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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-06-28 PAB Final Minutes 1 PLANNING ADVISORY BOARD 2 Wednesday, June 28, 2017 3 SCOTT HEYMAN CONFERENCE ROOM 4 125 East Court Street 5 6 FINAL MEETING MINUTES 7 Members Attending: 8 Name Representation Rob Steuteville E Built Environment Design Andy Zepp P Land Pres/Public Land Mgmt Vacant N/A Natural Environment Vacant N/A Education Dooley Kiefer P Associate Member Others Present Katie Borgella P Deputy Commissioner Scott Doyle P Associate Planner Joan Jurkowich P Planning Administrator Ed Marx P Commissioner Megan McDonald P Associate Planner Kristin McCarthy P Administrative Assistant 10 Guests: None 11 12 A quorum was present but not until further along in the meeting as a few members arrived late due to 13 scheduling conflicts. 14 15 Call to Order – Dave Herrick chaired the meeting in David Kay’s absence. The meeting started at 9:04 am. 16 17 Agenda Review/Changes & Approval of Minutes (April 26, 2017) 18 19 Ed Marx did not introduce the new Energy seat representative, Susan Mann, who was unable to attend. 20 Approval of the April minutes took place but was postponed until later in the meeting because the group did 21 not have quorum yet. 22 23 ACTION: Fernando moved, and Andy Zepp seconded, the approval of the April minutes. The minutes were 24 approved. Martha Robertson, Dave Herrick, and Gay Nicholson abstained because they did not attend the 25 April meeting. 26 27 Discussion and Recommendations: Potential Capital Reserve Fund and Natural Infrastructure Capital 28 Projects – Scott Doyle 29 30 Scott Doyle updated the members on two potential Natural Infrastructure capital projects, the Six Mile Creek 31 – Lounsbery Tract and Etna Swamp – Brotherton Farm, as well as a Capital Reserve Fund project, the 32 Emerald Necklace/Charles Spencer Preserve – Ott Tract: 33 • Scott and Ed Marx, on behalf of the Planning and Sustainability Department, will be going before 34 the Legislature to request funding for these projects and sought recommendations from the PAB on 35 behalf of their approval. 36 Name Representation Martha Armstrong P Economic Development Joe Bowes E Housing Sue Cosentini E Business Fernando de Aragón P Transportation Dave Herrick P Facilities/Infrastructure Rod Howe P Historical/Cultural Resources David Kay E Local Planning (urban) Darby Kiley E Local Planning (non-urban) Susan Mann E Energy Gay Nicholson P At-Large Martha Robertson P Planning Committee Monika Roth P Agriculture Leslie Schill P Education Kathy Schlather P Human Services • Funds for the Lounsbery Tract and Brotherton Farm projects would be used to acquire perpetual 37 conservation easements, held by the Finger Lakes Land Trust, on the properties to reduce flooding 38 impact and improve water quality. The Department seeks funding for the Ott Tract project to support 39 the acquisition and development of an easement on the property, which would secure part of a 40 potential habitat connection between two Natural Features Focus Areas. 41 42 More details on the projects can be found in the June 28th agenda packet. 43 44 ACTION: Kathy Schlather moved, seconded by Martha Armstrong, to recommend that $25,000 from the 45 Tompkins County Capital Reserve Fund for Natural, Scenic, and Recreational Resource Protection be 46 appropriated to help fund the Emerald Necklace/Charles Spencer Preserve: Ott Tract Protection Project. 47 Andy Zepp and Monika Roth abstained from voting. The motion passed. 48 49 ACTION: Gay Nicholson moved, and Fernando de Aragón seconded, to recommend that $15,000 in 50 funding from the Tompkins County’s Natural Infrastructure Project be used to support the acquisition of a 51 perpetual conservation easement on the Lounsbery Tract in the Town of Caroline. 52 Andy Zepp abstained. The motion was approved. 53 54 ACTION: Martha Robertson moved, and Rod Howe seconded, to recommend that $20,000 in matching 55 funds from the Tompkins County Natural Infrastructure Project be granted to support the Etna Swamp – 56 Brotherton Farm Protection Project. Andy Zepp abstained. The motion passed. 57 58 Presentation: Tompkins County Housing Strategy – Megan McDonald 59 60 Megan McDonald returned to speak with PAB members on the latest iteration of the Tompkins County 61 Housing Strategy and to get their input before submitting the strategy for review by the Planning, 62 Development, and Environmental Quality Committee and ultimately for endorsement by the County 63 Legislature: 64 • The County received a considerable amount of feedback, generally favorable, during the public 65 comment period. Community members are glad to see momentum on this issue but are now hungry 66 for tangible results. Megan pointed out that while this strategy focuses on housing, its 67 implementation should also align with other goals of the 2015 County Comprehensive Plan. 68 • The County’s priorities lie with assisting populations most vulnerable to the housing crisis here and 69 with focusing efforts on areas not being addressed naturally by the market. 70 • There is a need to centralize access to housing-related information in the County and to encourage 71 collaboration among interested community groups and members. One idea is the creation of a web-72 based Virtual Housing Office. 73 • In terms of the existing housing stock, code enforcement, fair housing, housing rehabilitation, and 74 regulation of the short-term rental market are all factors requiring consideration. As new student 75 housing is built, more workforce housing might become available. 76 • Kathy suggested that a sentence or two be inserted regarding single-room occupancy units, as not all 77 low-income individuals require supportive housing. 78 • Dave H. asked if responsibility for monitoring will fall exclusively on the shoulders of the Planning 79 and Sustainability Department. Ed replied yes, partially, but that the County Office for the Aging and 80 other partners will need to help as well. 81 ‘ 82 Update: Renewables Regulations Report – Joan Jurkowich 83 84 Joan Jurkowich “cycled back” to update the board on the report prepared by the Department of Planning and 85 Sustainability to assist local municipalities in encouraging the development of renewable energies in their 86 communities. She had previously met with the board at the start of the public outreach phase and had 87 received helpful feedback from the members: 88 • One major change to the report since Joan’s last appearance was the County’s recommendations for 89 addressing noise from wind turbines. It was one of the biggest concerns voiced by both municipal 90 officials and community members alike. The latest version of the report includes recommendations 91 as well as background information to elucidate how the authors came to those conclusions. 92 • The report contains a 4-page summary of recommendations for the municipalities to have on hand 93 while reviewing ordinances. The summary also gives a sense of what the County suggests for best 94 practices to promote renewable energies. 95 96 Here are a few highlights from the discussion that followed Joan’s update: 97 • Andy suggested adding more nuance to the language used for describing federal wetlands, as they 98 vary in quality and desirability. 99 • Joan pointed out that municipalities should take the proactive step of identifying distinctive 100 viewsheds in their communities ahead of time to avoid the issue arising once projects are underway. 101 • Leslie Schill said that during discussions on this topic she’s noticed a fair amount of confusion over 102 how to interpret a viewshed and asked if there are any means to clarify that definition. Joan said the 103 County is cognizant of the issue and next steps may be to use the Visual Impact Assessment 104 recommended by the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation. 105 • Dooley Kiefer reported the Environmental Management Council is drafting recommendations for 106 limiting excessive blue light in outdoor and indoor lighting systems. Many of the recommendations 107 are geared toward municipalities and thus could be appropriate for inclusion in the report. 108 • Ed relayed that while in the midst of working on this report, the Planning and Sustainability 109 Department received a referral from the Department of State asking for comments on a model for 110 siting solar systems created by the Central New York Regional Planning and Development Board. In 111 particular, they wanted an opinion on the farmland aspects of it. That model excluded all prime and 112 soils of state-wide significance and many other features, more or less making it impossible to site a 113 solar array. The County told the state they found the model too restrictive and submitted our 114 recommendations for their consideration. 115 116 Commissioner’s Report – Ed Marx 117 118 • Ed, Katie Borgella, Martha Robertson, and others continue their discussions with the Public Service 119 Commission (PSC) on alternatives to the West Dryden pipeline. Now that the PSC has finally had 120 members appointed, he is hopeful that there will be a decision in the forthcoming weeks or months. 121 • The Planning and Sustainability Department is revisiting the Biggs property, 26 acres of which are 122 still owned by the County. (The site was slated for a housing project, but wetlands were found there 123 and the developers pulled out.) 124 • There will be a public meeting in mid-July with the neighbors to discuss other possible ideas for the 125 property but with no specific proposal. One idea is to transfer development rights from that site to a 126 neighboring property, as there are two adjacent property owners interested in developing their land. 127 • Other options being considered for the Biggs property include smaller-scale developments or solar 128 projects. They have already met with the Town of Ithaca to get their input and have had meetings 129 with developers who would be very interested in working with some of these sites if an introduction 130 with the landowners can be made. 131 • Tompkins County and the Town of Ithaca were designated Certified Climate Smart Communities by 132 New York State. 133 134 Member Announcements – None 135 136 Adjournment – Dave Herrick adjourned the meeting at 10:33 am. 137 138 These draft minutes will be formally considered by the Planning Advisory Board at its next monthly meeting, 139 and corrections or notations will be incorporated at that time. Prepared by Kristin McCarthy, Tompkins 140 County Planning and Sustainability Department. Approved by PAB: July 26, 2017. 141 142