PLANNING BOARD AGENDA

Common Council Chambers

March 20, 2025 – 4:30 PM

PUBLIC HEARING

PB Case No.:   14-24                                                   Zone:               Neighborhood Mixed Use

Address:          2209 Genesee Street                            Requested Action:       Sketch Plan Review

Applicant:        MHVS

Owner:            MVHS                                    

Pursuant to City of Utica Zoning Code Section 2-29-312(c), the applicant is seeking Sketch Plan review of several proposed re-use scenarios for the former St. Elizabeth Medical Center.  Pursuant to Section 2-29-317(a), the Planning Board was asked to initiate the SEQRA process by designating itself as lead agent, which the Board did at their August 2024 meeting. 

At its February 2025 meeting, the Planning Board deemed the draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement (DGEIS) to be ‘complete’ relative to the final scope adopted in December, thereby commencing a 60-day period of public review and comment.

NEW BUSINESS

PB Case No.:   02-25                                                   Zone:   Industrial (I)

Address:          1006 Thorn Street                               Requested Action:       Site Plan Review and                      

Applicant:        Howard Cohen                                                                        Special Use Permit

Owner:            Mark & Sandra Schultz                                               

Pursuant to City of Utica Zoning Code Section 2-29-125(b)(4) and 2-29-136(a), the applicant is seeking site plan approval and a special use permit in order to erect a billboard sign at this location.

The applicant has the above-noted property under contract, which is expected to close next month.  Once the sale is finalized, the applicant intends to move both his neon sign shop and his coffee roasting business to this location from their current location on James Street.  In addition, the applicant is proposing to erect a new billboard sign on the property.  According to the applicant, the proposed sign is 30’ wide and 10’ high and will be a double-sided digital sign.

Per Section 2-29-136(c), “no billboard shall be permitted within 300’ of any use in the residential category” or “within 750 feet of any use in the municipal/civic category as listed in the use table.”  The proposed location is directly adjacent to residential uses and easily within 750 feet of Lincoln Playground.  Additionally, Section 2-29-136(d) states that “there must be a minimum of 1,000 feet between billboards on primary roads and a minimum of 500 feet between billboards on secondary road and state-controlled access highways”.  The proposed location of this billboard is adjacent to the NYS Routes 5, 8 and 12, a state-controlled access highway and these is an existing billboard almost directly across the highway from the proposed location.  As such, numerous area variances are necessary from the Zoning Board of Appeals, should the Planning Board choose to move forward with review and approval of this application.