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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019.07.09 PAB Final Minutes1 PLANNING ADVISORY BOARD Tuesday, July 9, 2019 Beverly Livesay Conference Room, Human Services Building 320 W. State/MLK Jr. St, Ithaca, NY 14850 FINAL MEETING MINUTES Members Attending: Guests: None Call to Order: Chair David Herrick convened the meeting at 4:04pm. Agenda Review/Changes: None Approval of Draft Minutes for May 14, 2019: The draft May minutes were approved, with one minor editorial change, by the majority of the members present. David Herrick and Marcus Riehl abstained. Presentation: Business Energy Advisors Program – Andrea Aguirre Andrea spoke regarding the Business Energy Advisors (BEA) program, which offers up to $3,000 in free energy consulting services to businesses, nonprofits, and government entities. Eligible projects include new construction, major renovations, or expansion projects and must be based in Tompkins County. She also gave a quick overview of the BEA Lansing program, which will provide outreach and technical assistance to existing commercial and industrial facilities 10,000 square feet or larger in the Lansing, NY natural gas moratorium area and is intended to help business owners and facility managers understand and evaluate energy efficiency and renewable energy options, including clean heating and cooling systems. Discussion: Tompkins County Energy Strategy – Katie Borgella Katie gave an overview of the long-term process that has gone into developing a new County Energy Strategy, focusing on the recent decision to “start from scratch” to a large degree after negative feedback from the County’s Energy Task Force on the initial approach. Whereas the initial draft strategy took a methodical, incremental approach to meet the goals laid out in the County Energy Roadmap, the new version is “rapid and far-reaching” in scope and takes a much more ambitious path in light of the IPCC report and scientific findings highlighting the urgent need to address climate change quickly. Here are highlights from the Q&A: • Create cross-cutting strategies with housing/transportation/energy efficiency. Develop zoning that encourages smart buildings and connect it to the Housing Fund.  Representation Name  Representation Martha Armstrong P Economic Development Monika Roth E Agriculture Joe Bowes E Housing Leslie Schill P Education #2 Tim Carey P Education #1 Kathy Schlather P Human Services John Czamanske E At-Large Andy Zepp E Land Preservation/Public Land Mgmt. Fernando de Aragón P Transportation Deborah Dawson P Associate Member Yamila Fournier P Built Environment Dooley Kiefer Associate Member David Herrick P Facilities/Infrastructure Others Present Rod Howe E Historical/Cultural Resources Andrea Aguirre P Energy Specialist David Kay P Local Planning (urban) Katie Borgella P Commissioner Anna Kelles P HED/PEEQ Scott Doyle P Associate Planner G. Lincoln Morse P Business Joan Jurkowich P Planning Administrator Gay Nicholson E At-Large Kristin McCarthy P Administrative Assistant C.J. Randall P Local Planning (non-urban) Megan McDonald P Deputy Commissioner Marcus Riehl P Natural Environment 2 • Dedicate resources to public outreach and education campaigns and build on partnerships with Cornell Cooperative Extension and other stakeholders to combat miseducation in community. • Look for synergies between “ivory tower” knowledge and “farmhouse kitchen table” wisdom and leverage them to build common ground and develop initiatives that are palatable to multiple stakeholders. • Identify County programs with high success rates and find ways to build off those models. One example is the workshops offered to municipalities on parks and trails funding and affordable housing grants, which have been met favorably by their intended audiences. • Develop strategies and policies for climate adaptation, mitigation and resiliency that tackle pressing environmental issues like harmful algal blooms in a coordinated fashion. Design and plan strategies with future climate scenarios in mind. • Nurture and develop relationships already established between County and community, such as Scott Doyle’s work with PDR projects. Create new ones. • Include action items from first draft, which were generated by focus groups, in appendix. • Bring back the Circuit Rider program. (Joan Jurkowich will focus on this idea in second half of 2019.) Report: Update on Incremental Development Alliance/Small Scale Development – Megan McDonald Incremental Development Alliance (IDA) representatives have visited the area twice so far, most recently in June when roughly 50 people, including elected officials, municipal representatives, planners, existing developers, and potential developers, attended a seminar on small scale development. IDA will also be working with two nonprofits and eight emerging or existing developers as part of a mentorship program and will continue conversations with municipalities. Another IDA event in late September will be geared toward planning boards and staff and focus on urban design as well as the regulatory process (e.g. zoning). Report: Update on Public Outreach for Comprehensive Plan Five-year Review – Joan Jurkowich The department held an outreach meeting at the County Library. Approximately 10-12 members of the public were in attendance. Joan also brought the draft review to the Environmental Management Council and Water Resources Council for comments. Latest revision should be ready for review at the August PAB meeting. Discussion: A New Direction for the County’s Conservation and Preservation Funds – Joan Jurkowich Joan reported on the department’s efforts to evaluate the efficacy of County-run land protection funds; the major takeaway from this exercise is a recommendation to consolidate the Capital Reserve Fund for Natural, Scenic, and Recreational Resource Protection; the Stream Corridor Restoration and Flood Hazard Mitigation Program; and the Natural Infrastructure Capital Program into a single land acquisition program to eliminate redundancies among the programs. Aquifer studies, watershed assessments, and road ditch projects would not be included. Also, the Stream Corridor program would continue to be funded as is in 2020 to allow for a transition period. Staff plan to collaborate with the Finger Lakes Land Trust, local governments, and other partner organizations to develop an outreach strategy to engage entities (other than Tompkins County) that may be willing and able to hold conservation easements or titles to the properties. This approach proposes the County would pay one-third of the assessed value of the acquired land, up to a maximum of $200,000 per project. PAB members recommended reaching out to large landholders, school districts, higher education institutions and other groups in the area that will be here long term and may be motivated to invest in such initiatives. They also suggested examining priorities identified in the County Hazard Mitigation and Resiliency and Recovery programs for possible inclusion in the map of areas recommended for conservation. Member Reports • Cayuga Operating Company filed deactivation papers with New York State for the Cayuga power plant. • The North Campus Residential Expansion project received final site plan approval from the City of Ithaca Planning and Development Board. Adjournment: Chair David Herrick adjourned the meeting at 5:32 pm.