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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019.10.08 PAB Final Minutes1 PLANNING ADVISORY BOARD Tuesday, October 8, 2019 Beverly Livesay Conference Room, Human Services Building 320 W. State/MLK Jr. Street, Ithaca, NY 14850 FINAL MEETING MINUTES Members Attending: Guests: Matthew Reyes, Connor Smith, Zihan Qian Call to Order: Vice Chair Rod Howe called the meeting to order at 4:01 pm. Agenda Review/Changes: None Approval of Draft Minutes for Sept 10, 2019: Action: C.J. Randall made a motion to accept the September 2019 PAB meeting minutes. Yamila Fournier seconded the motion, which was approved by the members present. Action: Support for Conservation Funding Request for Summerland Farm, Shindagin Hollow- Creighton Brown, and Cayuga Cliffs – Scott Doyle and Andy Zepp Scott Doyle provided a brief overview on the current round of conservation funding requests brought to the Planning and Sustainability Department by Finger Lakes Land Trust. He informed the group that work continues at the department to merge the Capital Reserve Fund for Natural, Scenic, and Recreational Resource Protection and the Natural Infrastructure Capital Program. Andy Zepp shared details and answered member questions about each project individually. The first, Summerland Farm Acquisition and Conservation Easement, involved a request of $25,000 from the Capital Reserve Fund. It would cover transaction costs associated with accepting the land and easement; costs associated with stewardship of both the nature preserve and adjacent easement; and construction costs for site improvement. The Land Trust requested $7,500 from the Capital Reserve Fund to support the second project, Shindagin Hollow – Creighton Brown Easement Project, for transaction and stewardship costs. The request for the last project, Cayuga Cliffs Acquisition, was for $100,000. It would use the remainder of the Capital Reserve Fund balance ($32,523 if the other two projects are funded), with the remaining funds coming from the Natural Infrastructure Capital Program. The Planning and  Representation Name  Representation Martha Armstrong E Economic Development Monika Roth P Agriculture Joe Bowes P Housing Leslie Schill E Education #2 Tim Carey E Education #1 Kathy Schlather P Human Services John Czamanske P At-Large Andy Zepp P Land Preservation/Public Land Mgmt. Fernando de Aragón P Transportation Deborah Dawson P Associate Member Yamila Fournier P Built Environment Dooley Kiefer P Associate Member David Herrick E Facilities/Infrastructure Others Present Rod Howe P Historical/Cultural Resources Katie Borgella P Commissioner David Kay P Local Planning (urban) Scott Doyle P Associate Planner Anna Kelles P HED/PEEQ Kristin McCarthy P Administrative Assistant G. Lincoln Morse P Business Megan McDonald P Deputy Commissioner Gay Nicholson E At-Large David West P Senior Planner-Housing C.J. Randall P Local Planning (non-urban) Marcus Riehl P Natural Environment 2 Sustainability Department supported funding for all three projects, and the Natural Infrastructure Committee of the PAB had also reviewed them prior to today’s PAB meeting and expressed its support. PAB members showed support for all three projects via an informal show of hands. Given his role as executive director of the Land Trust, Andy Zepp abstained from all three votes. Marcus Riehl abstained from the vote on the Cayuga Cliffs acquisition because the Land Trust has also applied for grant funding from the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation. County funds for Cayuga Cliffs will only be released if the project has adequate resources to move to completion. Report: Update on Incremental Development Alliance work within Tompkins County – David West David West briefly described the history and mission of the Incremental Development Alliance before outlining their collaboration with the department over the past several months on small-scale infill development in Tompkins County. IncDev, as the nonprofit consulting firm is commonly known, was contracted by the County to make four trips to the area: a public presentation (attended by roughly 100 people) on small-scale development; a half-day seminar in starting or growing a small-scale development business, with roughly 60 participants; a workshop with local municipal planning boards and elected officials; and a hands-on workshop on zoning and regulatory issues that can reduce the likelihood of a community having the types of small scale development it seeks. Through its collaboration with the department, IncDev is mentoring several small-scale developers and two area nonprofits (INHS and Habitat for Humanity). Anna Kelles offered her kudos to the IncDev team, complimenting their adeptness at explaining the discrepancy between stakeholder knowledge gap in regards to zoning versus building codes. Possible next steps could be a small grant program that enables municipalities to offer zoning consultation services to interested small-scale infill developers. Discussion: Options for Municipal Planning Assistance – Megan McDonald Megan McDonald reported on the results of a survey sent to local municipalities asking for input on a suite of possible outreach services the department is contemplating making available. Three options were presented in the survey: planning assistant support, project-specific support, and best practices. As of today’s meeting, the department had yet to receive a lot of results, but there was some preference for the project-specific support and best practices options. PAB members suggested a hybrid option could be a fourth choice. Commissioner’s Report – Katie Borgella Katie updated the group on various department-related topics, including the 2020 County budget, Municipal Parks and Trails grant program, Community Housing Development Fund, and the NYSEG Request for Information for the Lansing Non-Pipe Alternatives project. Member Reports • Town of Danby is interviewing new planners and should have somebody on staff by November. • The topic for CaRDI Community Development Institute is “From Zombies & Vacants to Sustainable Housing: Building Resilient Communities.” It’s scheduled for October 23-24. • Southern Tier 8 is hosting “Energy Solutions for Economic Success” on October 24. Adjournment: Vice Chair Rod Howe adjourned the meeting at 5:15 pm.