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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008-12-02 - PB TOWN OF ULYSSES PLANNING BOARD 12/02/08 APPROVED 12/16/08 Present: Chairperson Ken Zeserson, Planning Board Members : Rod Hawkes, David Means, Rebecca Schneider, John Wertis Deputy Supervisor Dick Coogan, Code Enforcement Officer Alex Rachun Excused : Stan Beames, Rod Porter Mr. Zeserson called the meeting to order at 7 : 00 pm . He stated Sue Ritter was in attendance to answer questions regarding the Town of Ithaca' s process in establishing their Conservation Zone. He stated they have been working since meeting with her about a year ago . They are finally getting to the stage they would like to see what Ithaca did to get to their conservation zone . They have discussed an overlay zone which would basically be the Conservation District and Environmental Zone of the Comp Plan. The geographic parameters are not clear nor do they have to be determined tonight but that is the basic area. What he would like to do tonight is review Ithaca ' s zoning law and get input from Sue regarding what Ulysses would like to do for theirs . He stated he would like to go over the basics of what Ithaca did and would it be good for Ulysses . Mr. Wertis stated Mr. Zeserson had stated they wanted to get into the Conservation Zone. Initially they looked at Unique Natural Areas, he agreed they were looking at apples and oranges but he is unclear why they are approaching just this area. Mr. Zeserson stated at the last few meeting ' s they had determined to concentrate on the steep slopes area as they had already witnessed development/damages . Mr. Wertis stated this may have been true ; he just wanted clarification as to what would happen with the rest of the UNA ' s in Ulysses . He noted they appear to missing what is happening "up the creeks". He maybe getting his meeting ' s confused but wanted to make sure these areas would be addressed . Mr. Schneider stated she and Mr. Rachun had discussed this as well as these areas are tributaries and creeks are still on the table . The other DNA ' s will be addressed as they can be . Mr. Zeserson stated they only have an hour of Sue ' s time and he would like to make the most efficient use of this time. The relevant portion of Ithaca' s runs along the Black Diamond Trail , the Ulysses portion also runs along this trail . Mr. Wertis stated he agreed as long as he knows the focus of this group . He stated it appears the concern with this area is the steep slopes . Mr. Zeserson agreed and stated he would like to review the Ithaca document and update/revise for Ulysses . The Board proceeded to review/update the document as follows : Purpose. Discussion determined this is similar to what they would like to have . Further edits, additions to reflect Ulysses needs would be made later. Permitted principal uses. Discussion determined there is not as much teeth as Ulysses would like to see in this area. Further discussion included no harvesting of timber, people make money off harvesting. How much do they want, sometimes this can be a good thing to due blight, Planning Board 2 12/02/2008 Cleaning out these trees should not be a cumbersome problem . They have seen some harvesting which resulted in a traumatic effect to the Willow Creek area. This is what Ulysses would like to prevent which is why they proposed the 10 inch limit . Forest management is protected under Ag and Markets, in establishing zoning it has to be considered. The steep slopes could be used as a factor for determination. They could say for betterment of the community this is prohibited . Ms . Ritter stated they have had problems with this, they hope to make modifications in 2009 due to problems in the Six Mile Creek area where the property was completely denuded . If they want control they could say more than an acre would come to the Planning Board for review/approval . They would need to consider do they want forest management, but on certain percentage of slopes it would not be permitted . Forestry in this area tends to treat it as a commodity vs . protection of old growth trees . There are some trees in this area that are 400 years old. If a tree has lived generation after generation it : is a healthy tree and worthy of protecting. They would have to define steep slopes . Ithaca lists 25 percent as steep slopes . A discussion with 8 to 15 being submitted for review over 15 percent would be prohibited. If over 15 they could file for a variance. A discussion of lot coverage was held. Ithaca lists this as 10%. Ulysses is doing this as an overlay zone, in an overlay zone the lot size would remain the same . They are changing the zoning to 5 acres and the zone to deal with streams, slopes, etc . The Comprehensive Plan is dealing with this as well . The conclusion was they are looking to change the zoning vs . an overlay district . The Board would like to have 5 acre lots, and reduce the percent the lot can be developed to 3 % which would include outbuildings etc . This would allow 6,000 square feet which is a sizeable amount. The reason is to protect steep slopes, watersheds, and scenic views . The area they are concentrated on is the conservation and environmental area of the Comprehensive Plan. There is the need to work in sync with the Comprehensive Plan . The Comprehensive Plan does not establish design standards . This processl could not happen until the Comprehensive Plan has been finalized otherwise the zone would be returned with comments that this Board needs to wait until the Comp Plan has been completed . The Board understands this, but feels they have a lot of work to do and would like to pursue this process . This will be a lengthy process . Principal uses by special permit The Ithaca law allows uses that would require large parking lot area. Churches, etc . the Board chose to eliminate these . Ms . Ritter stated she thought there may be a law that allows churches, Mr. Rachun stated there are environmental concerns to eliminate allowing parking areas in this district . There are many areas in Ulysses that allow churches thus he does not believe they would have a problem if they do not allow lots with large parking areas in this district. The discussion led to the following changes : Remove-Churches, schools, fire stations, bed & breakfast okay, roadside stands supportive of farming in this area. The design standards in zoning limit this, Brownie ' s roadside stand is 250 square feet. Equestrian facilities, some of these areas are not only steep slopes,] but have UNA ' s and watersheds . Under NYS building codes they are considered Ag uses except for a riding facility. It was noted this was special permits only thus they would allow this as long as it appears in front of the Board for review . The design criteria in zoning regulate farm animals . If they establish a zone do they have to bring in the zoning regulations or do they default to the zoning. It was determined they need to import the zoning or reference the regulation as the design criteria. Additional requirements for special permits Review liked this area, however stated they may want to revisit to address specific concerns for ' steep slopes . It was noted special permits need to be approved by the Town Board . This would be the first time Planning Board would have authority to regulate special permits . Permitted accessory buildings or uses Planning Board 3 12/02/2008 Mr. Rachun noted he is experiencing difficulty with home occupations . The survey indicated the desire to have home occupations, but not create nuisance or environmental practices . There are battles among neighbors where manufacturing is occurring in an accessory building. The Town of Ulysses has many craft shops, woodworking, etc . It should not be so restrictive it only allows professional occupations ; this Town is part of the art trail , potter' s, woodworker ' s, sculptor' s, painter ' s, a renaissance type environment that is part of this Town. It also creates economic sustainability for the community. If they restricted it to not impact waste and smells of neighborhoods . Mr. Rachun stated they do have a restriction of no outdoor display. They do have zoning which designates commercial development which helps him in defining the home occupation . Working at night, traffic increases are factors in developing these criteria. Ulysses is part of the Art Trail, it is always open however they do have special events throughout that year that draw people in. The activity and the impact it has on a neighborhood is a critical factor. A consult with the attorney for specific definition would be advantageous. Wildlife Rehabilitation, Mr. Rachun stated he has not experienced difficulty with this area. There is one person that deals with this type of occupation. Would the noise, odor of this blanket the entire area-it was decided to incorporate this as a design standard for all of these areas . Day care, adult day care-concern of what the standards are Mr. Rachun stated family care is 6 children, child care group is 12 children, child care group is above 12 , these are NYS standards . The Namaste School is a group, there is also one on Pennsylvania Ave . and near Koskinen ' s garage . This would allow more parking, again there are areas in the Town that allow day care or adult home . They are trying to preserve this area thus would they not allow these uses . When they did the zoning they looked at all three and found some were suitable for some districts but not others, this has already been done . Thus they would eliminate day care and adult homes . A discussion regarding pets agreed with the Ithaca standard . Mr. Rachun was asked what the criteria for animals are . He replied the standard is 1 large animal is 50 birds, 50 rabbits, 50 geese or 50 birds . The amount of manure these animals produce was discussed . Accessory buildings and uses authorized by special approval only The current district needs to be reviewed for current uses . An example is Cayuga Nature Center, they are environmental education yet are always looking for finding. They created the Compost program which created an uproar when Wegman ' s truck started to pull in to drop off for the composting program . The neighbor ' s were upset and they have received a request to increase the composting program on Agard Road. Flexibility or thing about what the uses could be for the future and how to regulate if they rezone. If it went away they would want these criteria to be met. If they created a requirement that if there is a change it would have to be reviewed for permit. If they changed this zone they should allow this use, Cayuga Nature Center is zoned as parks and recreation. Would this cover this area if they make changes? If they maintain this area as a park then the future changes would have to come before the Board. It was noted they may not be able to specify names of areas vs . a generic type of use . If they pulled it out of parks & recreation and put it in the conservation zone they would have authority to regulate changes . The recommendation was if they make changes to their current use it would have to come before site plan review. As a new zone the park district and R1 district no longer exist . As of the point this goes into effect everything is new, the current use would be grandfathered in for the current lots, however changes have to comply with the new regulations . It was noted by Mr. Rachun that our zoning does not grandfather use thus this would have to be added . Grandfathering pertains to the most recent use, i . e. Cayuga Nature Center used to be the Cayuga Preventorium, and they could not go back to the use before it was the nature center. Planning Board 4 12/02/2008 Height limitations was addressed, the Town of Ithaca uses 38 feet . This is the same throughout the entire Town. Mr. Ritter stated this has seemed adequate for their Town. It was asked what the biggest objection when they proposed their conservation plan. They were lucky in that they had huge property owners along Route 89, the Six Mile Creek area was very controversial due to the desire to split lots in the future . They had people who were supportive of this as well as those against. Mr. Rachun stated he knows people who have bought property to preserve this area, but the_ re will be people, who Are against this zone . Mr. Kernessl asked if the lot sizes and areas should be reviewed. He noted that driveways, garages etc should be incorporated into the lot building area. This does not include clearing vegetation. Ms . Ritter noted she had found a conservation zone for Exeter, Pennsylvania that could be used as alreference . They had steep slope referencing, clear cutting and similar items to what this Board is looking at . Ms . Schneider stated she needed to leave but would like to have input. She stated she could compile her notes and suggestions to incorporate this conversation at the next meeting. Mr. Zeserson stated the next meeting would be 12/ 16/08 at 7 : 00 pm . They do not have anything onithe agenda as of this point in time. Ms . Carlisle Peck stated the minutes of 11 / 18/08 needed to be approved. Mr. Zeserson made the MOTION, Mr. Means SECONDED the MOTION to approve the minutes of 12/ 16/08 . The meeting was adjourned at 8 : 35 pm . f, Respectfully submitted, Robin Carlisle Peck Secretary