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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-CC-2011-12-21COMMON COUNCIL PROCEEDINGS CITY OF ITHACA, NEW YORK Regular Meeting 7:00 p.m. December 21, 2011 PRESENT: Mayor Peterson Alderpersons (10) McGonigal, Dotson, Rosario, Clairborne, McCollister, Zumoff, Rooker, Myrick, Cogan, Mohlenhoff OTHERS PRESENT: City Attorney – Hoffman City Controller – Thayer Community Development Director – Bohn Fire Chief – Parsons Information Management Specialist - Myers 1. ADDITIONS TO OR DELETIONS FROM THE AGENDA: Mayor Peterson requested the addition of the following items to the agenda: A. Motion to Enter Into Executive Session to Discuss Collective Bargaining B. Motion to Enter Into Executive Session to Discuss Pending Litigation C. Motion to Enter Into Executive Session to Discuss a Matter Which Will Imperil Public Safety if Disclosed and Information Related to a Current or Future Investigation or Prosecution of a Criminal Offense Which Would Imperil Effective Law Enforcement if Disclosed No Council Member Objected. 2. SPECIAL ORDER OF BUSINESS: 2.1 A Public Hearing to Consider the Proposed Amendment to Purchase and Sale Contract for Parcel 'D' of the Cayuga Green Project Resolution to Open Public Hearing: By Alderperson Dotson: Seconded by Alderperson Myrick RESOLVED, That the Public Hearing to Consider the Proposed Amendment to Purchase and Sale Contract for Parcel 'D' of the Cayuga Green Project be declared open. Carried Unanimously No one appeared to address Common Council. Resolution to Close Public Hearing: By Alderperson Myrick: Seconded by Alderperson Dotson RESOLVED, That the Public Hearing to Consider the Proposed Amendment to Purchase and Sale Contract for Parcel 'D' of the Cayuga Green Project be declared closed. Carried Unanimously 2.2 Cayuga Green Project, Approval of 3rd Amendment to Purchase and Sale Contract for Parcel ‘D’ - Resolution By Alderperson Rosario: Seconded by Alderperson Dotson WHEREAS, Cayuga Green II LLC, has submitted revised, preliminary plans for construction of a 6-story, 35-unit rental housing project with ground floor commercial use at parcel ‘D’ (tax map parcel #81.-2-4), located adjacent to the Cayuga Garage, that are consistent with the original design goals for the Cayuga Green project, and WHEREAS, the Purchase and Sale Contract between the IURA and Cayuga Green II, LLC obligates the purchaser to undertake a project “anticipated to consist of construction of no less than 30 rental and/or for-sale housing units located adjacent to the Cayuga garage, or such other uses approved by Seller and the Common Council of the City of Ithaca” (emphasis added), and 2 December 21, 2011 WHEREAS, the City Attorney has determined that the proposed inclusion of ground floor commercial use into the housing project requires Common Council approval to comply with the terms of the Purchase and Sale Contract, and WHEREAS, per correspondence dated November 7, 2011, Cayuga Green II, LLC, requests approval to authorize inclusion of a commercial ground floor use with the proposed housing project and a 180-day extension of the purchase and sale contract to June 30, 2012, and WHEREAS, the existing Purchase and Sale Contract requires the purchaser to satisfy the following contingencies prior to December 31, 2011: 1. Submit proof of final site development plan approval; 2. Submit proof of issuance of a building permit for the project; 3. Submit proof that all project financing has been secured to complete the project, and WHEREAS, the City previously amended the original Purchase and Sale Contract in 2009 to allow construction of rental housing units as well as for-sale housing units and to extend the term of the agreement by 12 months to June 30, 2010, and approved a second amendment in 2010 to modify the parcel boundaries to satisfy building code- required building separation distances and extend the term of the agreement to December 31, 2011 to allow the purchaser to pursue project financing through the HUD 221(d) Insured Mortgage Financing program, and WHEREAS, the principals of Cayuga Green II, LLC, have utilized the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development’s (HUD’s) 221(d)4 mortgage insurance program to secure financing from a HUD-approved private lender for a multi-family rental housing project in Ohio, but find the New York State process much more extensive and lengthy because their project would be the first HUD 221(d) project in the Ithaca housing market, and WHEREAS, the purchaser is continuing to complete the HUD 221(d) process but is uncertain that a written loan commitment will be received by December 31, 2011, and WHEREAS, the purchaser is additionally seeking conventional financing from private lenders now that lenders are re-entering the rental housing financing market and an independent downtown Ithaca housing demand study suggests there is a robust demand for downtown housing at all price points, and WHEREAS, Cayuga Green II, LLC, seeks no property tax abatements for this market- rate project, and WHEREAS, the City wishes to facilitate the construction of additional housing units in downtown Ithaca that will expand the range of housing opportunities and increase the property tax base; and WHEREAS, under §507 of Article 15 of General Municipal Law, the Ithaca Urban Renewal Agency’s proposed disposition of real property requires Common Council approval following a public hearing, and WHEREAS, a public hearing on the proposed amendment to the Purchase and Sale Agreement is scheduled before the Common Council on December 21, 2011, and WHEREAS, the purchase and sale contract for parcel ‘D’ and site plan review for a proposed 7-story housing project at parcel ‘D’ were the subject of environmental reviews under the City Environmental Quality Review Ordinance (CEQRO) pursuant to which the lead agency issued a negative declaration that the implementation of the action as proposed will not result in any significant adverse environmental impacts, and 3 December 21, 2011 WHEREAS, the revised 6-story project with ground floor commercial use and the action of approving the proposed 3rd amendment to the Purchase and Sale Contract for parcel ‘D’ are no less protective of the environment than the previously-approved Contract and site plan, therefore requiring no additional environmental review; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the City of Ithaca Common Council hereby approves a 3rd amendment to the Purchase and Sale Contract with Cayuga Green II LLC for Parcel ‘D’ (tax map parcel #81.-2-4) to: 1. authorize inclusion of ground floor commercial use in addition to construction of at least 30 rental and/or for-sale housing units on Parcel ‘D’ of the Cayuga Green project, and 2. Extend the purchaser’s deadlines to secure final site plan approval, project financing and issuance of a building permit to June 30, 2012. Carried Unanimously 3. INDIVIDUAL MEMBER FILED RESOLUTIONS: 3.1 Alderperson Rosario - Resolution to Submit Comments to the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation on the Revised Draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (sGEIS) on Oil, Gas and Solution Mining Regulatory Program". By Alderperson Rosario: Seconded by Alderperson Myrick WHEREAS the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) has issued a revised draft supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (sGEIS) on Oil, Gas, and Solution Mining in New York State; and WHEREAS once the sGEIS is codified into regulations, municipalities will no longer have a direct bearing on the regulation of drilling for natural gas using high volume hydraulic fracturing, leaving municipalities with little recourse on the drilling process, nor on the rate at which drilling occurs within their borders; and WHEREAS municipalities will bear the burden of an inadequate sGEIS and regulations, which in Pennsylvania and other states has led to detrimental changes in the character of communities; huge increases in truck traffic; contamination of air and water resources; pressure on municipal services such as emergency response, police, hospitals, schools, jails, road maintenance, and municipal administration; and spoiling of scenic and natural resources; and WHEREAS the City of Ithaca is the center of Tompkins County in terms of population, economics, and community, with a population exceeding 30,000, and is wholly located above a portion of the Marcellus Shale formation, a low-permeability rock formation estimated to contain reserves of natural gas; and WHEREAS land-use planning in the City of Ithaca is guided by a set of Comprehensive Plan documents, a Zoning Ordinance, and other planning and zoning tools; and WHEREAS over many years and in debates about many planning and community issues, City of Ithaca residents have overwhelmingly identified environmental protection as an issue of great concern in land-use and growth management policies and actions, both within the City’s boundaries and in the surrounding area of Tompkins County, which directly affect conditions in the City of Ithaca; and WHEREAS the City of Ithaca has historically demonstrated and continues to support its commitment to preserving the beauty, quality, use, and ecologic and environmental integrity of all of its land, through establishment and passage of Code provisions supporting City programs such as those associated with the Conservation Advisory Council, Parks Commission, Natural Areas Commission, City Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Council, Shade Tree Advisory Committee, and the City’s urban forestry program; and 4 December 21, 2011 WHEREAS the City of Ithaca has long been concerned about the risks of hazardous materials in passing through our community, addressing such local risks, for example, over 30 years ago in Chapter 201 of the current Code of the City of Ithaca, entitled “Hazardous or Radioactive Materials,” enacted on March 5th, 1980; and WHEREAS the City of Ithaca has also been a leader in global climate protection by addressing locally the root causes of climate change, adopting in July 2006 the “Local Action Plan: to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions for City of Ithaca Government Operations,” that includes a commitment to reduce these emissions by 20% from 2001 levels by 2016, and WHEREAS City of Ithaca taxpayers have expended millions of dollars developing, maintaining and protecting clean drinking water sources, and our community enjoys water resources from three major bodies of water: Six Mile Creek, Fall Creek and Cayuga Lake, within the City of Ithaca, which supply three water treatment plants (for the City of Ithaca on Six Mile Creek, for the Southern Cayuga Lake Intermunicipal Water Commission on Cayuga Lake, and for Cornell University on Fall Creek) which together are rated to supply water to over 90,000 people; and these water filtering and treatment systems are not designed to and will not reliably remove the toxic waste nor hazardous chemicals used in hydrofracking; and WHEREAS, taxpayers in the City of Ithaca, with those from the Towns of Ithaca and Dryden, have expended millions of dollars in an inter municipal effort realized in the Ithaca Area Wastewater Treatment Plant to develop, maintain, and upgrade advanced wastewater processing facilities including biological processes that are not designed to and will not reliably treat fracturing fluid and wastewater from natural gas operations; and WHEREAS the City of Ithaca is, by law, charged with protecting the health, safety and welfare of the people of the City; and WHEREAS the City of Ithaca intends to abide by its set of Comprehensive Plan documents and Zoning Ordinance to provide a high quality of life for its residents and the current revised sGEIS makes that goal unachievable; now therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the City of Ithaca submits the attached comments to the NYSDEC on the sGEIS; and be it further RESOLVED, That this resolution and accompanying comments be sent by U.S. mail to Governor Andrew Cuomo; NYSDEC Commissioner Joe Martens; NYS Senators George Winner, James Seward, and Michael Nozzolio; State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver; State Senate Majority Leader Dean G. Skelos; State Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton; Chair of Senate Committee on Environmental Conservation Mark Grisanti; Chair of Assembly Committee on Environmental Conservation Robert Sweeney; State Attorney General Erik Schneiderman; U.S. Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand; Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar; Representative Richard Hanna and Representative Maurice Hinchey; EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson; EPA Region 2 Administrator Judith Enck; New York State Association of Counties; New York State Association of County Health Officials (NYASCHO); the Tompkins County Board of Health; Chair of Tompkins County Legislature Martha Robertson; New York State Conference of Mayors; and others as appropriate. Mayor Peterson thanked Alderperson Rosario for all his work in putting this resolution and the comments together in such a well organized document for Common Council. Alderperson Rosario extended his thanks and appreciation to many groups including but not limited to Tompkins County Council of Governments and other municipalities for their assistance in putting the resolution and comments together. 5 December 21, 2011 Amending Resolution: By Alderperson McCollister: Seconded by Alderperson McGonigal RESOLVED, That the first Resolved clause be amended to read as follows: “RESOLVED, That the City of Ithaca submits the attached comments entitled “City of Ithaca Comments on the Revised Draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (sGEIS) on Oil, Gas, and Solution Mining” dated December 21, 2011, and as revised (with the consent of Common Council on that date) to the NYSDEC on the sGEIS; and be it further” Carried Unanimously Main Motion As Amended: A Vote on the Main Motion As Amended Resulted as Follows: Carried Unanimously NEW BUSINESS: 3.1 Cayuga Garage - Request that Community Development Properties, Ithaca, Inc. enter into Parking Agreement with Cornell University – Resolution By Alderperson Dotson: Seconded by Alderperson Zumoff WHEREAS, the Tompkins County Industrial Development Agency issued its Civic Facility Revenue Bonds (Community Development Properties, Ithaca, Inc., Project), Series 2003A and Series 2003(B) (“the Bonds”), and loaned the proceeds of the Bonds to Community Development Properties, Ithaca, Inc. (“CDP”) to enable CDP to build an approximately 700 space multistory public parking garage (“Cayuga Garage”) on Cayuga Street south of the Tompkins County Library in the City of Ithaca; and WHEREAS, in order for the Bonds to be sold, the City of Ithaca (“the City”) entered into a Financial Assistance Agreement which now requires the City to pay annually the amount by which the debt service on the Bonds exceeds the cumulative net parking revenues generated by the Cayuga Garage; and WHEREAS, the City had previously requested that CDP construct the Cayuga Garage to lessen the City’s governmental burden to improve blighted conditions on Cayuga Street south of the County Library by providing public parking and economic development in the City and Tompkins County; and WHEREAS, Cornell University (“Cornell”) relocated certain of its operations to a facility in downtown Ithaca constructed by Cascade Plaza, LLC (“Cascade”), conditioned upon the availability of adequate public parking for the Cornell employees who work in that facility; and WHEREAS, on June 6, 2006, Cascade entered into an Office Parking Agreement (the “Office Parking Agreement”) with the City and the Ithaca Urban Renewal Agency providing up to 250 parking spaces to Cascade’s tenants, in the Cayuga Garage and the Seneca Street and Green Street parking garages, and WHEREAS, as Cascade’s tenant, Cornell and its employees utilize approximately 150 parking spaces within the Cayuga Garage, pursuant to the Office Parking Agreement, and WHEREAS, CDP was inadvertently, unintentionally and without input from counsel made a party to the Office Parking Agreement and should retroactively be disengaged from said Agreement, and WHEREAS, it is advantageous to CDP and the City that CDP enter into a separate agreement directly with Cornell to provide parking to Cornell within the Cayuga Garage, as was always intended, and WHEREAS, the establishment of such an agreement between Cornell and CDP will lessen the governmental burdens on the City to make payments under the Financial Assistance Agreement and to further economic development in downtown Ithaca; and 6 December 21, 2011 WHEREAS, if there is a separate agreement between CDP and Cornell regarding parking within the Cayuga Garage, then it is appropriate to amend the Office Parking Agreement to proportionately reduce the total number of primary parking permits required to be provided to Cascade’s tenants pursuant to that Agreement, in recognition of the spaces required to be provided to Cornell by the new CDP/Cornell parking agreement, and WHEREAS, if CDP is disengaged from the Office Parking Agreement with Cascade, then it is appropriate to remove references to CDP’s Cayuga Garage from the Office Parking Agreement; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the City of Ithaca Common Council specifically requests that CDP enter into a parking agreement with Cornell University to make available a reasonable number of the public parking spaces in Cayuga Garage to Cornell University and its employees, subject to: 1. a disengagement agreement removing CDP from the Office Parking Agreement, and 2. an addendum amending the Office Parking Agreement with Cascade; and be it further RESOLVED, That the City of Ithaca Common Council hereby authorizes the Mayor, subject to advice of the City Attorney, to execute an agreement to disengage CDP from the Office Parking Agreement with Cascade, provided that the form and content of such disengagement agreement are substantially in conformance with that of the draft agreement presented to the Common Council and dated 12/14/11, and be it further RESOLVED, That the City of Ithaca Common Council hereby authorizes the Mayor, subject to advice of the City Attorney, to execute an addendum to the Office Parking Agreement with Cascade so as to proportionately reduce the total number of primary parking permits provided to Cascade’s tenants pursuant to that Agreement (in recognition of the number of spaces to be provided to Cornell pursuant to a new Cornell/CDP parking agreement), and to eliminate references in the Office Parking Agreement to the Cayuga Garage. Carried Unanimously 3.2 Motion to Enter Into Executive Session to Discuss Collective Bargaining - Resolution By Alderperson Myrick: Seconded by Alderperson Clairborne RESOLVED, That Common Council Enter Into Executive Session to Discuss Collective Bargaining. Alderperson Mohlenhoff recused herself from the executive session due to the fact that her husband is a fire fighter with the Ithaca Fire Department. A Vote on the Resolution Resulted as Follows: Ayes (9) Dotson, McGonigal, Rosario, Clairborne, Zumoff, McCollister, Myrick, Rooker, Cogan Nays (0) Abstentions (1) Mohlenhoff Carried Reconvene: Common Council reconvened into regular session and took the following action: 7 December 21, 2011 Resolution to Approve Tentative Agreement Between the City of Ithaca and the Ithaca Paid Firefighter Association and the Chief Officers’ Unit By Alderperson Clairborne: Seconded by Alderperson Zumoff RESOLVED, That Common Council approves the tentative agreement between the City of Ithaca and the Ithaca Paid Firefighter Association and the Chief Officers’ Unit for a five-year term commencing January 1, 2011 and expiring December 31, 2015, and be it further RESOLVED, That the Mayor is authorized to fully execute the agreement on behalf of the City of Ithaca contingent upon ratification by the above units. Alderperson Mohlenhoff recused herself from voting due to the fact that her husband is a fire fighter with the Ithaca Fire Department. A Vote on the Resolution Resulted as Follows: Ayes (9) Dotson, McGonigal, Rosario, Clairborne, Zumoff, McCollister, Myrick, Rooker, Cogan Nays (0) Abstentions (1) Mohlenhoff Carried 3.3 Motion to Enter Into Executive Session to Discuss Pending Litigation - Resolution By Alderperson Myrick: Seconded by Alderperson Rooker RESOLVED, That Common Council Enter Into Executive Session to Discuss Pending Litigation. Carried Unanimously Common Council reconvened into regular session with no formal action taken. 3.4 Motion to Enter Into Executive Session to Discuss a Matter Which Will Imperil Public Safety if Disclosed and Information Related to a Current or Future Investigation or Prosecution of a Criminal Offense Which Would Imperil Effective Law Enforcement if Disclosed - Resolution Common Council did not enter into executive session to discuss this topic. Mayor Peterson reported that the Board of Public Works considered the “Occupy Ithaca” appeal at their meeting today, but took no action; which she feels is irresponsible on their part. She reported that the Board of Public Works will meet on December 28, 2011 at 4:45 p.m. to consider the appeal further. A brief discussion followed on the floor regarding Occupy Ithaca’s appeal, use of DeWitt Park, and the lack of a decision on the part of the Board of Public Works. ADJOURNMENT: On a motion the meeting adjourned at 9:30 p.m. ______________________________ _______________________________ Sarah L. Myers Carolyn K. Peterson, Information Management Specialist Mayor