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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-CAC-2014-07-14City of Ithaca Conservation Advisory Council Minutes July 14, 2014 7:30 – 9pm, Third Floor Conference Room, City Hall, 108 East Green Street Present: Jesse Hill, C.J.Randall, Matt Yarrow, Tom Shelley, Noah Demarest, Maureen Bolton, George McGonigal, Michael Culotta, Absent: Augusta Christensen Meeting was called to order at 7:36 May minutes: All minutes will be brought to next meeting for approval. Maguire Parking Lot Project: Planning Board Report: It was a surprise to see that parcel in question had had all trees cut down. The timing of the tree cutting was just before parcel was acquired by Maguire. Parcel was purchased from Tallmadge tire. Both planning board and CAC recommended that Maguire and Schikel (architect) hire a landscape architect to choose tree species for parking lot project. Responses for CAC from Maguire: groundwater is very high: nowhere for water to go. In the case that pervious pavement were installed, water is in the pavement could freezes it destroy pavement. Pavement in low- laying areas is not uncommon in US, what has been done in other areas? Bioretention areas could help ease water quality concerns; Maguire proposes to hold a percentage of water on site in swales. Maguire’s main concern is parking capacity – reason to pave over gravel employee parking area. Incorporate infiltration area in the parking lot itself? Adding more trees and infiltration requires piping etc and may add 50% to cost. Other cities include impervious parking in total lot coverage calculation. Here we just include building footprint. The CAC could ask for an increase in runoff reduction volume (RRV). Could this be done for this particular project? CAC’s picture is bigger than site specific. Encourage Scott Gibson to look at Maguire’s whole parcel. This issue was shared issue with Shade Tree Advisory Council, and Scott Gibson when it first arose. Confirmed that parcel in question is in the 100-year flood plain. Parking Lot Design Controls: Storm water ordinance came out within last two months; was written without CAC’s direct input. It appears that pending legislation is about funding the City’s storm water management program. Scott Gibson will oversee logistics and management of newly-funded storm water plan. Storm water fees put in a special box and can’t be used for other activities. Storm water fee was designed to be used for storm water infrastructure. Use other cities’ efforts as a guide to shape how Ithaca will move forward. Maybe CAC can help formulate goals and objectives, as they appear somewhat vague in current version of legislation. The legislation will get voted on at next Common Council meeting. Cornell has expressed a desire to slow momentum down on storm water ordinance because their fee will be large. How does storm water ordinance intersect with other guidelines… steepslopes, buffers, etc? Pending legislation is online at City, dated June 19th and mentions some of the best practices for storm water management. Needs to link with LEED and City’s comprehensive plan. What mitigation designs qualify as credits? Will design give us resiliency during runoff events? Are incentives big enough that landowners will actually install mitigation measures? CAC will draft a memo on concerns about the storm water legislation. Adjourned at 8:50.