The city of Oneonta Planning Commission declared the site plan complete for the proposed Rehabilitative Support Services, Inc. project on River Street Wednesday, Jan. 21.
The project would be called Solstice Commons, and contain about 61-unit, three-story housing community at 164 River St. in Oneonta’s Sixth Ward. It would occupy the northern portion of the 6.5-acre parcel, with a proposal to subdivide from the southern portion of the parcel, said Chairperson Marcela Micucci Wednesday.
The apartments would be affordable to households making between 30% and 70% of the area median income, according to Daily Star archives.
At a commission meeting Wednesday, Sept. 17, the proposed development drew backlash from several community members, many with safety concerns.
Micucci said the application had been in the commission’s hands for a long time. The materials were uploaded to the city’s website. She said the city’s consultants, Delaware Engineering, have necessitated some of the minor revisions RSS has addressed.
Christine Nealon, the RSS director of strategic partnerships, said RSS came to the commission to review the resubmitted proposed site plan for the project, reflecting “several thoughtful refinements made in response to the recommendations received through the SEQR environmental review process.” She said the building was shifted slightly to allow for 360-degree access for emergency vehicles.
According to the LaBella Associates responses to site plan review comments, which were posted to the city’s website ahead of the meeting, the plans were revised to include a fire access road providing access within 150 feet of all building portions.
Dan Brocht, a senior project manager with LaBella Associates who stepped in for the project’s civil engineer, said that in the two months following the September commission meeting, RSS had several meetings with city staff, the Oneonta Fire Department and Delaware Engineering.
On Wednesday, Nov. 19, representatives from RSS met with community members at the Foothills Performing Arts and Civic Center to answer questions about the scope of the project. Nealon said at the event that the goal was to provide individuals with a forum to address any concerns, especially those who felt their apprehensions were not being considered and RSS had not answered their questions up to that point.
Brocht said in the following five weeks, RSS and its partners on the project took the feedback it had accumulated from residents, concerned citizens, the commission, Delaware Engineering and the Oneonta Fire Department and used it to finalize the updated site plan. He said the building shifted about three feet to the southwest, and two access roads were added.
The Oneonta Fire Department had concerns about the single access point to the site from West Broadway, according to the site plan review comments responses. The plan was revised to include three access points to the site, with two from West Broadway.
“There is another road that goes from our parking lot out to River Street, and that has also been provided to provide a third means of emergency egress for the fire department and emergency vehicles,” Brocht said.
The two entrances to the site that were added would be gated, Bracht said, and would be for emergency access only.
There will still be opportunity for the fire department to review the plans and ask more questions, Brocht said. He said a fire truck could get around the entire facility.
Commissioner Ryan Swan asked how RSS planned to prevent unauthorized access to the facility from River Street through the emergency access. Brocht said there would be a locked gate there, and the Fire Department would be the only entity with the code, in addition to the property owner.
Micucci said a full SEQR review is still necessary, which requires local and state agencies to look at an evaluate the environmental impacts and potential social and economic considerations for a proposed project, according to the state Department of Environmental Conservation website.
She motioned to declare site plan for the project complete, meaning that all materials requested that the code enforcement office requires, have been submitted to the city. She emphasized that this was not a motion to approve the RSS project.
“RSS has submitted the necessary materials, as requested, through our consultants and the city of Oneonta, to be able to consider this a complete site plan application,” Micucci said.
She said in March, following the public hearing, the commission will go through SEQR line by line.
A public hearing regarding the proposed project will be held in February.
Vice Chairperson David Rissberger said the reason why a date has not been announced in February yet is because the typical Planning Commission meeting date is during February break, when a lot of people are on vacation.
“No decisions will be happening behind closed doors,” Micucci said.
A second motion, declaring the Planning Commission as lead agency for the project, also passed.