HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-PLED-2015-09-09Approved at the
October 14, 2015 PEDC Meeting
City of Ithaca
Planning & Economic Development Committee
Wednesday, September 9, 2015 – 6:00 p.m.
Common Council Chambers, City Hall, 108 East Green Street
Minutes
Committee Members Attending: Joseph (Seph) Murtagh, Chair; Graham Kerslick,
Cynthia Brock, and Josephine Martell
Committee Members Absent: Ellen McCollister
Other Elected Officials Attending: Mayor Svante Myrick
Staff Attending: JoAnn Cornish, Director, Department of Planning,
Building, Zoning, and Economic Development;
Megan Wilson, Senior Planner, Department of
Planning, Building, Zoning, and Economic
Development; Nels Bohn, Director, Ithaca Urban
Renewal Agency; Debbie Grunder, Executive
Assistant, Department of Planning, Building,
Zoning, and Economic Development
Others Attending: None
Chair Seph Murtagh called the meeting to order at 6:04p.m.
1) Call to Order/Agenda Review
No changes were made to the agenda.
2) Special Order of Business
There was no special order of business.
3) Public Comment and Response from Committee Members
There was no one from the public to speak.
Committee Members Announcements/Responses
Alderperson Brock reported on the Shade Tree Advisory Committee meeting she had
attended. A number of guidelines have been identified which the committee would like
to be followed and eventually be part of site-plan review process.
Approved at the
October 14, 2015 PEDC Meeting
Cornish stated she has been in contact with that committee. The Planning Department
has not been able to review this due to their work load. It is fine to have the guidelines,
but enforcement is also very crucial to make this work.
Mayor Svante Myrick joined the meeting at 6:08 p.m.
Alderperson Kerslick also suggested the need of planted trees with parking lots.
4) Announcements, Updates, and Reports
a) EPMO Fines
Alderperson Martell had no information to provide since the August meeting was
canceled.
Cornish informed the group that the new email notification program was just
announced on the City website today.
Alderperson Brock stated she had a constituent who was asked to agree to the
terms and conditions, but were not taken to the terms and conditions.
b) CIITAP Revision
Chair Murtagh stated the committee has met a number of times.
Alderperson Brock asked for a follow-up to her concern in last month’s meeting
regarding having a diversified group on the committee. Murtagh stated that
diversification will be discussed at the next CIITAP meeting.
c) Taxi Regulations
City of Ithaca Clerk Julie Holcomb has asked for another month before requesting
approval to circulate.
d) Commons
Chair Murtagh announced the Commons is opened and a grand opening
celebration took place in late August 2015. He thanked Director Cornish as well as
the Planning Department and Commons Committee for seeing this project through
to completion.
Approved at the
October 14, 2015 PEDC Meeting
5) Discussion
a) Comprehensive Plan: Phase II
Megan Wilson explained what the Comp Plan Committee will be reviewing based on what
already is completed in Plan Ithaca. There are two top categories which are Thematic
Plans and Neighborhood Plans. In the Thematic Plan, Housing Strategy, a Transportation
Plan, and a Flood Management Plan are the top priorities.
Cornish further informed the group of a conversation she had with Michael Thorne
regarding the flood management plan that the Department of Public Works is working on.
Wilson reported on the Neighborhood Plans. Southside is a priority of the Committee.
Two other areas of the City are also of top priority. They are the Waterfront/Inlet Island
and West Hill. Existing plans for all three plans are very old are in need of updates.
Wilson stated that the Committee would like to begin on this phase in the first quarter of
next year. Wilson stated that these are the final recommendations/suggestions of the
Comprehensive Plan Committee. It will be up to Common Council to guide the Committee
as to how many should be done and how many will be done in any given year.
Cornish stated the plans will be kept in house rather hire outside consultants. The
Planning Staff knows the communities better than anyone who would be hired on.
Mayor Myrick stated that he would like to see the housing strategy in the thematic plan be
worked on first, then the Waterfront/Inlet Island area, then the West Hill Neighborhood.
Alderperson Brock agreed with Mayor Myrick as housing strategy should be focused on
first. She further stated that of all the areas in the City, West Hill is the area with the most
undeveloped land.
Alderperson Kerslick agrees with the others that the Thematic Plan – Housing Strategy is a
very important issue.
Wilson said it will be a challenge to decide how to proceed and prioritize.
Cornish sated that Phase II is fully funded. We are applying for a grant in order to fund the
Parks Master Plan which, if received, that work will be hired out.
Cornish asked the group to think this over. We will bring more information next month
from the Planning Board’s recommendations and see how to proceed.
Alderperson Martell asked about Cornell Heights. Wilson stated the committee doesn’t
see it as one of the top priority areas, but again she stated it will be up to Common Council
to direct staff how to proceed.
Approved at the
October 14, 2015 PEDC Meeting
6) Action Items – Voting to Send onto Council
a) Public Art Commission Mural (Cass Park)
Resolution to Select Artwork for a Mural Installation at Cass Park
Moved by Alderperson Brock; seconded by Alderperson Kerslick. Passed Unanimously.
WHEREAS, the City of Ithaca Public Art Commission (PAC) has been established to, among other
duties, review and advise the Common Council on proposals for the exhibition and display of public
art in the City’s public spaces, and
WHEREAS, in 2010, the PAC created a mural and street art program to beautify blank walls within
the city, while providing local artists from all sections of the community an opportunity to showcase
their work, and
WHEREAS, the Board of Public Works approved several locations for future murals and street art
by resolution on May 19, 2010 and added the exterior of the main building and the five outbuildings
at Cass Park to this list on September 14, 2015, and
WHEREAS, Ramiro Davaro-Comas submitted a proposal for a mural featuring owls, cats, and
zebras to be installed on the large pool filter building at Cass Park, as part of the PAC’s Mural and
Street Art Program, and
WHEREAS, the PAC held a public comment period on the mural design and location at its meeting
on August 26, 2015 to gather input on the proposed installation, and the majority of the responses
to the proposal have been positive, and
WHEREAS, the City of Ithaca Parks Commission supports the installation of the proposed mural in
Cass Park, and
WHEREAS, the artist will donate his time and materials to install the mural, and the installation will
be budget-neutral to the City, and
WHEREAS, at its meeting on August 26, 2015, the Public Art Commission voted to recommend
that the Common Council select Ramiro Davaro-Comas’s mural to be installed at Cass Park; now,
therefore, be it
RESOLVED, that the City of Ithaca Common Council selects Ramiro Davaro-Comas’s mural
featuring owls, cats, and zebras, as recommended by the Public Art Commission, to be installed on
the large pool filter building at Cass Park and to be added to the City of Ithaca’s public art
collection; and be it further
RESOLVED, that the selected artist may proceed with the installation of the mural upon the
execution of an agreement with the City as reviewed by the City Attorney.
Approved at the
October 14, 2015 PEDC Meeting
b) Fair Housing Action Plan
Fair Housing Action Plan – HUD Entitlement Program
Moved by Alderperson Martell; seconded by Alderperson Kerslick. Passed Unanimously.
WHEREAS, in the Fall of 2003, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
notified the City that it qualified as an ‘Entitlement Community’ and that it would be receiving an
annual allocation of HUD funds through the Community Development Block Grant Program
(CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) Program, and
WHEREAS, in order to access these funds, the City is required, every five years, to undertake an
Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice (AI) and develop an Action Plan to address the
impediments identified in that analysis, and
WHEREAS, in June 2014 the Tompkins County Office of Human Rights (OHR) was retained as a
consultant to conduct the City’s AI and did deliver the completed analysis to the City in May 2015,
and
WHEREAS, the AI identifies nine direct and one indirect impediments to Fair Housing Choice in the
City of Ithaca, and
WHEREAS, under the terms of the February 14, 2013, agreement between the City of Ithaca and
the Ithaca Urban Renewal Agency (IURA), the City has designated the IURA as the Lead Agency to
plan, administer, implement, and monitor the HUD Entitlement grants awarded to the City in
accordance with all program requirements, and
WHEREAS, at their June, July, and August 2015 Neighborhood Investment Committee meetings the
members reviewed the AI submitted by OHR, discussed the identified impediments, and prepared
a Draft Action Plan for the consideration of the IURA and Common Council, and
WHEREAS, at their August 2015 meeting the IURA reviewed the Draft Action Plan and
recommended its adoption, now, therefore be it
RESOLVED, that the Common Council for the City of Ithaca hereby adopts the IURA‐recommended
Fair Housing Action Plan, dated August 14, 2015.
Chair Murtagh asked if there were any questions for Nels Bohn, IURA Director.
Alderperson Brock appreciates the way in which the impediments are laid on in the draft
explained.
7) Action Items – Approval to Circulate
a) Backyard Chickens
Approved at the
October 14, 2015 PEDC Meeting
After a lengthy discussion on the possible nuisance of raising chickens, the noise,
the smell, rodents, etc. the committee agreed to approve circulation.
Mayor Myrick stated if residents were made to be licensed in order to raise
chickens, it may cause more people to go ‘underground’ to raise them.
Alderperson Kerslick stated that a licensing program should be looked at.
Alderperson Brock suggested if not a licensing program, perhaps a registration
program would work.
Alderperson Brock moved to strike Item # I; seconded by Martell. Failed, but
flagged.
Alderperson Martell recommended grandfather existing chicken owners with bigger
lots the
Alderperson Martell; seconded by Kerslick. Passed unanimously.
8) Review and Approval of Minutes
a) July 2015
b) August 2015
Both sets of minutes were moved by Alderperson Kerslick; seconded by
Alderperson Brock. Passed Unanimously.
9) Adjournment
All agreed to adjourn at 8:16 p.m.