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Home My WebLink About2016-03-23 PAB Minutes Final1 PLANNING ADVISORY BOARD 2 Wednesday, March 23, 2016 3 SCOTT HEYMAN CONFERENCE ROOM 4 125 East Court Street 5 6 MEETING MINUTES 7 Members Attending: 8 Name Representation Gay Nicholson P At-Large Martha Robertson P Planning Committee Monika Roth P Agriculture Kathy Schlather P Human Services Rob Steuteville A Built Environment Design Andy Zepp P Land Pres/Public Land Mgmt Dooley Kiefer P Associate Member Others Present Ed Marx P Commissioner of Planning Katie Borgella P Deputy Commissioner Jennifer Turner P Administrative Assistant 10 11 Call to Order & Changes to the Agenda – Andy Zepp called the meeting to order at approximately 9:03 12 AM. “Election of Officers” was added to the agenda. 13 14 Introductions – Darby Kiley was introduced as the recently appointed Planning Advisory Board member 15 representing Local Planning (non-urban). 16 17 Election of Officers – David Herrick announced the recommended slate: David Kay as Chair, and Andy 18 Zepp as Vice-Chair of the Planning Advisory Board. Fernando DeAragon moved the recommended slate, 19 seconded by Kathy Schlather, and approved unanimously by all members. 20 21 Approval of Minutes from January 27 – Dave Herrick made the motion to approve the minutes from 22 December 2, 2015 with corrections, seconded by Monika Roth. Members Carol Chock, and Dick Coogan 23 will be removed from the January meeting minutes, and Martha Robertson will be added to the members list. 24 Natural Features Focus Areas connectivity assessment will be included under Natural Resources. The 25 minutes were approved by unanimous vote. Final minutes will be available on the Planning Department 26 website: www.tompkins-co.org/planning/ under advisory boards. 27 28 Agricultural District 2 Update – Debbie Teeter reported on the 8 year review process of the agricultural 29 district 2 review that focuses on the west side of Tompkins County. She went on to report that because no 30 recommendations were made by the towns in the district, and because the Farmland Protection Board’s 31 review of information confirmed 50% or more of the land under review is agriculturally viable, a 32 recommendation was made for district 2 to move forward with no changes. Members of the board discussed 33 agricultural assessments. Andy Zepp made the motion to move the Agricultural District Review 34 recommendation, seconded by Rod Howe, and approved by unanimous vote. A brief summary of the review 35 process will be made available to the members of the Planning Advisory Board. 36 37 Energy Roadmap Recommendation – Ed Marx reported on the completion of the Energy Roadmap, noting 38 the work of Katie Borgella, and members of the Steering Committee. He went on to outline the following 39 recommendations: 40 Name Representation Martha Armstrong E Economic Development Todd Bittner P Natural Environment Joe Bowes P Housing Darby Kiley P Local Planning (non-urban) Sue Cosentini E Business Fernando de Aragón P Transportation John Gutenberger P Education Dave Herrick P Facilities/Infrastructure Ruth Hopkins P At-Large Rod Howe P Historical/Cultural Resources David Kay P Local Planning (urban) 41 •35% energy reduction in existing buildings through efficiency improvements 42 •70% energy reductions in new buildings (eventually to net-zero between 2030-2050)43 •Vehicle miles driven to remain at 2008 levels44 •50% reductions in natural gas from the 2008 levels45 •24% reduction in electricity use from the grid to be replaced with locally generated renewable energy46 •Targets of 50% development of solar potential and 20% of wind and micro-hydro47 •Develop 50% of the total calculated biomass potentials with a sustained management approach48 •50% transition from light-duty gas and diesel vehicles to electric vehicles by 205049 •Develop interim GHG emissions goals in the Energy Strategy update scheduled for 2016.50 51 Members discussed municipal involvement, and the planned outreach that will include education on 52 transitioning to renewable energy, and the challenges with transportation as it relates to rural development. 53 The housing strategy was discussed as a key component in quantifying the housing needs in the County. A 54 resolution to accept the Energy Roadmap will be presented to the Legislature in April. 55 56 Comprehensive Plan Measures – Joan Jurkowich opened her discussion with an interim update on a 57 previous presentation on Comprehensive Plan measures, noting the Board’s interest in employment diversity 58 and how it relates to similar geographic areas. She went on to report on her research using Census data on 59 student population, geographic size, and overall populations to identify counties that are similar to Tompkins 60 County. She found that there were 14 counties in the US that were within 50% +/- of Tompkins for those 3 61 categories. She said that Tompkins County has 46% of its jobs in the “education, health care, and social 62 assistance” sectors, and all of the other similar 14 counties had lower percentages, indicating more diversity 63 in jobs than is found here. Members suggested including the total employment for non-higher education 64 versus higher education employment, as well as the ratio. 65 66 Commissioner’s Report – Ed Marx announced Jennifer Turner’s resignation from the Planning Department 67 and thanked her for her service to the Planning Advisory Board. Members added their thanks and wished her 68 well in her future career. Microgrid Feasibility - Ed reported that the final presentation was made by the 69 consultants for the microgrid feasibility study for the area around the airport, and that a cost benefit analysis 70 is pending. He said there is now potential to move into stage 2 of NY Prize, which would involve a more 71 detailed feasibility and design analysis. The stage 2 funding announcement is expected in April, with 72 applications due in June. The grants are upwards of $1 million, and will require a 15% local match. The 73 micro-grid is being designed to provide 85% the total energy needs for all of the users in the area through the 74 combination of local generation that would include PV, CHP, and an anaerobic digester based on food and 75 agricultural waste. A final report will be available in April. DOT Relocation – It was reported that the DOT 76 relocation study is complete and that recommendations include redevelopment that will include residential 77 and commercial uses. The potential value is around $40 million with the relocation costs approximately $14 78 million. 79 80 Announcements – Gay Nicholson announced a series on Tompkins County’s Housing Issues, taking place 81 at the Earth Day celebration on April 21, at The Space at Greenstar. Fernando DeAragon announced that the 82 Electric Vehicle Infrastructure planning grant is underway and that Energetics has been hired as the 83 consultant on the project. Dooley Kiefer noted the Ithaca Journal’s article on Governor Cuomo’s approach at 84 keeping nuclear plants open in New York State. 85 86 Adjournment – The meeting was adjourned at approximately 10:20 AM. 87 88 Respectfully submitted, 89 90 Jennifer Turner, Administrative Assistant 91 Tompkins County Planning Department 92