HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-06-08 CAC MinutesTown of Danby Conservation Advisory Council Minutes Page 1 of 6
Town of Danby Conservation Advisory Council (CAC)
Minutes of Video Conference (Zoom) Meeting on
Tuesday, June 8, 2021
Danby, New York
Council Members present: Clare Fewtrell (chair), Joel Gagnon, George
Adams, Don Schaufler, Margaret Corbit, Jonathan Zisk, Mary Woodsen,
Council Members absent: Brittany Legaly
Others present: Elizabeth Keokosky (secretary), Ronda Roaring (Danby
resident), Ted Crane (Danby resident), Mark Holochuck
Zoom Meeting was officially called to order at 7:05.
Deletions or Additions to Agenda: Fewtrell suggested moving agenda
item 6 (Easement updates – main business on Wimsatt Easement) to
follow item 2 and deleting agenda item #4 (Website and Rack cards – since
not much has happened on this item)
Privilege of the Floor (PoF): Roaring let the group know that she is
interested in an easement for her property (since smaller properties are
now being considered) and would like to schedule a initial walk on the
property in September after the birds have finished breeding.
Approval Minutes MOTION for May 13, 2020 (with Joel’s changes
made that afternoon; also Schaufler’s correction of 3500 from 5000
board feet for a tri-axle truck load)
Gagnon moved to approve
Fewtrell seconded
Unanimous approval
REPORTS AND UPDATES
1. Easement Zoom Workshop Report – Zisk
Zisk reported the presentation went reasonably well. John Jansen
had some interesting questions. Testimonials were fairly low key
Town of Danby Conservation Advisory Council Minutes Page 2 of 6
Gagnon reported that it was all positive and no negative feedback,
but Zisk said it was not a big crowd and perhaps could be repeated
again with a bigger group.
2. Invasive Species Talk Report – Gagnon for Lagaly
Talk was straightforward and given mostly on Japanese knotweed
and hogweed. Unfortunately the the highway crew had been set up
with one monitor so it was difficult to type in individual questions,
even though they would have preferred to be more interactive.
Gagnon will put presentation on CAC website.
3. Easement Updates – Fewtrell
Discussion of Wimsatt Easement. The documents reviewed were:
Wimsatt Easement v.14
Schedule B with 9 Appendices
Schedule C
CAC Members felt it was a very thorough document. Gagnon said
that he and Fewtrell had gone through it with land owner’s lawyer and
the town board multiple times.
In the process of writing this easement many questions had been
raised about the Danby easement template on which an easement is
normally based. The process had been complicated this time by the
fact that Art James, purchaser of parcel C had jumped ahead and
created an easement himself based on an existing (publicly available)
Danby easement rather than let CAC put it together in the usual way.
Fewtrell said the lesson learned was to keep the easement template
as vanilla as possible. PoF: Crane remarked that making no changes
is not the goal. And Fewtrell corrected herself to say more clearly
that she thought it was important to keep template simple and only
make changes if prospective easement owners requested them.
Gagnon made a MOTION to recommend to Town Board that they
accept Wimsatt easement.
seconded by Fewtrell
Unanimous approval
Town of Danby Conservation Advisory Council Minutes Page 3 of 6
Gagnon said that it would be put on the agenda for next Monday’s Town
Board meeting. Fewtrell asked if there were still pieces to put together.
Public hearing scheduled for June 14th - 5 days from the time legal
notices posted. Problem was that the Schedules were very big to
download and go through. Hayden Brainard is the attorney for the
Wimsatts and has to give the OK.
Fewtrell said that discussion of changes to Easement template would be
put on the agenda for next CAC meeting.
Other easement possibilities:
• Corbit mentioned that Brad Rauch, who owns property at the
corner of Peterand Travor Rds, may be willing to donate an
easement. She will follow up on it.
• Gagnon said that he hadn’t heard from Dan Hoffman and Mark
and Micaela Karlsen lately. They may be applying for a planned
development zone.
4. Easement Signs – Adams
CAC members discussed the current quote Adams presented from
Voss. It displayed prices for easement sign options on aluminum or
plastic stock with the prices for both orders above 25 or orders above
50. Adams shared his screen.
Since 40 signs were estimated to be needed, getting 50 is a much
better buy.
There was some discussion over who would be keeper of the QR
code since it would eventually need changing if the URL for CAC
easement information changed. Adams laid out the options to do
this: use a service for a dynamic QR Code or make the town clerk,
Janice Adelman, the keeper. It was decided to go with the town
clerk, so keeping the service within the continuity of the town.
Since the durability of the paint on the wording was the limiting
lifefime factor it was decided (since both plastic and aluminum had
environmental problems according to Schaufler) to go with plastic
(though Woodsen objected to plastic) since the paint (according to
Zisk) comes off plastic less quickly.
Town of Danby Conservation Advisory Council Minutes Page 4 of 6
Fewtrell made a MOTION to buy 50 plastic signs
seconded by Adams
All voted in favor except for Woodsen, who abstained
Fewtrell suggested giving signs to easement holders when annual
inspection was done, which others were enthusiastic about.
(Here Fewtrell lost internet connection for some time during a heavy
rain storm. On her return the meeting continued with the below:)
5. Easement Website & Rack Cards – Corbit & Woodsen
Cobit mentioned that she had done some clean-up edits of
old/current CAC web page, but there had been no progress on new
website (due to Town Clerk involvement in work elsewhere) or rack
cards. Schaufler still unable to reach Jenny Caldwell. Gagnon took
on task to trying to get though to her.
6. Logging Ordinance – Adams, Schaufler & Zisk
Discussion of version 5.5 of the draft logging law (Local Law to
Amend the Zoning Ordinance)
Still some questions raised about how to handle exemptions when
you don’t need a permit. How to let the town know it’s happening but
not force people to fill out complicated forms?
Corbit suggested a paragraph with a checklist. Schaufler’s suggestion
was to make a flowchart to show decision choices to decide whether
or not a permit is needed. Corbit noted that right now there is a
shortage of lumber so it is economically viable to sell 4 logs, which
doesn’t fall within current parameters.
Gagnon asked if we had gotten feedback from Highway Department
and Code Officer. (They hadn’t yet). He said to talk to Jack Shawley
at 227 9728 or Steve Cortright. PoF:Secretary Keokosky suggested
calling them for an outdoor appointment (and taking some cookies)
since they were unacquainted and Adams might benefit from talking
to him face to face.
Gagnon said that the town board might want to review the ordinance
before sending it to town lawyer to review.
Town of Danby Conservation Advisory Council Minutes Page 5 of 6
Fewtrell urged this working subcommittee to use their combined
expertise, and get the task completed.
7. Changes to Easement Template – Fewtrell & Gagnon
There was some confusion among members as to whether
suggested Easement Template changes stemming from Gagnon’s
and Fewtrell’s experience with Wimsatt easement were worthwhile
and should be made. Also an email attachment that was sent earlier
as prep to this discussion could not be found by some.
Corbit proposed that CAC members look at suggested changes but
not let the Wimsatt easement dictate changes to the template.
Fewtrell agreed but added that there still might be appropriate
changes to make now. For instance, the new Forestry Zone had
never been approved by the town board. Gagnon noted that there
should be some place where specific solutions used in past
easements could be noted as a list of available examples.
In discussing the template, Gagnon noted that Article I and II are the
meat and potatoes. Articles III and IV were more boiler plate.
The conclusion was that Fewtrell would re-email the working
template, the Wimsatt Easement, and various email comments to pull
everything together in one place and CAC members should get back
to her by June 22.
8. Planning Group Working Group Reports – Joel Gagnon,
Jonathan Zisk & Betsy Keokosky
Fewtrell recommened filling in David West’s questionnaire to help
determine placement of businesses. The Conservation Working
Group agreed to keep the suburban neighborhood zone (though
Gagnon disagreed and Fewtrell abstained). Zisk noted that there are
two “different tribes” that have different tastes. Plodding through to
make contraints and incentives. He noted that the walks David West
organized allowed people to meet each other in person (after only
meeting through Zoom).
Town of Danby Conservation Advisory Council Minutes Page 6 of 6
Keokosky reported on the Ag Working Group and gave some sense
of who had come to the last meeting and what was in the preliminary
report to the planner on zoning recommendations. She quoted from
this report’s “Basic Assumptions”
• Farming is as important as forests and wildlife to achieve the
rural aspect Danby wants to preserve.
• Farmers keep fields mowed, orchards growing, and farm
animals present, contributing to both the aesthetic and working
economy of the community.
• The work of farming is critical to maintaining rural community
and providing an antidote to the pressures of becoming a
suburban, bedroom community of Ithaca.
There was some discussion about whether there was backing for an
Ag Protection Zone but this issue is under continued debate.
There was no Executive session
Next Meeting via Zoom is on July 13th at 7p.m.
Adjournment at 9:09
_____________________________________________
Submitted by Elizabeth Keokosky (Secretary)