HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-12-17 Town of Ulysses Agriculture CommitteeTown of Ulysses Agriculture Committee – Dec. 14, 2017
Present: Chaw Chang, Krys Cail, John Wertis, Mark Ochs, Greg Reynolds, Nancy Zahler, John Gates,
Monika Roth (notetaker)
Meeting called to order at 7:20 PM
1- Memo re: farm housing/non-ag buildings on lots exceeding the max lot size – Chaw will correct the
memo to reflect information obtained since the public meeting that 4-acre lot size is applicable only
to new lots, not existing lots.
Motion to accept the memo with corrections to be made, by Krys, second by Greg, all in favor to accept
the memo with revisions.
2- Memo on Subdivision Analysis: question about multiple lot subdivision – how frequent are
these? It has been found that these type of subdivisions are in fact rare. Analysis grossly
inflates the number of homes built based on permits approved, homes are not built at the same
rate as permitted. In fact, many of the homes built are not built on farmland…in 2016 only one
on open land vs 6 on non-ag land (woods). Methods of farmland preservation being proposed
are not being supported by data. Planning Board notes shared by John Wertis reflect data he
has obtained that showed that there are really only 4-5 housing starts in the Town instead of 10
housing starts indicated in the report.
Motion by Krys, second by Mark to accept memo, all in favor.
3- Memo on Site Plan Review for Farmland Preservation: suggested additions/revisions:
a) recommended this be added – (on second page under Ag & Farmland protection plan after
large lots….) 7 acre lots or more (based on ag assessment) with further analysis warrants
another more relevant trigger.
b) Statement by West: Development value vs Farmland value not much different in Ulysses –
no substantial data gathered by West to back this up. Chaw’s sister-in-law gathered real
estate sales data from lots w/o homes for different sized parcels, which show this is not
true…there is a distinct difference in value for smaller and larger parcels. It would be most
helpful if real data was gathered to show the differences in ag vs development. Committee
recommends using: Imagemate including parcel number and zone to gather more accurate
sales data (in Excel spreadsheet) to be used for the purpose of comparing/calculating the
difference between farm value and development value.
4- CAFO memo from Mark Ochs – Everyone felt this memo was succinct and ready to share.
Motion to accept memo made by Krys, second by Chaw, all in favor.
5 - Memo on Maximum lot sizes: perhaps this should be combined with the other memo…#1 above.
Recommendation forces subdivision…which makes a portion of a parcel that may not be useable, if
less than 4 acres. “Clunky legal stuff to solve a problem that does not exist”.
Chaw asked this be tabled…but will review and revise, perhaps combine with #1 or other memos.
Suggestion made: make memos a bit more succinct, shorter so they will actually be read.
Goal is to get memos out to: 1) Planning Board meeting, Tuesday. 2)Also send memos to Zoning
ctte by Jan. 4 mtg (agenda not set), 3) regular Town Board mtg Jan. 9
Next ag committee meeting: TBD
Adjourn 9:30 – Motion Mark, second John.