Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-10-25 PAB FinalMinutes1 PLANNING ADVISORY BOARD Wednesday, October 25, 2017 OLD JAIL CONFERENCE ROOM 125 E. Court Street, Ithaca NY 14850 FINAL MEETING MINUTES Members Attending: Guests: None Call to Order: Chair David Kay called the meeting to order at 9:07 am. Agenda Review/Changes: There were no changes to the agenda. Draft Minutes Approval: The draft minutes from the September meeting were not approved until later in the meeting because there was no quorum initially. Presentation/Discussion: Addressing the Growth of Short-term Rentals (STRs) in Tompkins County – Tom Knipe Tom Knipe spoke to the group about the growth of short-term rentals (e.g. Airbnb) in Tompkins County and the potential implications for our community. The slide deck from his presentation is attached to these minutes for further reference. The topic yielded a good discussion among the group members. Here are a few highlights from Tom’s talk and members’ questions and comments: • Martha Robertson brought up the importance of striking a balance between the needs of the larger community given our shortage of affordable housing and individuals wanting to rent their properties with services like Airbnb, often times to help meet their financial needs. Gay Nicholson said it would be good to find out what percentage of these properties are owned by absentee landlords versus community members. • Tom stressed that there are legitimate safety concerns with informal short-term rentals as they are typically not subject to the same stringent code requirements or inspections that hotels and formal bed-and-breakfasts have to meet to stay in operation. • Cayuga Heights is looking to limit short-term rentals to no more than 14 days per year. The Town of Ithaca is also working on the issue. Name  Representation Name  Representation Martha Armstrong P Econ. Development Monika Roth E Agriculture Joe Bowes P Housing Leslie Schill P Education Sue Cosentini P Business Kathy Schlather P Human Services Fernando de Aragon P Transportation Rob Steuteville E Built Environment Design David Herrick P Facilities/Infrastructure Andy Zepp E Land Pres/Public Land Mgmt Rod Howe A Historical/Cultural Resources Dooley Kiefer a Associate Member David Kay P Local Planning (urban) Others Present Darby Kiley P Local Planning (non-urban) Katie Borgella P Interim Commissioner Susan Mann P Energy Tom Knipe P Principal Planner/Director of Co. Tourism Program Gay Nicholson p At-Large Megan McDonald P Associate Planner Martha Robertson P Planning Committee Kristin McCarthy P Administrative Assistant 2 • A whole cottage industry has grown up around helping municipalities deal with this situation. One company, Host Compliance, uses Silicon Valley technology to sleuth out data on short-term rentals in a community. It then offers a suite of services to support communities with information about the nature of STR activity and compliance. • Gay asked if there have been any public meetings on short-term rentals in the County. Tom responded that there was a public hearing when the County changed the definition of a “hotel” in the room tax law to incorporate STRs, which many Airbnb owners attended and expressed their desire to be in compliance with the law. • Martha R. asked if the Planning and Sustainability Department could provide the County Legislature with policy recommendations on this issue. • Susan Mann suggested that Tom check the accuracy of the basis for the occupancy data obtained by the private company “AirDNA” cited in his talk. Specifically, is the occupancy rate based on the entire calendar year or solely on when the property is available for rent? She also pointed out that Airbnb now offers the option to sell tourism packages on their site. It could be a source of income for the County and Convention and Visitors Bureau. Community Housing Development Fund (CHDF) – Megan McDonald • Megan McDonald updated the group on happenings with the CHDF. In the past, the program had more funds than projects. Now, the reverse is true and there are more projects than existing funds can fully support. The CHDF, which Cornell, City of Ithaca, and Tompkins County contribute to, was originally designed to allow other partners to join, such as other municipal governments and employers, but no additional entities have joined. Another related issue is that large-scale affordable housing projects depend on CHDF awards to leverage other funding, particularly low income housing tax credits. Typically, projects using low income housing tax credits produce the largest numbers of units in the CHDF. However, there are concerns that proposed federal tax cuts could take away some of the financial incentives for those projects to move forward. • Conversations with the New York State Office of Homes and Community Renewal suggest that the State Government is recognizing Tompkins and Saratoga Counties as areas particularly in need of affordable housing. • Martha R. said that the Legislature’s Expanded Budget Committee had tentatively agreed to fund the Planning and Sustainability Department’s requested Housing Planner position in the 2018 budget. She has also proposed a Housing Capital Reserve Fund of roughly $3 million to address the problem, and will be working on fleshing that out in the near future. She said the Legislature has expressed interest in that idea but is nervous about the amount of money suggested. They need input from stakeholders, and she hopes the group can bring more ideas to the table at the next meeting. • Martha A. learned in a discussion with a regional realtor group that seven or eight large employers in the Rochester area are looking into constructing workforce housing developments for their employees. She thought the County could possibly approach some of our area’s principal employers (Cornell, Ithaca College, BorgWarner) about pursuing similar arrangements. Leslie Schill said Cornell is already taking another look at workforce housing. • David K. said the topic will be revisited at the November 29th meeting, and asked Leslie if she would update the board on the housing situation at Cornell at that time as well. 3 Approval of the September Minutes Action: Martha Armstrong moved the approval of the September 27th minutes. Martha Robertson seconded. The motion was passed unanimously by the members present. Fall 2017 Membership Drive/Nominating Committee • Katie relayed that Monika Roth offered to serve on the Nominating Committee. David asked folks to contact him if they are interested in serving. Otherwise as chair, he will ask two more people. The board will appoint the Nominating Committee members at the November 29th meeting. • Vacancies on the board include a second Education seat, a Natural Environment seat, and an At- Large seat. Katie encouraged members to pass along any personal recommendations for candidates. The County will also be putting out a press release and working with Human Resources to ensure the announcement makes it to a diverse pool of possible candidates. Interim Commissioner’s Report • The Legislature tentatively approved the Department’s membership in the Southern Tier East Regional Planning Council for three years. • Ed Marx received the Planner Emeritus Award from the New York Upstate Chapter of the American Planning Association in Syracuse. • The Energy Task Force recently approved the first chapter (solar energy) of their update to the 2030 Energy Strategy. Next up is a chapter on thermal energy. • The County is purchasing energy management software and consulting services to tackle ongoing difficulties with tracking energy billing at its facilities. • Darby Kiley asked Katie if the County had been approved for a Clean Energy Community grant. Katie said yes, but it is unclear right now what changes to the proposal may be required. Announcements David K. asked if there was any news yet on Ed Marx’s replacement, which there was not. He added that in reviewing the County Charter, he discovered the PAB is supposed to be consulted in the process of selecting a new commissioner of Planning and Sustainability. Martha R. said she would look into it. Adjournment: Chair David Kay declared the meeting adjourned at 10:00 am.