|
||||||
|
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.) Written by Maureen Harding, published with her permission: There are several myths floating out there in Syracuse that somehow mistakenly are taken as “fact” concerning the Walkable Eastwood group of neighbors: Myth: Redevelopment at the northeast corner of James and Midler (the former location of Steak & Sundae ) is being prevented by the Walkable Eastwood group. Fact: The . . . → Read More: Urban myths about Walkable Eastwood “A gas station used to be there.” This is true of the corner of James and Midler. A gas station used to be on approximately every corner in Eastwood, based on some comments I heard at TNT Monday night. And that might have been true. But saying “a gas station used to be there” as justification for a new one being put in at the same location is like saying “An oil city used to be there” as justification for putting in even bigger, taller, brighter oil tanks at the northern entrance to Syracuse. Just because we used to do it doesn’t mean that it necessarily is or is not a good idea. Let’s debate this one on its own merits, not the merits of a period of cheap, plentiful oil, now fast waning. Continue reading A gas station used to be there Picture the driver navigating this intersection, kids being a distraction, cell phone ringing, a cup of coffee in one hand, and an LED sign brighter than everything else changing from one message to another:
How about at night? Remember: this sign is changing all the time: I’m not the only one who hopes they get this exit straightened out before we have to read in the paper that a tragic “accident” has taken place at the intersection of James St. and Grant Blvd. Call it an accident and it seems the hand of God is in play. But even mere mortals can tell this exit at Walgreens isn’t going to work. Fact is, we knew it back on December 14, 2005, when I first put this on the Walkable Eastwood website: 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. At last night’s planning commission meeting, reference was made to the electronic billboard that sits in Dewitt but “graces” the eastern entrance to Eastwood. It was used in an argument as a precedent for allowing the LED sign at Walgreens. Oh boy. Got that slippery-slope slidey feeling? Any of this sound familiar? From debates heard in the United Kingdom’s House of Commons:
(See notification of complete meeting HERE.) Look familiar? Continue reading Planning Commission meeting re: sign waiver Joe Nastri is a long-time Eastwood businessman who was involved in the original Eastwood Review Board that was disbanded by the City. I too hope that the city does the right thing and upholds the zoning Overlay standards. Assertions have been made time and again that Eastwood looks the way it does because of neighbors and or the Zoning Overlay Guidelines. This is false. The reason why Eastwood has some problems with appearance is firstly because property owners, such as the owner of the old Steak and Sundae building and Byrne Dairy properties have made a conscious decision to allow these properties to fall into disrepair. The plan is for neighbors to get so fed up that we will accept what ever they decide is appropriate. For many years, Kathleen Joy has supported smart, sustainable development in Eastwood. She has been a tireless researcher, an effective communicator, and a source of information that might otherwise have been difficult for the average resident. Some time ago, she started her own blog. As is her habit, when she has something of import to let . . . → Read More: Post by Councilor Kathleen Joy When people drive into Eastwood from downtown Syracuse, the first thing to greet them at the gateway to our “village” has been this, the Veterans’ Monument. It is in an area that is 50% residential. We finish our Memorial Day parade there, where we gather for speeches and silent contemplation.
The proposed “monument sign” makes our gateway all about Walgreens instead: If 100 people in Eastwood were to read this through – it takes less time than watching just the ads in “Dancing With the Stars” – and if each were to educate just one other person about the effect on Eastwood of the proposed Walgreens sign, then we’d have a great turn-out at the April 6 Planning Commission meeting. That’s when a decision will be made about what they want: a 10-foot LED stand-alone ground sign. It violates the overlay district guidelines in four ways: sign square footage, total number of signs, prohibition against ground signs, and prohibition against animated signs. But here’s what you want to read first, an email reprinted here with permission from our neighbor and retired professor of architecture, Sig Snyder: There’s some confusion about the sign that the Planning Commission will be voting on come April 6. Here is my understanding of it (corrections, as always, are welcome in the comment section), as reported by a concerned citizen who visited the zoning office:
Just how big is this, really? According to Common Councilor Kathleen Joy, “The entire sign would be about 100 sq ft. …The architect told me that it needs to be big enough to be seen over cars and the Veterans monument. ” While looking around for examples that might instruct us on how development in Eastwood should be designed, I came across an excellent about.com article, Stop Sprawl: How to Design a Walkable Neighborhood. It’s a quick read but better than that, it has great photos illustrating the points made. To better understand the options we have if the city’s comprehensive plan is taken into account when designing one of the corners of James and Midler, take a look at the following: Although we were assured in 2005 that there would be no scrolling LED sign at the Walgreens that now graces the gateway to our “village,” this type of sign is likely to rear its ugly head again. If you care about what kind of “look and feel” our traditional village streetscape has, you may want to attend the public hearing (details below). |
||||||
|
Copyright © 2013 Walkable Eastwood - All Rights Reserved |
||||||
Recent Comments