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To: Cortland County Planning Board From: Daniel S. Dineen, Director of Planning Date: February 12, 2018 Re: Zoning History – Existing B-2 zoned properties along NYS Route 13 immediately southwest of the City of Cortland I am providing to the Board a history of the zoning designation of the properties along NYS Route 13 immediately, southwest of the City of Cortland, that are being considered for a zoning map amendment from B-2 (Highway Commercial Business) to B-3 (Planned Commercial Business). The Town’s previous zoning law was adopted in 1985. This zoning law included a single Business District designation. The 1985 zoning law designated the subject area as being within the Business District. The Business District permitted the uses that are currently permitted in the B-3 District. Therefore, the zoning for this area permitted all of the uses currently permitted in this area plus gasoline service stations, public utility substations, bus terminals, railroad lines and terminals, communication towers and antennae, storage warehouses, truck terminals and air landing fields. The zoning permitting these uses in this area of the Town was in effect until the Town revised its zoning law in 2007. In 2002, the Town adopted the Route 281/13 Land Use and Aquifer Protection Plan. This Plan recommended the establishment of wellhead protection zones, designated as Zone 1 (lands where groundwater contributes directly to a public supply well) and Zone 2 (lands that don’t contribute directly to public water supply wells but serve as areas of recharge). This Plan also recommended dividing the existing Business District into two or more separate business classifications; B-1 and B-2 with consideration for a B-3 District as well. The Town subsequently submitted an application to the County Planning Board (January 2004) which was revised and resubmitted for review five more times (May 2004, January 2005, August 2006, February 2007 and June 2007) for a zoning text and map amendment and to amend the existing zoning text/map by replacing the existing Business District with three different classifications of Business Districts. Each of these submittals proposed classification of the subject area to B-2. The zoning text and map amendment was subsequently adopted by the Town and this area was rezoned to B-2 with the uses permitted which are currently permitted in the B-2 District. In March 2016, the County Planning Board reviewed an application from the Town seeking a change in the allowable uses in the B-1, B-2 and B-3 Districts to permit gas stations in these Districts while prohibiting this use in Wellhead Protection Zones 1a and 1b. The Board recommended that the Town consider prohibiting gas stations over the aquifer from the City of Cortland line south to the Town of Virgil boundary. The Town did not adopt the proposed changes to the allowable uses in the B-1, B-2 and B-3 Districts. The Town is now seeking to rezone the entire B-2 (Highway Commercial Business) District (a total of 48 parcels) along NYS Route 13 between the City of Cortland boundary and McLean Road/Starr Road to B-3 (Planned Commercial Business) which would permit the following additional uses to be developed in this area subject to either site plan review or a conditional permit; shopping ---PAGE BREAK--- centers (provided that no gasoline service facility use shall be permitted except upon the issuance of a special permit), hotels and motels (without the 15,000 sq. ft. per story limitation), bus terminals, railroad lines and terminals, truck terminals, airplane landing fields, public utility substations, communication towers and antennas and storage warehouses. Each of these uses would also require an aquifer protection district special permit (if the proposed development cost of the project exceeds $150,000).