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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-01-14-CAC-minutesTown of Danby Conservation Advisory Council (CAC) Minutes of In-person Meeting in Town Hall, and Via Videoconferencing Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025 Council Members Present: Margaret Corbit, Joel Gagnon, Anne Klingensmith, Brittany Lagaly, Don Schaufler, Jonathan Zisk Council Members Absent /Excused: Renee Owens Others Present: Kristin McCarthy (staff), Ronda Roaring (Danby resident, via Zoom) Meeting was called to order at 7:05pm. Deletions or Additions to Agenda: Anne suggested adding an item to the agenda to discuss drafting a letter to inform new landowners when they’ve bought property with easements about the annual monitoring and regulations. Privilege of the Floor: No privilege of the floor. Approval of Minutes: Minutes were not voted on. Kristin will email previous few months’ worth of minutes to group for review before February meeting. Reports and Updates 1. Status of Online Systems: Transfer of files seems to have been successful. 2. Status of Easement Monitoring: No monitoring had been conducted since the last meeting. A checklist will be created to track easement monitoring for 2025 to ensure properties not checked in 2024 are covered in the new year. Group briefly discussed Hansen, Ravencache and O’Neal properties, and file organization. 3. Status of Retrieval of Past Easement Monitoring Documents: Anne shared that she still encountered some difficulty tracking down missing easement monitoring documents, but has successfully organized Laserfiche documents provided by Mariah. Joel was asked to create a shared folder ("Joel's Folder") in the CAC folder to collect and store any relevant documents he comes across. 4. Comments on J. Zisk document for Altman Easement: Jonathan reported that the Altman easement document was nearly complete, pending the addition of a document about Ben's homage to the Haudenosaunee and some minor boundary line adjustments. Group discussed various topics, such as property's forest conditions, impact of deer population, developing species inventories for easements, and more. Jonathan volunteered to be the "parent" of the property, citing his existing relationship with Ben. 5. Status of Timber Harvesting Law: Status remains unchanged from the previous meeting, though the Highway Department has expressed support. Further consultation is needed with Keith Shipman regarding the checklist and permit issuance procedures. Input is pending from Chris Sprague, the regional forester from the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation. Town zoning officer suggested involving both the Highway Department and town planner in the process, with an emphasis on clearly defining responsibilities for key personnel who would have authority to halt operations if problems arise. 6. Discussion of Use of Executive Session: Group discussed how to handle confidentiality in conservation easement negotiations, exploring whether executive sessions were appropriate since initial discussions typically occur outside CAC meetings. Members suggested that when first approaching potential easement landowners, they could ask about preferences for public disclosure of the negotiations. One proposed approach was that if confidentiality is requested, initial negotiations might be handled by a subcommittee that reports progress anonymously to the CAC (e.g., "negotiations with Property Owner X"), though full details would need to become public once the matter comes before the full CAC for review, goes to the town board. Following the discussion, Jonathan offered to draft language about this confidentiality protocol for the existing easement process documentation. The conversation highlighted the challenges of balancing landowner privacy preferences with public transparency requirements, while acknowledging that complete anonymity isn't always possible once matters come before the full CAC for consideration. 7. Discussion of Drafting Letter to Inform New Owners: The group discussed drafting a letter to new conservation easement property owners, examining how to identify when properties change hands since the town isn't routinely notified of these transfers. New landowners should theoretically know about easements as they are legal covenants, but ownership changes are typically discovered only when attempting contact for monitoring visits. Members debated whether to check the county database using tax lot numbers or call presumed owners, with some expressing frustration about difficulties reaching certain property owners. The group clarified that properties with conservation easements cannot be subdivided unless specifically provided for in the agreement 8. Discussion/Action re: approval of draft “Reasons to involve the CAC in a proposed development” document and recommendation to forward to the town board for input and approval: Group circled back to Jonathan’s draft “Reasons to Involve” document and decided to vote on sending it to the town board. Action: Joel Gagnon made a motion, which Margaret Corbit seconded, to forward the “Reasons to Involve the CAC in a proposed development” as recently modified to the town board for their consideration. Motion carried, with all members present (Margaret Corbit, Joel Gagnon, Anne Klingensmith, Brittany Lagaly, Don Schaufler, Jonathan Zisk) voting in the affirmative. 9. Updates on Ongoing Easement Development: Maps are being prepared for the Sherman easement, which includes three wooded parcels with converging streams. Town planner Greg Hutnik is working with landowners on West Jersey Hill Road to encourage clustered development to protect the Lick Brook habitat. The Curtis property requires follow-up as new owners without horses may seek to develop the horse field for accessory buildings. Several protected properties exist in the area, including the Kingsbury Land Trust property and another site on Jersey Hill Road. The town board has established two regulatory subcommittees: one focused on clustering and another addressing all other regulatory matters. 10. Executive Session: None 11. Meeting Wrap-up: Anne suggested inviting the Community Science Institute (CSI) to present on their water monitoring programs, water quality database, and other initiatives. The group expressed interest in learning more about CSI's work and briefly discussed member recruitment. 12. Adjournment: Meeting was adjourned at 8:11pm. Submitted by Kristin McCarthy, Secretary.