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2-07-2007 Recently, the Village of Cooperstown sent letters to residents on Grove Street inviting them to a public hearing to discuss rezoning the Leatherstocking Railway property from commercial to residential. The Planning Board will conduct the hearing on Feb. 12 and will probably consider two possible zoning options, R-2 and R-3. I support the rezoning to residential, and after receiving one of these letters, I wanted to learn more about the options before going to the hearing. What I discovered is that R-3 zoning permits more densely populated neighborhoods. This is because R-3 zoning allows single family, two-family and multiplefamily dwellings (apartments or condominiums), while R-2 zoning only allows single family dwellings. In both R-2 and R-3 zones, single family dwellings must have a minimum lot area of 5,000 square feet. However, a duplex in R- 3 requires a 7,000 square foot lot, while multiple-family dwellings require just 3,000 square feet per family. Other zoning restrictions, such as minimum front and rear yard dimensions (20 feet), side yard dimensions (10 feet), minimum lot width (50 feet), and maximum building height (30 feet), are the same for both R-2 and R- 3 zoned properties. In addition, the village requires every residence to have two off-street parking spaces that do not diminish the minimum yard size requirement. If the railway property is rezoned residential, the above rules will determine the maximum number of dwellings that can be built, the key concern. While developers may build fewer dwellings, they tend to optimize their sales opportunities with respect to the land being developed. Furthermore, an estimate of the maximum number of dwellings possible helps predict neighborhood impact and facilitates making plans for water, sewer, and traffic infrastructure improvements, if needed. The railway property along Grove Street is divided into two parts by West Beaver Street. The northern part extends to Glen Avenue. However, from the point where the tracks run behind 63 Grove St. to Glen Avenue, the property is too narrow for building. South of 63 Grove St. to West Beaver Street, the property is as much as 75 feet deep and covers approximately 39,400 square feet, or 0.9 acres. Under the village's zoning law, if my area calculation is correct, a maximum of seven single family dwellings, five duplexes, or two apartment/ condominiums with a total of up to 13 units could be constructed. Why two apartment/ condominiums? Apparently, the owners of a property on the east side of the railway have a legal right-of-way to cross the railway property to reach Grove Street. An open corridor between two apartment/ condominium buildings might be necessary to allow this access. South of West Beaver Street, the railway property narrows, and construction options are more limited. In fact, from the open storm drain across from 90 Grove St. south to Chestnut Street, the property is less than 50 feet deep, thus making residential building or parking use not feasible. However, from West Beaver Street to the storm drain, the property covers approximately 17,600 square feet, or 0.4 acres. Therefore a maximum of three single family dwellings, two duplexes, or an apartment/ condominium of five units could be constructed on this land. In conclusion, this rezoning decision will affect the neighborhood's future population density, character, and open space. Rezoning to R-2 could result in up to 10 new single family homes in the village, while R-3 could result in three apartment/ condominium buildings containing as many as 18 units. Richard Blabey Cooperstown CYB thanks supporters On behalf of the Cooperstown Youth Baseball Board of Directors, I want to thank all who supported our third Hometown Baseball Celebration. Thanks to Hoffman Lane Bistro, Jim & Bo, our many auction item donors, our guests, and other donors for making it such a successful event. My personal thanks to the CYB Board members and families for their continued tireless effort on behalf of the youth of our community. David Borgstrom President CYB |
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