Kinneys Sent in by Babette Baker regarding the development of the southwest corner of James and Midler (where the Sport Center once stood, where Fifi’s Ice Cream is now): Information Meeting On the Proposed Kinney Drug Store Project Monday, August 15th -7pm Representatives from the Development and Design Team will be present to answer . . . → Read More: Meeting about design for James/Midler corner “Family” Video gave a presentation at Monday night’s TNT meeting. In essence, despite their pronouncements of neighborliness, the real message was this:
There was virtually no positive response to the presentation and many people were quite unhappy with what they saw. Their plan violates the overlay district zoning standards as well as city regulations that prevent the sale of adult materials within 1000 feet of a church, school, or residential area. Continue reading “Family” Video to Eastwood: “We always win.” The “Family” Video store being proposed at tonight’s TNT meeting (Huntington Elementary School, Sunnycrest and Forest Hill, 7:00 pm) has been the topic of discussion in the Walkable Eastwood email group. The consensus: it’s a no-go on two fronts.
Not one of over a dozen comments in the email group of over 100 members was in favor of having this business in Eastwood. This community has spent years fighting bad design – and winning – so we’re not about to turn back the clock and allow suburban-style development in our urban community. That would cause all our property values to drop and would be a slap in the face of the James Street business owners who develop, successfully, following the guidelines. The northeast corner of James and Midler, known as “the old Steak and Sundae” or “Wittigs Ice Cream”, has been sitting for some time, being allowed by its owner to rot and bring our property values down. “Family” Video is bringing a proposal to the TNT meeting on Monday evening (March 22, 7:00 pm, Huntington Elementary School, on Sunnycrest at Forest Hill). I’m guessing that most of this blog’s readers can now tell exactly what is wrong with all three proposed site plans. (If not, read over the James Street Overlay District Zoning Standards.) A number of our neighbors are revisiting the James Street Overlay District guidelines, put in place as part of our zoning laws to prevent runaway suburban-style development such as the Dunkin Donuts and the Wilson Farms businesses that were allowed in before the guidelines were written. Turns out, despite our needing a little time to get used to the idea, having just such an overlay helps to keep our real estate prices in our neighborhood going strong. Continue reading All together now: zoning overlays = $$$ When it comes to approaching the Planning Commission about waiver requests, we hear a lot of conflicting messages about the role and power of the residents:
The sign being voted on at the Planning Commission meeting tonight (City Hall, 6:00 pm) is not, I repeat, is not the hold-up on the store opening. Sean Kirst reported on this fact a month ago (Post-Standard, Friday, June 19, 2009 – bolding mine):
RE: Application No. AS-09-17, Sign Exception , Five Point Development
Dear Ms. Lamendola,
I am writing in regards to application number AS-09-17 submitted by Five Point Development. As an Upstate New York native and urban planner I strongly oppose a waiver for the projecting sign with LED sign. The design does not coincide with the pedestrian oriented design of Eastwood; it’s distracting for drivers and therefore dangerous. Further waivers to the James Street Overlay will weaken the ability to enforce guidelines in the future. MEET THE CANDIDATES FOR MAYOR OF SYRACUSE Join the discussion with mayoral candidates focusing on Wednesday, June 17 SUNY Oswego Metro Center EVERYONE IS WELCOME CANDIDATES FOR MAYOR – all agreed . . . → Read More: W.E. Co-hosts mayoral candidate forum This letter was sent to me by James Creveling, who has been vitally interested in development in Eastwood for many years. James has a BS in Environmental Studies and has completed coursework, with a focus on land use and design issues, for a Masters of Regional Planning (MRP), University at Albany. As you may know, the Planning Commission is holding a public hearing at their June 8 meeting about a new POMCO development. It includes a resubdivision, a project site review, and sign waivers. Maybe it’s the developer who doesn’t want to work with the community. Look at these beautiful ways to have a Walgreens in your neighborhood! Don’t think for a minute that they did this because these neighborhoods are somehow more special than Eastwood. These neighborhoods are special only because they have design guidelines that prevent them from . . . → Read More: Walgreens will work with communities The other day I was driving behind a senior driver who was clearly not the sprightly driver he used to be. His driving was excessively slow and his positioning of the car in lanes was not accurate. As I waited behind him at an intersection, I watched him turn left in front of oncoming traffic. Thank goodness things were moving slowly and the driver of the other car was not distracted by unnecessary signage. There could have been an accident, and his wife, sitting in the passenger’s seat, would have been hit directly. When the community met with Guy Hart, Jr. at the Palace (he’s the developer of the Walgreens), I had one point to make: older drivers are only increasing in number as boomers age. We need to keep our intersections as free of distractions as possible. It’s a safety issue. Continue reading Design guidelines accommodate older drivers Since the early 1980′s, our city forefathers in their flawed thinking have foregone long-term stable housing property tax revenue for larger, short-term tax revenue gains by approving franchise type drive-thru land uses (KFC, Burger King, Eckerds, Rite Aid, Jreck Subs, etc.) over the past ten to twenty years. What has resulted in places like Butternut St. is a high crime corridor and declining real property values. Was this trade-off worth it in the end? Any of this sound familiar? From debates heard in the United Kingdom’s House of Commons:
This is what happened at the April 27, 2009 Planning Commission meeting: 1. The Planning Commission just barely had a quorum. However, they said that they would act on right then on the submission of the modified ground sign (even though they had not had sufficient time to review it since it was just handed in today) if the applicant wanted, (which they did). Then, however, the PC decided that because it had been just handed in, they had not had time to review it and suggested that they close the hearing on the “old” application and resubmit an amended application. As a result, another public hearing will be noticed to the public and held on May 18, 2009 at 6:00 PM. Since March 30, 2009, I have been running a survey to gather public opinion on the Walgreens sign. Granted, “the public” is whoever views this site. But given that this site been mentioned on page 2 of the Sunday Post-Standard twice (now three times – 04/26/09), I think the public has had a good chance to weigh in. So here are the results at a glance. The bold font is created by the survey software to indicate the choice getting the greatest number of votes. If we do a reading of the numerous ways in which Mayor Driscoll has supported the concept of design guidelines, which are necessary to sustainable development, then we get one picture: Continue reading Mayor does/doesn’t support design guidelines
(See notification of complete meeting HERE.) Look familiar? Continue reading Planning Commission meeting re: sign waiver It’s important to understand where we’ve come from to have a better grasp on where we’re going. The James Street Overlay District Guidelines have become very important because of the many challenges we face in maintaining their enforcement. Understanding the process that went into their creation and their adoption as an ordinance in the City of Syracuse may shed some light on why they are so important. Here I reproduce the words from this brief description of the ESF study that got things rolling (bolding mine). |
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