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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1995-05-22 - MP CD /. TOWN OF ULYSSES JOINT MASTER PLAN / PLANNING BOARD MEETING TOWN HALL MAY 22 , 1995 PRESENT : CHAIRWOMAN : SUE POELVOORDE ; MEMBERS : RUTH KAHN , KRYS CAIL , CATHERINE STOVER , JOANNE MOLINO , DAVID TYLER ; SECRETARY : ROXANNE SMITH The meeting came to order at 7 . 34 PM . CHANGES TO MINUTES , MAY 8 , 1995 The minutes of May 8th were reviewed . The word " raise " was changed to raze , in the first paragraph on page 1 . On page 2 , the second paragraph under " MASTER PLAN DRAFT " , third sentence , the w ord " versus " was changed to : with respect to . On page 3 , the n ext to last sentence , in the next to last paragraph , the word " urban " was added after hostile . Ruth added that Cornell would like to add a rural component , but they are not moving the entire -"medical school to upstate New York ( mentioned as a future possibility in the previous minutes ) . • David inquired about the water project at the Shur - Save ; were there any changes ? Catherine responded that the last Town Board meeting was the day after the Master Plan joint meeting , so nothing new had been reported . BATAVIA SEMINAR Sue shared her thoughts on the seminar she attended with Alex . They went to different sessions . She said the program was developed from comments from elected officials , and town people . y - They gave some options on comprehensive planning . You don ' t need t o identify specific areas for development ( site plan review ) . S ub - division review was discussed , and you need to be careful how you define that . They discussed things you could do to preserve your town that were non - regulatory . Land trusts , and co - operative • t ype things to preserve areas were also discussed . Sue mentioned that the NY Planning Federation will be having an intensive seminar in the fall . She thought that it was very informative , it was a good experience for her . She was able to do some networking ; these contacts will be useful for her job and volunteer work . STATE POLICE Sue stated that everyone has now had the opportunity to review q uestions 1 and 2 . Catherine noted that it was interesting that police protection was listed as the number one need for the future . It is probably the most expensive one too , said Krys . The State P olice may be interested in coming to this area as the County services are leaving the Biggs building . They would need three ✓ ooms ( office space ) , said Catherine . That would give at least the appearance of more protection . PETER MESKILL ' S ARTICLE Sue asked if anyone had read Peter Meskill ' s comments on the TOWN OF ULYSSES 2 53 JOINT MASTER PLAN / PLANNING BOARD MEETING MAY 22 , 1995 e ditorial page of the Ithaca Journal ( May 22 , 1995 ) ? Ruth ✓ esponded , Although he has been invited to the library board meetings , he has never attended one . He did not consult anybody before he came up with the article . Sue said he berated the board for putting in an offer for the old Gow Chevrolet building . He also gave very erroneous impressions ; stating that the Village and Town would be involved in the building renovations , said Ruth . The money given is for the operating expenses . The building fund is something the library is working on . They would put on a campaign . That has nothing to do with the Town . He suggested that the school library and our library should be combined . In reality , there is n ot enough room for either . Krys said that if there is an architect , the first thing that person does is a code review . Mr . Meskill also said that the Trumansburg School District contributes money to the library budget . That is a separate item on the ballot . Ruth did state that she is obviously biased , as she is a library volunteer . PREFACE FOR THE MASTER PLAN The toughest job that this body has is deciding where to come d own . If you try to be all things to all people , you ' ll have nothing , said David . There is a wide spectrum of opinions agreed Catherine . We will catch some flack regardless of what we say , said David . He went on to say how surprised he was at the number o f comments about how poorly zoning is enforced on our town . Sue n oted unless you have legal support to enforce zoning , there really isn ' t any point in having it . It is expensive , said David . David offered his impressions of the survey first . The tax base in this town is very healthy due to the lake front homes . This town is far better off than most A discussion ensued about t he school taxes . The tax base issue is one that everyone loves to talk about . Ruth said that the comments aren ' t necessarily true , just because you have a bigger tax base doesn ' t mean you have more money to work with _ Sometimes it costs more to support whatever it is that is giving you the tax base . Catherine said that the sales tax situation should be addressed . Sue commented t hat everyone seems to be satisfied with the level of services we have now . The issue of tax abatement was discussed . Krys suggested that you could use " not paying " town taxes as a way to encourage industry . People stated that they like open spaces / agriculture . W e could offer tax incentives to farmers . David said that the fire protection issue could be addressed . The agricultural users should n ot have that burden . It is the industrial users that have a very high demand on fire services , said Krys . David noted that people kept talking about the sense of community . That comes with smallness , there is no other way around that . Everyone is looking for instant gratification , whether it is in reduced taxes and so on . That is difficult to do with planning as it is based on more long term results . The things that people say that are important really speak against beg change for the Town of Ulysses . Let ' s focus on our strengths ; the tourism , t he natural beauty and so forth , and build on those . Let ' s not become another Dryden . Joanne asked how Dryden benefited from all TOWN OF ULYSSES 3 52/ JOINT MASTER PLAN / PLANNING BOARD MEETING MAY 22 , 1995 t he added business / tax base ? They haven ' t gained a whole lot , it is a fallacy , said David . It ' s an urban truism . It is true for t he city of Ithaca that already has infrastructure . It would not be true for a smaller area . If someone wanted to build a tall building , a fire truck would need to be purchased to handle that , said Krys . Ruth shared her thoughts . Inevitably our town will change over time . A master plan is a tool to preserve what we cherish and accommodate our 111 future needs as they become apparent . S he then said she would list the things that need to be preserved ( that are cherished ) , such as : open space , etc . Then ; to accommodate our future needs , she would list the needs for Residential , Commercial , Industrial , Recreational , etc . S ue discussed how we link our resources , like the fairgrounds with the schools. Catherine read her paragraph : The goal of the Town of Ulysses Master Plan is the planning for orderly future development without limiting the integrity of the land or the rights of the residents .. or • property owners . Krys read her thoughts relating to the goal of the Master • Plan:' Our goal in writing the Master Plan is to establish a framework for harmonizing the opinions of the residents into a planning rational that allows as many residents as possible to retain their optimism and commitment to our future together . - David stated that the group should not be afraid to promote aesthetics . Give recognition to those who maintain their older homes . A good example of this is in the different Wegmans in the surrounding communities , said Sue . Identify the character of the community , and then state that new construction has to be in that ✓ ein . The group discussed various communities they appreciated and w hy . Ruth mentioned a " Christmas in April " day . Various businesses lent their employees to to clean up homes in need , and t he general community also participated . It not only provides a needed service , but created a lot of good will . K rys inquired how the group was to proceed ? Sue would like t o start identifying the areas that they are going to address . The information for what people are looking for has been gotten . J oanne read her thoughts : To maintain the character of the area while allowing for planned moderate growth . K rys mentioned that it would be good to identify what the Members are worried about ( such as the Village , Walmart , pressure to put in more residential development at the south end of town , e tc . ) . A discussion then ensued about site plan review . Zoning particulars will not be in the Master Plan , said Sue . The " homework " for the next meeting ( June 12 , 1995 ) is for the Members to do an outline going down the list ( that is in the survey , question 1 ) . State the subject ; for example : historic structures . List goals ( saving historic homes ) , state objectives that support the goal ( s ) ( define a district ) . Then suggest some TOWN OF ULYSSES 4 55 JOINT MASTER PLAN / PLANNING BOARD MEETING MAY 22 , 1995 recommendations for action ( where to start , it doesn ' t have to accomplish the goal immediately ) . The Members each decided to pick an aspect : Catherine - Agriculture / Open Space Ruth - Aesthetics ( Historic ) K rys - Residential / Economic development D avid - Commercial / Economic development J oanne - Infrastructure S ue - Unique Natural Areas The meeting adjourned at 10 : 30 PM .