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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-03-23- AG COMMITTEE FARMER MTG-Approved AG COMMITTEE MEETING Farmer Information Meeting on Draft Zoning Update Town of Ulysses March 23, 2017 Audio of the minutes are available on the website at ulysses.ny.us. The meeting was held at the Ulysses Town Hall at 10 Elm Street, Trumansburg. ATTENDANCE: TOWN OFFICIALS PRESENT: Town Supervisor- Liz Thomas Deputy Supervisor/Town Board member- Nancy Zahler Town Board member - Michael Boggs Town Clerk- Carissa Parlato Planner - Darby Kiley Ag Committee members- Chaw Chang (Chair), Krys Cail, Mark Ochs, Greg Reynolds, John Gates, Lucy Garrison Zoning Update Steering Committee (ZUSC) consultants- CJ Randall and David West Planning Board members- David Blake, Sara Worden, John Wertis, Ben LeWalter Board of Zoning Appeals members- Cheryl Thompson, David Means, Bob Howarth OTHERS PRESENT: Deva Maas, Eric Schatt, Helen McLallen, David McLallen, Dan Clement, Bruce Austic, Brent Welch, Jim Brown, Thors Oechner, Reuben Granskog, John Hopple, Marie Roenke, David Kay, Mike Roenke, Phil Switzer, Ted R., Tatiana Stanton WELCOME/OPENING REMARKS: Ms. Zahler welcomed everyone to the meeting and introduced Ag Committee members and other town officials in attendance as well as consultants Randall and West. She invited community members to introduce themselves. She went on to explain the process and timeline of the zoning update, explaining that all town committees will look over the draft and provide feedback by May 4. The Town Board will have the final say but will hold a public hearing before passing it into law. She further noted that t his update is one more step in implementing the Town’s 2009 Comprehensive Plan. CONSULTANT PRESENTATION: Mr. West and Ms. Randall introduced themselves and shared a Powerpoint presentation on the update, highlight ing the Comprehensive P lan and the Agriculture and Farmland Protection Plan (AFPP). They stated that the project goal is to protect agriculture and agriculture business in our area. Mr. West went over the proposed zoning changes and noted that no allowable uses have been taken away and many have been added. Proposed changes include: • changing the name of the district to A1-Rural/Agricultural Zone to include rural and avoid confusion with the state-designated ag district 2 • streamlining the site plan approval process developed by Ag & Markets and changing some uses from special permit to sit e plan review • allow ing 1 acre minimum lots to be sold rather than 2 • increasing the maximum lot coverage allowed • the number of residential buildings on a lot remains at 2 • decreasing street frontage and depth requirements • creating a maximum footprint for residential and ag building s- to preserve character • limit ing the number of lots that can be developed QUESTIONS FOR CONSULTANTS & STEERING COMMITTEE ON POWERPOINT PRESENTATION: Ms. Zahler invited questions and drew attention to the contact sheets that were distributed in case questions come up after the meeting. Mr. Howarth said that he likes many aspects of the proposal but wondered why the town would want to make it easier to build CAFOs (concentrated animal feeding operations). He also expressed concern that it may be difficult to set up septic on 1 acre lot s. Ms. Randall responded that CAFOs currently require a special permit. The draft proposes that it be changed to site plan review due to Ag & Markets guidelines. Mr. Chang added that this change is also suggested in the AFPP. Mr. West noted that you can safely do a well and septic on one acre, subject to Health Department approval. Mr. Wertis said that the lot sub-division proposal seems like it reduces the development value of the property. He also asked for clarification on farm distiller ies/breweries. Ms. Randall responded. An unidentified person suggested that solar farms are not best use of ag land, and wondered if school roofs and parking lots could be used for this purpose instead. Mr. West responded to a question regarding ag commerce (selling a farm-produced product) by saying that is does not require site plan review if in an existing building. He also responded to a question regarding temporary/seasonal structures, such as a veg stand, by answering that it is a permitted use, even if it is a permanent structure. PRESENTATION BY MR. CHANG: Mr. Chang presented a Powerpoint presentation. He expressed concern about the lack of input from the ag community in creating the current draft and questioned whether preserving rural character conflicts with protecting agriculture. He highlighted several changes proposed with the new plan, including: • Definitions • Permitted Uses • Lot area and yard requirements • Subdivision restrictions 3 He discussed the new proposal for Ag Commerce and recommended that the definition not be changed but rather that it be permitt ed under site plan review instead than special permit. He suggested that the definition of Animal Waste Storage Facilities be changed. He shared recommendations from NYS Ag & Markets office regarding site plan review. He noted that NYS Ag & Markets and Ag Committee agree with the suggested Lot Area and Yard Requirements but that NYS Ag & Markets disagrees with the Maximum Foot Print limitation on ag buildings- any limitations are likely to be considered unreasonable. He went on to discuss development limitations and farmland loss patterns and believes that new land use studies should be done before completing the update, as the last was done in 2008. He stated that with the restrictions proposed, farmers and rural landowners will have to make sacrifices, including loss of potential grant funding through the State’s Purchase of Development Rights and Lease of Development Rights programs (PDRs and LDRs), and reduced land value. In summary, Mr. Chang encouraged more study of the AFPP during the process. QUESTIONS/CLARIFICATIONS: Ms. Cail asked how many of the new homes built annually are built on farmland? Mr. Chang responded by saying that a land use study would help answer this question. Mr. Chang shared that Scott Doyle, Tompkins County Planning and Fred Hudson from Farm Credit East advised that PDRs/LDRs would not be possible with the proposed changes. Mr. West shared a map showing the number of new homes before and after 1970. Mr. Howarth said that in his experience, PDRs/LDRs did not seem viable in our area anyway. Ms. Cail said that it depends upon the property location and other factors. FEEDBACK FROM FARMERS AND AG LAND OWNERS: Mr. Reynolds stated that they should get a statement from the Health Department on whether it is okay to have septic systems on 1 acre lots. Mr. LeWalter feels that 160 ft of road frontage is a little too close to neighbors. Mr. Austic noted that accessibility is an issue when residential lots are created around farm lots. It is preferable to have smaller lots on poor agriculture areas. Ms. Cail stated that it will be a site plan review issue. Ms. Zahler asked for clarification on manure piling standards. Ms. Randall said that it depends on size/volume of pile. An unidentified person stated that there should be some education for people who move into this area. Mr. Reynolds suggested that Right to Farm signs could assist with this. Mr. Austic stated that overall the proposed plan seems restrictive. Ms. Cail stated that the more rules there are, the more enforcement is needed by town staff. Ms. Zahler asked to hear other ideas about how farmland can be protected. 4 Mr. Cha ng stated that he doesn’t think restricting subdivisions will help with farmland loss- site plan review is a better way to control loss. Ms. Cail noted that there are other tools that can be considered for this. The group discussed the update process moving forward. Mr. West suggested that people refer to the AFPP as they make suggestions to the proposal. An u nidentified person asked what the implications are for changing the R1 zoning. Ms. Randall noted that changes were made due to concerns from the Ag Committee and the location of water lines. Ms. Thompson commented that development should be encouraged on poorer lands. Ms. Garrison drew attention to the minutes posted on the website if people would like to learn more about prior discussions on the draft . Ms. Zahler shared the next few meeting dates and times. ADJOURN: The meeting was adjourned at 9:01pm. Respectfully submitted by Carissa Parlato on 4/4/17.