Lansing Town looks at how zoning aligns with goals

The town of Lansing recently completed a gap analysis that determined just how far the town’s zoning code is from the goals outlined in the 2018 comprehensive plan, which is meant to steer the town for the next few years.

John Steinmetz, a principal planner with Colliers Engineering, presented the findings at the July 17 town board meeting. Steinmetz noted that the town has made strides toward squaring away pressures to increase its tax base and encourage new types of developments. 

“All town land-use regulations must be in accordance with the comprehensive plan adopted,” he noted, adding that that is the guiding principle that state regulators operate under when it comes to zoning.

The challenges, he noted, would be to continue to accommodate new developments, like higher-density apartment buildings and new mixed-use developments, while also trying to maintain the charm and soul of Lansing.

That essence is largely the town’s open spaces, natural views and agricultural land, Steinmetz said.

To compile the study, Colliers interviewed stakeholders such as Town Supervisor Ruth Groff, Planning Board Chair Al Fiorille, Planning Board member Larry Sharpsteen, Town Board member Joseph Wetmore and Director of Planning John Zepko.

“The summary of what we heard, generally speaking, is that the comprehensive plan works very well,” Steinmetz said. “It is serving as a guide for various decision making and generally reflects the direction, vision and values in the community.”

One of the key findings, Steinmetz noted, is that the town is looking to accommodate new housing types and projects, but the existing infrastructure to allow for that construction and/or redevelopment is lacking. More specifically, the existing water and sewer systems limit the types and locations of development. 

A recommendation would be to build around existing infrastructure. 

“That impacts your ability to do redevelopment and infill development [building within unused and underutilized lands],” Steinmetz said. “There is some conversation about the increase of some levels of housing density. That is harder to do if you don’t have water and sewer to support that level of infrastructure.”

Steinmetz’s report also looked at increasing opportunities for mixed-use development, which typically entails a building with space for a service provider or local business on the first floor and apartments on the second and subsequent floors.

Overall, Steinmetz presented 26 recommendations to close the gap between the town’s zoning code and its desired comprehensive plan. Only eight of those recommendations are not related to the current zoning code. Some of the recommendations include developing design guidelines and tools that make it easier for developers to understand how to build in Lansing based on existing zoning laws.

The report also recommends incorporating environmental protection overlay districts, which enhance conservation requirements, on top of the existing zoning laws in a particular zoning district. 

“One of the issues we have is that we have a comprehensive plan that talks about how we would like the town to develop, but we don’t have a code that lets the planning board enforce those ideas,” said Wetmore of the need for the study.

Following the presentation, the town also unanimously voted to enter a contract with Colliers to apply for a $100,000 smart growth funding grant that would allow the town to pay for further zoning updates. The town would pay $10,000 to Colliers to prepare the application for consolidated funding.

The $100,000 grant would require a $15,000 match from town funds, and the remaining $85,000 would come from the New York State Department of Transportation. Steinmetz said that the town should be in good shape toward applying for the grant, as the comprehensive plan is up to date and aligns with what other municipalities of the size and scope of Lansing have submitted. The deadline for the application is July 31.

Lansing at Large appears every week in Tompkins Weekly. Send story ideas to editorial@vizellamedia.com. Contact Eddie Velazquez at edvel37@gmail.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @ezvelazquez.

In brief:

The Friends of the Lansing Community Library will host a cookie contest fundraiser Aug. 31 from 2-4 p.m. at Myers Park. Residents can showcase their cookie-baking talent and share their love for the tasty baked goods while also helping the library.

Interested parties can sign up for the contest here:

https://forms.gle/Ag6MgHV8oUuGKFPJ6.

More information can be found by reaching out to friendsoflcl@lansinglibrary.org. The deadline for registration is Aug. 28.