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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.