HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-09-06 •
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TOWN OF DRYDEN
SPECIAL TOWN BOARD MEETING
September 6, 2012
Present: Supervisor Mary Ann Sumner, Cl Stephen Stelick , CI Joseph
Solomon , CI Jason Leifer, Cl Linda Lavine
Elected Officials ; Bainbi L. Avery , Town Clerk
Other Town Staff: Dan Kwasnowski , Director of' Planning
Jane Nicholson , Planner
Supv Sumner opened the meeting at 7 : 30 p . m .
PUBLIC HEARING
CRITICAL ENVIRONMENTAL AREAS
Supv Sumner opened the public hearing and the board dispensed with reading the
lengthy public notice . She explained the purpose of the public hearing was to receive
comments on the designation of seven proposed Critical Environmental Areas , Comments on
each specific area will be received first, followed by general comments , and should he limited to
two minutes
CEA 06
Robin Tropper- Herbal, 266 Ed Hill Rd - read a statement of support - attached to
these minutes_
Tire Woods, 118 Johnson Road - there are claims that the Conservation Board and
other experts that helped to determine the CEAs have done extensive field research and
collected a lot of field data. The Dryden farmers committee has been trying for many months to
get some of that field data to see if it even exists , and still don 't have any of it, They are wonder
if it exists or if that research in field , not just GIS information, was over done. They would still
like to see the field data that was collected for the CEAs_
Ken Miller - Is wondering, with respect to all the CEAs , how much of the property is in
Ag districts. He hasn 't seen it designated on a map , and would like that before this is voted on .
He said farmers run the property in Ag districts and he doesn 't believe they need someone to
tell them where they can plow , etc . There areas don 't need to be nearly as big as they are . He
asked that the areas be kept tight to the bNAs, please .
Carl Hammond , 1447 Peruville- Mclean Road , said ddfk of his property is in the CEA_
He realizes there is wetland, but nowhere near as much as shown on the map .
CEA 07
No comment . There is one property owner in this CEA_
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CEA 08
Kim LaMotte , 287 Fall Creek Road , said she has property in CEAs 6 , 8 , 9 and t ] . in
CEA 8 she questions the scientific data that was used or not used _ This is a wood lot and they
say there are 150 year old trees there _ You can 't see it from the road , so how do they know
that? She thinks they way overstepped connecting the Ii NAs to grab as many parcels as they
possibly could .
EA 09
124 comments .
EA lb
Joe Riggins , 636 Fall Creek Road - the report says refuse has been dumped on the site
and there is an artificial pond downstream that 's a problem . He 'd like to know where these
things are , if they are on his property or close to it. Sopa Sumner said the UNA descriptions
were developed by coueCY in the late 1990 's or early 2000 's, Mr Riggins asked whether the
trash wee still them and Supv Sumner urged him to snake an appointment to talk to the
Planning Department_ He has called the Planning Department and was told the data is 10
years old, and they can 't tell him specifically . He doesn 't have a problem with protecting
things , but wants to know where this stuff is
bupv Sumner said the descriptions of the UNA help to support. the 't'own 's designation
of the areas they have a concern about, but the UNA descriptions are unique to the project the
county did .10 years ago _ In some cases , that information is very helpful .
Charlie Hatfield , 240 Gulf Hill Road - They own 550 acres of land and some is
included in Cbho 9 , 10 and 11 . Those unique areas have been in the town for years, are still
there and still protected _ The booklet sent out congratulates the landowner for taking care of
that property . The non? page criticizes thorn and says you went to put e buffer around it to
give it more protection . Land is personal property ; to him this is sticking your nose where he
doesn 't. think it 's needed , ft 's like sticking your hand in hie pocket and saying you 've got a little
control over what's in that pocket: . You say this won 't affect agriculture , but this is a first step
of regulation and down. the road with another hoard aril years later, them wilt be more
environmental protection put on this. And first thing you know , you will lose more rights . He
is absolutely against this _
Harry Rehbeia , 156 00.411- Hill Road - Has 43 acres in the CEA_ He looked at the federal
wetlands map before coming here tonight. This hkhA is well beyond the federal and state
wetlands , both of which he has on his property , They treat those areas with utmost care and
don 't abuse them. He doesn 't think it is in his beet interests or anyone else in the township ,
for the board to be establishing this setback. Later on , all the tributaries into the CEAs will be
included in the CEAs , whore they don 't belong. With respect to the 1. 5%; slopes, farmers have
been working those for years with good practices for erosion control _ He agrees that it sounds
like someone is sticking their hand in hie pocket. It sounds like this is another attempt to
thwart gas drilling in this county_ He doesn 't appreciate it .
Jeff Walden, Beam Hill Road , said he is curious to know where the impetus for this
came from _ He asked if there was an environmental disaster that he doesn 't know about, or has
there ever been in the Town? hewn of Dryden requires for a zoning variance that all neighbors
affected by the variance be notified by direct mail . He finds it curious that the board can
propose , ponder, and consider in any way such a measure that usurps individual landowner
rights without the same courtesy . Supv Sumner said people who have property in a CFA that
is being considered were notified by mail _
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• J Waldon said there has never been any kind of environmental disaster either
accidental or caused by careless behavior that would warrant the Town of Dryden taking this
action above and beyond the EPA , the DEC or any other environmental regulating authority.
He is not in favor of this .
Ray Converse , 139 Cemetery Lane - said he owns land on Cuff Hill Road that is pretty
much all in CEA 10 . He may want to harvest trees from the land . He uses it for hunting and
four wheeling. He 's not going to be able to use his land the way wants to , and he has to pay
taxes on it.
CEA 11
Patrick Snyder, environmental lawyer and engineer, representing RMS Gravel and Roy
Reeves- RMS has property on both sides of Cady Lane and they request their property be taken.
out of the critical environmental area. They feel this entire critical environmental area concept
has been taken way out of bounds and really should be retracted and done away with . Most
towns don 't even have critical environmental areas. The few that do usually have one or two
small areas. It is unheard of to have an area that is close to half the area of the town to be in a
CEA. RMS feels there is enough environmental regulation . State regulated wetlands can 't be
affected within 100 feet without a permit from the DEC . Federal wetlands require permits from
the US Army Corps of Engineers . Most streams require permits from the DEC if they are going
to be altered in any way . There are permits for alterations in flood plains. RMS is highly
regulated as a mining industry by the DEC . They can hardly make a move without DEC
approval , and they feel that there is enough environmental regulation . While it may be true
that creating a critical environmental area does not create a new permit system , it is certainly
® not true that the areas in Ag districts or single family homes will never be affected . It puts a
new layer of bureaucracy on top of any kind of permit that is issued other than non-
discretionary permits such as a building permit , and for that reason , they would like to have
their property removed .
Alan Dedrick - said he has asked previously to have his property removed . There is no
value in it and it is cumbersome . it talks about manure spreading and pesticide applications
and that's all regulated by DEC anyway . You 're adding buffers on top of that along wetlands
and streams. We are already regulated that way . The whole CEA process sounds like the
information , science and research is a little vague . He's not sure how accurate it is judging by
the comments that have been made . He doesn 't know what gives the town the authority or
legal standing to take this action , and would like to see a copy of that in writing.
Supv Sumner said she knows he has spoken with the Planning Department in the past
and they are aware of his concerns.
A Dedrick said it 's nice that people are supportive of it, and they have little parcels here
and there . They can just move from here to there . Farms have been here for generations. He
can 't pick up and move his farm .
Ginny Stairs, 296 North Road , said their 33 acres of what is called Woodwardia Woods
has been in the Stairs-Johnson family for well over a hundred years. It was woodlot for the
family and part of their house was built with wood from it. They were given the woods in the
1980 's from the children who had received it from their parents in 1. 952 . They intend to pass it
on to the rest of the family . Their home is not in the CEA , but has been in the family since
before the Civil War . They have taken good care of this land ; the whole family has taken good
care of it. But it is theirs , and it doesn 't belong to anyone else . She feels this is just a
® beginning, and in the future it may be suggested that they share their special woods with
everyone else. Then pretty soon they will be caretakers for everyone else . They intend to use it
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for timber_ They haven 't timbered since 2001 . But is it is theirs to timber when they want,
and they don't intend to ask permission from anyone on how they use their land .
CEA 12
Jerry Yaeger, 400 Irish Settlement Road, said he has property on Bradshaw Road ,
Most of it is in this CIA designation _ He thinks critical is much too strong a word ; What makes
it critical? Dryden Village has a right of way through this property , and if they decide to run
their new waterline through them , they would virtually destroy it. He also thinks that he has
the right to log, or cut firewood , or anything he wants to, on his property vhid Ut asking for it .
dupv Sumner reviewed the sign -in. sheet and asked people if they would like to speak.
GENERAL COMMENTS
Blaine Warner, 4 Bndh Lane , said he fords A interesting you 've brought the people
here to hear what they say , yet no one pays any attention _ [ 1; gives the impression that you ' ve
all made your opinion and you are just here filling in your time and doing what you have to do .
Questions are deferred because you don 't have information , it is old and dated , and yet this is
the stuff the board will make decisions on that will affect the people of Dryden. It doesn 't sheet
him right how, but sometime in the future he can see there will be a land grab that will come
after his property . Why isn 't: there a map Mere that shows where the CEAs are? He doesn 't
understand what the whole thing is. It's almost a garnet and the board is just doing what it
has to do. You don 't give the time , you don 't give the notifications , you don 't his the
information out to the people , just so that don can do what you want to do and you can
manipulate how you want to run things . And at the end you say "We followed all of our
46 procedures . "
Tim Foote , said over the East four years between the zoning ordinance , the drilling ban
and now this , he feels there is a. fundamental breakdown of what government is supposed to
he He feels annoyed that he has to come herd to defend what have been over hundreds of
years time honored traditions and rights of property owners . The town boars] has lost focus of
what the purpose of governing is supposed to be . Your job is to protect our rights and our
property rights first and foremost. When you put regulations and conservation easements and
require studies on site approval and all of these things, you are encumbering the ability of
people to build houses , or to farm or start industries. hod then want to raise the taxes
because we wonder why there is no industry and there is no property base _ He feels if someone
wants to put their property in a conservation easement, that's line . But for those that don 't,
they shouldn 't have it jammed down their throats . it's wrong and is a slippery slope when
governing majorities or minorities can enforce their will on other people . Eventually the
pendulum swings the other way. he thinks it 's wrong for either side of any thought to inhibit
someone else 's rights or their viability . It seems what we have here is a war on property rights.
William Todd, 61 Sweetland Road - The board claims this is outdated information that
was sent to all the people that were notified . He asked if it would apply to this new 300 foot
that will be taken from these people.
upv Sumner explained that what was received in the mail includes the town proposed
EA and one page describing why it 's being considered as a CEA and a map . The rest of the
material is taken from the UNA designations that the County did several years ago, Some of
that information helped the hewn decide which areas to consider and why, but it is not
relevant to tonight's discussion . It is not relevant to any regulation. None of that information
will accompany the CEA designation if it is adopted _ The board thought more information
might be useful .
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Todd - Even if it is outdated information , the people are claiming they don 't want
that on this portion . Wha I. you are doing is adding 300 ' to that buffer. Will the same things
apply to that 300 foot? Will four wheelers and logging be restricted on that 300 foot? These
papers were sent to these people for a reason. Even if it is outdated , you are trying to extend
that same information 300 foot further; it will apply to that 300 foot.
hupv Sumner said an It is painful how .much misinformation is circulating . She urged
him to call the Planning Department for an explanation .
W Todd - The people receiving this information are taking it as facts. Ton need to tell
people what exactly is intended .
dupe Sumner said she is happy to talk to anyone who calls and speak with them
individually_ There have been many open meetings for people to learn more _ This is a chance
for the board to hear people 's comments . The letter instructed people to call the Planning
Department if they had questions.
Audience member - Her brother- in- law did call and was told don 't worry about, it
means nothing, it 's not important , just ignore it .
Bill Peskier - 699 Fall Creek Road, said he has property in the horseshoe that is not
included in a CEA zone yet, but expects it will be in the future . The way governments (federal ,
state and local ) have been going, they are going crazy. Ile said the Constitution protects the
acquisition and retention of citizenship. It protects the basic liberties of its citizens as well as
aliens . The Constitution also protects our property from arbitrary governmental interference ,
although debates of interferences are not easily settled . The town is telling them what they can
410 and cannot do with their properties . That 's like someone walking into your house and saying
you can 't use that bedroom for your bedroom _ The town can 't tell them what to ha with their
properties . They aren 't breaking any laws, and he feels the town can 't do that, The
government exists to serve the people , not rule the people . He will do as he wants with his
property .
Several residents expressed frustration that the board would not answer questions
during this public hearing.
Alvin Thayer - asked whether this would be put to a vote by the residents and was told
it was not . It is a board decision . He believes it should be a public vote and the information
should be shared with every resident , and said it is fair For every resident of the Town of
Dryden to know arhat the hoard is trying to put through .
Jacques lchickel - asked if in the planning process , the landowners were notified in
%writing of the process_ The process has been done and now they are invited to a public hearing
where they can talk , but they can 't get more information , and then you are going to vote _ He
thinks this stop and shouldn 't happen . Pe asked how many in the room were opposed and
there was a large show of hands .
Bruno Schickel , 69 Schutt Road, said it may be helpful to the audience to give some
background , The Supervisor has mentioned many open meetings _ He attended a number of
Conservation board meetings and was informed that their rules do not allow them to take
comments from the public _ He could not ask a question and get an answer, and could not
participate in any way . The arrogance by which the public was treated was outrageous . A
number of people on Conservation Board have stated to him publicly that they wanted 100% of
the town designated critical environmental area, The compromise was 62 % in 36 TEAs .
Imagine the crowd here tonight if all of those were notified at once . That gives you a sense and
the magnitude of the problem that you face . It 's interesting that you ' ve banked away from the
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® initial 62 % of the town , and started shrinking the areas. They decided to remove the houses ,
barns and businesses , moving the line away from them .
You are saying a lot of things that are in conflict with one another. On one hand you 're
saying, it isn 't going to affect you , it's really insignificant, it's not a big deal . If it wasn 't a big
deal , why would you move the line back so people houses or businesses weren 't in it? This is a
significantly big deal because everyone knows the direction of regulation in this country . The
burden gets heavier. Let 's be honest , the only reason we are here tonight, the driving force
behind this and behind so much land being put: in the critical environmental areas , is because
of gas drilling. He has been at the Conservation Board meetings and they are in a panic
because gas drilling is coming.
There was discussion about whether or not that was stated in a Conservation Board
meeting.
B Schickel said with respect to the process , there is a lot of data on the UNAs that is 10
years old . They took that unique natural area identified by the county, where people walked
the site and saw it with their own eyes , and you took that same evidence and applied it to the
surrounding areas. No one in this room was asked to have someone visit their property . The
board took a short cut and simply said we're going to extrapolate the evidence and say it is all
included . The bottom line is a scientific process not followed . You used extremely old data . A
lot of the area identified is wetlands controlled by the DEC or Army Corps .
As many people have said , we can take care of the land ourselves . We 've been doing it
for hundreds of years . The bottom line is people are doing fine . There is not an environmental
problem . There is only this catastrophic fear of gas drilling that is driving this train . In closing,
this is not documented , this is not needed, and it sure the hell is not wanted . It is time to
listen to these good folks . He asked the board to consider multiplying these CEAs by six and
there will be a bigger crowd pleading with you saying no , do not do this . You owe these folks
the respect they deserve .
Joe Wilson , 75 Hunt Hill Road , He will have trouble trying to stay calm after listening
to Mr Schickel . He has attended meetings that B Schickel has attended and has watched him
dominate meetings with questions, answers and rhetoric. After a short exchange , Supv Sumner
asked that people treat each other with respect.
J Wilson said the CEA process as mandated by the State for all agencies and local
governments to follow , provides a common sense answer to the claims that he has heard
tonight that include that either there is a lack of scientific survey evidence or specific evidence
or science based evidence , or that there has been trespass on people 's private property in order
to gather data for the CEAs . In fact, the best time for government officials , as required by law ,
to come onto someone 's private property to conduct a "scientific survey" or to develop " specific
evidence" or to find justification for mitigation of something that property owners want to do
that represents a dramatic change from what is currently being done is when and if the
property owner ( 1 ) does intend to make a dramatic change in the current property use of the
property they own , (2 ) they ask for government assistance in the form of an exemption from an
existing law, or for some kind of permit , or for some kind of government expenditure to provide
improvements which will help the landowner make the change that they want to do , and if the
change that they propose will have a specific effect on people who live outside the borders of
the land on which the landowner currently resides. Those are the conditions under which a
CEA process begins . And then , only the government agency whose assistance the property
owner has asked for by asking for taxpayer money or an improvement or some kind of change
in the law , or some kind of special permit, that government agency goes to the property owner,
® they look at the property, they discuss whether mitigations are necessary or not, and if there is
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® a determination ( 1 ) no mitigation is required , or (2 ) the effects that might have occurred are not
going to affect those beyond the property , then the process is over.
So there is no need now for anything other than the designation of the areas. We don 't
need specific scientific surveys now until a property owner says I 'm going to change
dramatically what I am going to do . It 's going to affect others , and I want government
assistance . That's the kind of information that should have been shared so that all of us could
understand this process instead of the fear mongering that's occurred tonight.
J Wilson submitted the attached letter prior to the meeting.
Tammy Tabone , 84 Sweetland Road , said she is very much an environmentalist and
has been all her life . Her property borders the McLean bog. They have enjoyed the wildlife in
the area, the fauna , the trails, etc . They are very into paying attention to not disturbing the
wildlife . When she received the packet in the mail , she thought it a good th.i.ng, but as she
went through it, she thought it was a lot of regulations on her property , and it might not be as
good as she was hoping for. The information here isn 't making it clear . She is hoping to hold
off on a vote for this. Before major decisions are made that affect so many different people in
so many ways, and in possibly negative ways , some policies should be put in place to protect
the property and homeowners . She requests this be given a public vote . It's our properties and
we should be the ones to make the decisions . When she first of heard of the gas drilling thing
she thought it would be a good thing for jobs . Then she started hearing the negative things
about it. She did some research on the CEAs and found there are not a lot of them around , so
we can 't really make a good comparison. Before making a rash decision on something that
could be a good thing, but we don 't know yet , please consider holding off on that .
® Linda Foote - said her neighbors have stated her feelings.
Susan Norte read the attached statement .
Ron Beck, Ed Hill Road , part of the Beck Farms partnership - He and his wife own 76
acres off Mallory, ville Road . It was put into a conservation easement in 1997 . It is so
thoroughly protected , it can 't be protected anymore and they did it because they wanted to .
That whole parcel was included in this by your typical broad brush approach . I 've spoken
before about unnecessary regulations . I think this is very typical of that. You need to think
about that.
Rich Franks , Peruville Road , he bought a house from Cliff and Sue Norte five years ago
and moved up from central New Jersey to get out of the hustle and bustle of crowds in New
Jersey to an area that he thought was farm area, with good , hearty, working people with sense .
He sees a lot of sense here . He doesn 't see a lot of sense of it in the administration . Way too
much control . He left New Jersey to get away from that. He saw the over-government taking
over. He has lived it . He moved his entire lifestyle to come to the country where he thought
people had good sense, good values , hardworking . He was wrong. He is very troubled by it.
He sees hard working people that take good care of property . He left an area where people
didn 't. That's why he wanted to be here .
Steve Stuttle , 330 Livermore Road , Lew- Lin Farms, LLC - Requested their property be
dropped from the CEAs. Others have spoken about how he feels .
Fred Terwilliger - He 's against it .
• Linda Woodin - She 's against it.
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S Hilary Lambert, 1676 Hanshaw Road - The CEA nearest her property will be coming
up later on and she understands she will receive a packet with information . She looks forward
to making comments in support of its designation . Throughout this long process of CEA
description and mapping, she has seen the Town Board and Conservation Board show their
willingness to listen to all residents . it would have been simpler and less costly to approve the
CEAs in December, but because of public comment, they went back and checked and redrew
boundaries , reduced buffer zones around wetlands, bodies of water and streams, and did more
scrupulous notification of landowners as had been requested by many people. She appreciates
the work and time spent on behalf of citizens of Dryden and urged the board to move forward
with the designation CEAs .
Nancy Werany , Library Street - asked what the point of the CEAs is .
Supv Sumner said there is one question on SEQR form (required of any project that
requires a town board reviewed permit) that asks will the project under consideration have any
negative effect on the environmental characteristics that caused the creation of a CEA . In the
past the board hasn 't had any CFAs or enough information on what sensitive environmental
areas they might take into consideration . The Conservation Board created the Open Space
Inventory about 10 years ago . That and the County 's unique natural areas is the only
information they 've had . This was intended to develop a tool for the review boards to use in
conducting the state environmental quality review.
When asked why the board couldn 't use the UNAs , Supv Sumner replied because the
UNAs are incredibly more detailed than the designation of a CEA . How the state defines critical
environmental area is much broader.
1011 N Werany asked if there were other towns doing this, and Supv Sumner said she
didn 't know what the numbers were . N Werany asked about DEC involvement if someone
wants to do something, and was told only if the DEC was doing an environmental quality
review.
N Werany asked if the Town had checked with the DEC about how much property is
being put into these CEAs and was told they have not .
D Kwasnowski said Charlie Smith contacted the Regional Director of the DEC .
David Kalb , 171 Groton Road - thanked the Town Board for tackling this issue and
continuing to put the protection of all residents of Dryden in the forefront. There is a lot of
misinformation on what the designation a CEA does and does not do . That could be explained
in a one or two page document about what regulations it might impact. There are a lot of
things that will never trigger any action , and that's important for people to know. He
understands that the designation of land as belonging in a CEA is not a law or ordinance , and
the designation is important for local area natural resources that arise from New York State
Conservation Law. It is locally impacted . He appreciates the level of protection for the town .
He has been here for 35 years, in the same home for 33 years, and is near most of the areas
talked about tonight. He knows the board has worked on this a long time and some people are
just discovering that . He knows the board is working to protect what we hold dear.
Fred Connor, Irish Settlement Road - Almost 7 years ago after many long hours and
much hard work, Dryden 's Comprehensive Plan was adopted . That plan recommends
designating CEAs as an additional layer of protection for Dryden 's unique natural areas , areas
that are already recognized by landowners as being special and deserving of protection . So the
current work on approving CEA designations is merely fulfilling one of the recommendations of
the Town 's carefully considered Comprehensive Plan . He is pleased to know that the Town
Board is prepared to follow through on the Comprehensive Plan 's promise to Dryden residents
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® to protect the rural nature of the town and its unique resources . He thanked the Board , the
town 's planners , and board volunteers for taking care of this long overdue business .
Donna Call - Since the board the board will take away her say, where does she send
tax bill? Who is going to pay for it?
Roger Hatfield , 183 Gulf Hill Road - asked if the CEA will replace the agencies that
already control them , or is this layer on top of what is already there . Supv Sumner said it is a
tool for those agencies to use , not a new regulation . He owns property near Fall Creek and got
a plan approved , then the Army Corps changed their mind and it cost him a large fine . We
don 't need more help like that.
Patrick Snyder - still against it .
Martha Ferger - She understands that the UNAs were defined some time ago by a long
process in which scientists walked the lands in question with permission from the landowners .
Those scientists gathered geological data and surveyed populations of plants and animals , thus
creating a huge storehouse of information available to the public which is stored in the county
planning departments . Over the years this information used by many landowners and
developers and others in making voluntary decisions related to things they were thinking of
doing in these sensitive areas. Using this UNA information as a base , CEAs have now been
defined with expanded boundaries, thus giving official recognition to the need to protect these
unique areas. UNA status alone cannot achieve that protection . She thinks they are a good
thing and appreciates efforts of the town . She believes giving CEAs status will protect the town
and its land values by requiring reasonable impact studies before new projects are approved .
She doesn't understand the fear expressed tonight because this only comes into effect on the
411 initiative of the landowners . They 've been taking care of their land , and she agrees with that .
It's only when they want to do something entirely different, a housing project or something,
that a review will be required .
Alan Baker - He has watched these proceedings and has a great deal of respect for a lot
of the people and farmers in this room. They do an excellent job with what they do, and that
should be enough. It is enough as far as the State, DEC , and CAFO is concerned . They have
all these layers already , and he feels it is unnecessary to have more layers of government. It
will restrict property owners and is redundant and foolish .
Warren VanPelt, 2312 Dryden Road - The board took the UNAs and expanded them to
make CEAs. The UNAs are ten years old . The water table has gone down . Therefore you
should be shrinking them instead of expanding them . You 're going the wrong direction . The
majority of people that own the land don 't want it, so why? You are elected to represent the
people , so if the majority of the people here don 't want it, why? There was a revolution in 1776
- taxation without representation .
Marie McRae , Irish Settlement Road - echoes what Martha Ferger said . She doesn 't
understand the fear in the room . She read the attached statement .
Matthew Schefiler, 148 Hile School Road - said he finds himself a steward of nature
and conservation . When planning the house he is building on his 27 acres , he put it as close
to the road as possible so as not to affect the area behind . He is a hunter. He is looking to
make nature a better place. He wants deer and other animals to thrive from what he does on
his property . He has removed invasive species and made it more palatable to deer and other
creatures. He uses sound management processes. He has a friend he consults in his planning.
The back of his property is included in CEA 6 . He has added trees there. Probably something
like this may not be affected , but he doesn 't know about the future . He thinks once a
designation is placed , who knows what will happen in the future . He won 't do anything that
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411 will destroy that. He will preserve what needs to be preserved and will remove some invasive
species and rotting trees that are destroying the understory . He doesn 't believe there needs to
be anything further put on this. He understands there is a unique natural area there . It's a
beautiful area and he will preserve it to the best of his ability . His neighbors are the Tropper-
Herbels and he knows they have a different opinion on the designation , but he also knows they
aren 't going to do anything either. He doesn 't: believe that we need an extra designation on an
area when people are educated enough to preserve their land in a way they feel will last for
thousands of years.
Bob Beck - is currently on the Conservation Board , was on the Tompkins County
Environmental Management Council . He read the statement attached.
Joe Biggins , 636 Fall Creek Road - Some questions were answered and more weren 't.
He would like to see the questions asked tonight with the answers put online .
Linda Rig' gins, it is obvious how beautiful the land is here in the Town of Dryden.
There are bogs and fens . It is true that the water table is going down in the wetlands . We may
already have a concern and this might help us be able to prevent something worse from
happening. Water is life for all of us and we should keep that in mind . If you own property
near a waterway, try to value it even more .
Laura Hathaway , 333 Gulf Hill Road , is not actually in a CEA designation , but as a
property owner near one , she wonders why she wasn 't notified . She is in a neighborhood
where everyone is against it because you are taking rights away. She feels exactly that way . is
it possible to extend the mailing so people know what is going on ? She owns 38 acres 200 feet
411 from a CEA. She feels she should be able to do what she wants with her land . She is confused
because all she knows is what she read in the brochure and it looks like , in her opinion ,
everything is scenic and special , and the whole world should be hi this . She agrees with people
that we pay taxes on this land, and she respects Bob for all his comments regarding
conservation because he knows what he's talking about, but the community and everyone else
doesn 't pay our taxes . It should be our decision and we should do what we want with it.
Evan Carpenter , Dryden farmers committee , He has heard that the County is
reevaluating the UNA process for the County . If that is the case , the CEA designation which is
loosely based off the UNAs, should have the latest information . We should have the most up to
date information possible . His family has been here since 1803 and they have done a decent
job of taking care of their land . They 've kept the land beautiful . He was south of the town
today looking over Cornell University property and the golf course and admiring the view. The
farmers have done a good job, and all the citizens have done a good job of taking care of the
land . He said if you let them continue doing that, the CEA designations are not necessary . He
agrees with everything said tonight with the exception of six or so people .
Jeremy Sherman, 6 Sunny Slope Road , Jerry Dell Farm - He believes farmland should
be taken from the CFAs . He respects the people who want to put their land in CEAs and if
they want to do that , they should be able to . This should be put to a public vote . The public
couldn 't vote on the drilling. He said the public should vote regarding restrictions on their
land . He knows the board says there are no restrictions with the CEAs today , but there may be
in the future . The data is old , and he 's also heard they are going to review the UNAs, so this
should be scrapped until we have new data.
Bard Prentiss - is on the Conservation Board and was on the UNA committee for the
first one . Read the attached statement.
Page 10 of 13
TB 9.4i- I2
Deborah Cipolla Dennis, 964 West Dryden Road - After the last hearing she visited the
DEC website and did some reading and research . Some of the information retrieved from the
DEC website was specifically considering the types of actions that would trigger a SEQR .
That 's important because a CEA is not considered unless the SEQR process is triggered . Type I
Actions are things that trigger a SEQR. For example, construction of residential units over 50
not connected to public water and sewer, or 250 units if connected to public water and sewer;
or a project that uses ground or surface water in excess of 2 , 000 , 000 gallons per day. Type II
actions that don 't require SEQR are the expansion or construction of a 1 -3 family home,
garage , patios, fences , storage shed and other buildings not changing the land use , and any
maintenance of existing landscape or natural growth . She appreciates all the work done by the
board . She urged people to attend town meetings ; this has been a topic for at least 18 months .
Joanne Cipolla Dennis - thanked the board for the protections they have given the
public and the intense time taken on this issue . Dan has put in several hundred hours alone
on this . The board has been working on this for at least two years that she is aware of from
coming to meetings. She is concerned with hostility. When you come to a town board meeting
you should be respectful of the board and of other members that are here to give their
testimony as they see it. To accuse and swear is unacceptable at a public hearing. She
encouraged people to come to town meetings to find out the information that encompasses
these types of decisions so that all people can be heard and can get adequate, correct , verifiable
information . She is personally concerned for her friend who did her well . She wants him to
understand that no one is going to come and tell him that he cannot four wheel or hunt or fish
or chop wood on his property . This type of fear is unwarranted . She built a house responsibly .
As we are all familiar with , increasing population pressure for housing put stress on the open
spaces and rural character that residents value . That draws visitors here . CEA designations
assure that all subdivisions for housing will minimize damage to the natural resources we all
411 enjoy by require environmental quality review of the plans . It is important that these
protections are in place , not to stifle expansion of housing stock, but to insure that it is done
properly . She appreciates the care that goes into the discussion of CEA designations. She
agrees with the board and urges the board to act as soon as possible.
Tom Harkenrider, 1987 Peruville Road - His land is in a proposed CEA and asks that
his land be removed , as a majority of the people here tonight want to be removed . We all have
enough regulations on our properties already . People that own land, own it because they love
the land and they want to take care of it. We don 't need more regulations.
Theresa Rehbein, 156 Gulf Hill Road - doesn 't think this is about governing property.
What the board is doing is making damn sure no well drilling will be done in the Town of
Dryden . They all take very good care of their land . You know that because you can see it. We
should all have the right to have our land , if we so chose, removed from this mess . She has
written a letter asking to have her land removed and would appreciate the board doing that.
She has lived there since 1985 and they haven 't hurt it a bit. The 300 ' boundary does her
house in . She 's only on a spot that is 300 '. Everything else is in the CEA. She wants her land
removed .
Carolyn Yaeger, lives on Irish Settlement Road and owns property on Bradshaw Road
in one of the areas that is being considered for a CEA tonight - She appreciates all the work
that 's been done , but it almost seems unnecessary. We have laws in place, we have a zoning
board . We have building permits that are necessary before we can do anything. As suggested
earlier, maybe that's the time that reviews be done , when someone is applying to do something
on their property . She doesn 't think we need a CEA as another level . It obviously is making
everyone very nervous. She suggests that people be able to opt out. She would do that if given
the option .
Page 1 I of 13
'I'13 9-6- 12
S Craig Anderson, Bradshaw Road - His property is not in a CEA . In talking about
CEAs go under an unlisted action , which is everything in between a listed action , Type I
aa Type H . Whoever is the governing body can list you in that unlisted action . A lot of
concerns of the farmers are that the designations changed in 1996 . Everything was
automatically elevated to a Type I SEQR review, and it was changed to an unlisted review . Not
so much for farmers . But the point is, if it changed once , it could possibly change in the
future , and that is a concern . He knows that they 've done a lot of work to at least get the
plowed lands out of the CEAs and he appreciates that.
William Todd said he has a petition signed by many people who don 't want this . Supv
Sumner said he was welcome to submit it.
Russ Beck, Beck Farms, feels he should speak because they are a fairly large land
owner in town . He respects everyone 's opinions , and people have made good points . He heard a
lot of comments about rights being taken away . He realizes you 're not saying the rights are
taken away yet. You are creating a new designation of land . Once created , it is very easy for
someone to come in and change the rules and regulations on that already designated land .
That 's the concern . It 's not fear; it is concern for an unknown future and future regulation .
That's really the basis of what you 're hearing. It 's not saying you can 't ride a four wheeler on it
today , or log it, or take of less than 2 , 000 , 000 gallons of water, if that's a correct fact . It 's the
unknown of the future . You are creating a system that allows for easy future regulation . That's
his concern . They want all their lands in CEAs removed for that reason . It 's an unknown.
Supv Sumner said she spoke with Doug Barton recently and understood that point for
the first time . She doesn 't think it's really the Town Board people are worried about . It's largely
DEC. Farmers deal with DEC a lot more than most property owners. It had not occurred to her
that the DEC could use this in an unintended fashion .
411 Theresa Rehbein - A lot of this could have been avoided if the board hadn 't sent the
letters . Everything we are talking about came right out of the letters that were sent. They have
even' right to be afraid . It says they aren 't to walk in the weeds because they could kill
something.
Supv Sumner said to look at the two pages that arc the town designation to get a clear
idea of what we intended .
T Rehbein - You thanked us for taking such good care of our land . That should be the
end of it.
Tim Woods - These are his general comments. He has attended numerous
Conservation Board meetings on this subject . Yes , they did say this was based on the UNAs
and they were trying to expand the coverage from the UNAs to buffer more zones and connect
the UNAs together. After two hours of meeting on just CEA 01 and arguing over the
boundaries of just that one , they said well , we 're just going to have to make it arbitrary . So the
boundaries of some of the CEAs are completely arbitrary because they couldn 't agree on what
criteria to use . The Conservation Board admitted that . In a petition submitted by the farmers
committee it was requested the Town Board hold off on voting and accepting the CEAs until the
Ag committee was seated and they could submit a formal comment . They still want the board
to honor that request . In the flyer it said that agricultural land is exempt from SEQR by New
York State law . They understand that . Why are agricultural district lands still in the CEAs?
They 'd like an answer to that.
Joanne Walker, owns land on Yellow Barn Road adjacent to Yellow Barn State Forest -
® She loves the land, we all do. These are really, really tough economic times . People 's taxes are
through the roof. Dryden School District has the highest tax rate of anybody as of last year.
Page 12 0' 13
'rB 9-6- 12
411 Dryden is not a wealthy community . Not by any means . Speaking from her experience as a
real estate agent, any land that has any kind of regulations, local regulations , government
regulations, the value of that land decreases. The same way when people signed oil contracts,
that was in their closing documents . It decreases the value of the land . Any time you have
regulations , those values are decreased . It may not affect everybody 's land, but it definitely
affects the land that has the regulations. She wants to make sure that is clear, because these
are not economic times that you want to raise taxes and decrease the value of the land .
Bruno Schickel - The last speakers articulated their points very well . Once you get a
designation on, what that means can be easily changed, and it isn 't going to be determined by
this board . It could be changed by the State of New York, and that 's a long way from Dryden ,
New York. The board should give some serious thought to that. As far as the UNAs, when you
look at a UNA map they are very carefully delineated and identified . They were done carefully
after exhaustive study and research . If you were just talking about turning the UNAs to CEAs,
there wouldn 't be the crowd that was here tonight . By increasing and buffering the UNAs, that
swelled to it 62% of the Town of Dryden . It is a significant overreach . He asked board to say
no to this and put it to bed tonight, so people can go home with the confidence that this is
done . If you want to , go back and go through a process and get permission from landowners
who want their land designated this way . Identify them using similar exhaustive research ,
data collection and surveying that was done for the UNAs and bring them back for people to
review . He thinks that would receive a positive response . He asked the board to vote no
tonight and let the people go home with confidence that they can sleep well .
Supv Sumner said she has one more point of business , and then will stay for about 15
minutes to talk with people. This matter is not scheduled for a vote .
RESOLUTION # 146 (2012) - AUTHORIZE PURCHASE OF SERVER
Cl Stelick offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption :
Whereas , the Technology Committee has determined it necessary to replace the town 's
server and has received and reviewed quotes for the same , and recommends that the Town
purchase a server from HP, together with necessary licenses through 1V4, Inc . , now therefore ,
be it
RESOLVED , that this Town Board hereby authorizes the purchase of a server from HP
at a cost not to exceed $8 , 618 . 92 , and the associated licenses through 1V4 at a cost of
$2 , 704 . 90 , and the Town Supervisor is authorized to execute any necessary documents.
2nd CI Leifer
Roll Call Vote CI Stelick Yes
Cl Solomon Yes
Supv Sumner Yes
Cl Leifer Yes
Cl Lavine Yes
There being no further business , on motion made , seconded and unanimously carried ,
the meeting was adjourned at 9 : 47 p . m .
Respectfully submitted ,
Am.6: �rf.ti�2.
I3ambi L. Avery J
Town Clerk
Page I 3 i11 13
Town cf Dryden
Town Board Meeting
® September 6 , 2012
Name - {Please ; Print Address or Board
Do iJ Sc far 1 3 i?AimEAA r - VI tit
Dryden Town Board Meeting
410 ; ms ` � ' Dryden Town Hall r_— wry
.` off, o, 93 East Main Street ;irowN ° ,oc:c
., �
IS "=CC X Thursday , September 13 , 2012 7 : 30 PM =" yi
1 . Call Meeting to Order
2 . Roll Call
3 . Budget modification
4 . Abstract approval
5 . Discussion Items
a. Upgrade of Verizon ' s tower at NYSE
b. Varna zoning amendment
C . Budget message
411 d .
6 . Proposed September 20 Agenda Items
a . Vcrizon tower upgrade Public Hearing
b . Bolton Point water rate
c . Varna Zoning Amendment
d . Other zoning amendments
e. Tax Levy Cap override
Next Town Board Meeting : Thursday , September 20 , 2012 ® 7 : 30 PM
Next Abstract & Agenda Meeting : Thursday , October 11 , 2012 at 7 : 30 PM
•
® Robin Tropper-Herbel and Justin Herbel
266 Ed Hill Road
Freeville , NY 13068
Public Comment in Support of Critical Environmental Areas ( CEAs ) 06 - 12
September 6, 2012
Thank you, Supervisor Sumner and honorable members of the Town Board for the opportunity
to voice my strong support for the designation of all proposed CEAs, and CEA 06 in particular,
which includes important wetlands covering 1 /3 of my 27 -acre property at 266 Ed Hill Road .
CEA 06 , known as the Peruton Swamp and Fens, encompasses over 500 acres of wetlands,
forested wetlands, ponds, and the Owasco Inlet headwaters — of which my property represents
but one small portion . Thanks to the diligent work of the Conservation Board in crafting the
CEAs over the last several years , based on rigorous surveys and data collection performed in
prior years by Tompkins County scientists who identified and described the Unique Natural
Areas ( UNAs ), I know this habitat is home to numerous species of rare and scarce flora and
fauna . This area is spectacular in its pristine beauty, and I understand it holds enormous
ecological significance . But it exists in precarious balance with ever-increasing population
® density and potential heavy industry of our future .
The volunteers serving on the Conservation Board care about this land . They care about Dryden
and about preserving the unique character of our town, as do I . Given the knowledge we
possess, based upon extensive available research data and mapping technology, I thank the
Conservation Board for its work toward adopting CEA designations in the town of Dryden , as
afforded by NY State Environmental Conservation Law .
When very large projects arise in town involving Special Use Permits , Subdivision Reviews, Site
Plan Reviews, and certain Zoning Board of Appeals variances — and indeed this issue only
pertains to very sizable projects, and never to agricultural land — I think it' s a good idea for such
proposals to come under careful environmental review if potentially impacting delicate
ecosystems within CEA sites . I ' ve observed the Conservation Board deliberate the specifics of
the CEA borders and their characteristics with true intelligence, open-mindedness, and
sensitivity toward diverse community interests . I respect that the Board trimmed down CEA
boundaries from the original UNA lines in many cases, and some wildlife buffer zones were
minimized in the interest of reserving CEA designation only for those habitats, especially
wetlands, placed at highest risk by large-scale development and future industry. I appreciate
and request this reasonable level of protection for that special portion of my land, and for the
precious natural resources of our town .
I urge you to please vote in favor of proposed CEAs 0642, and thank you .
® eces.7;2„,-F,/
Joseph M . Wilson
75 Hunt 1-111 ] Road
Town o e Dryden
Ithaca, NY 14550
O : Dryden Town Board Members
DATE : September 6; 2012
Comments for September 8 , 2012 Critical Environmental Area (CEA) Hearing
I have read the Statement of Designation and Intent from the Planning Department dated July
13 , 2011 , viewed the Final Draft CEA Map dated 8/2412011 , read the Conservation Board 's response to
Mr, Schickel ' s `° 15 Questions" dated February 28, 20 i I , attended the Conservation Board meeting
where Mr. Sehickel was given free rein to question the Board on these and other questions , road a
sample letter sent to residents of the Town whose property is affected by the designation of e CEA
dated August 9, 2012 , read the Manning Department' s pamphlet "Critical Environmental Areas
Frequently Asked Questions , " read the form letter given by Mr. SehickeI to some residents to object to
the inclusion of their property, attended most or all a f the Town meetings devoted to CPA 's for the past
two years , and spent some hours on the CEA portion of the Town rebsite ] earning more about the
specific CPA designations proposed by the Conservation Board .
Here is what l have come to understand :
4110 A CEA designation does not ethsot agricultural activities
• A CEA designation does not affect lands designated as ebrieoltural
• A CEA hate portion does not affect building permits .eor single-family homes
• A CEA designation does not affect Zoning Board variances
A CEA designation only comes into play when a property orrrrnr wants to dramatically change what
heAshe has been doing on their property in a way that might also have a significant impact on the lives,
property, health, safety, habitat, and/or ways of life of then- neighbors and fellow citizens ,
• Examples include :
• converting agricultural ] and to industrial or commercial uses
i building a multifamily residential development
A CEA designation only comes into play if the property owner wants the government' s help in making
this drotnnhc change -
• Examples include :
• government paying for improvements using tax payer's dollars ;
• e special use permit; n site- plan review
• an individual exception to an existing zoning law
• activities which require State-agency permits
The form letter which Mr. Sehickel has apparently been handing out to folks to send in to the town has
one theme with two , contradictory claims embedded in it. The claims are : 1 . No one inspected the
objecting property owner' s property by walking the land; or, 2 . Someone sneaked onto the land by
trespassing in order to inspect it.
0 The CEA process as mandated by the State for all agencies and local governments to follow provides a
common sense answer to both of Mr. Schickel ' s claims , and it makes the claims premature . The reasons
are these :
• The best time for the walk-through , "scientific survey, " "specific evidence , " reasons in
justification, and "science-based process" Mr. Schickel' s form letter demands is IF and WHEN
the property owner has decided to make the kind of dramatic change to the land which could
affect the lives, property, health , safety, and/or environment of fellow citizens AND the
property owner has asked for a specific kind of help from the government such as spending tax
payer money on improvements , issuing a special use permit, creating an individual exception to
zoning laws, or changing agricultural land use to industrial , commercial , or multifamily
residential .
• Before then, the kind of inspection Mr. Schickel calls for such would be speculative, intrusive ,
expensive, inefficient, and most of all , premature.
In short, none of the bad things that Mr. Schickel seems to be trying to scare some of us into believing
have actually happened, and nothing like what the form letter describes witl occur unless and until the
property owner wants to dramatically transform they way things are now.
After study, it becomes clear that the CEA process is a conservative, not intrusive or prohibitive
process .
40 • It conserves our resources and preserves the way things are without involving trespass ,
speculation , or the waste of government time and resources until a dramatic change is proposed .
• Then, the government agency which has been asked by the property owner for help inspects and
consults with the property owner about the best way to do what the property owner wants while
minimizing the effects on the rest of us whose lives will be changed by the new thing the
property owner wants to do .
• And , the government agency could decide that no harmful effects will occur or that no steps are
necessary to mitigate the effects . In this case, the property owner can go ahead as though the
CEA did not exist.
Sincerely,
Joseph M . Wilson
0
September 4, 2012
84 Sweetland Road
Cortland , NY 13045
Dear Dryden Town board Members ,
f ant writing in regards to the packet that ‘'4a8 sent to my husband and 1 , informing us that
our property is now part of a Critical Environmental Area- .[ have several concerns about
this and would like to request that the Board Members gather more information on the
benefits and negative effects that this may have on our properties and that we, as property
owners be made aware of any unfavorable repercussions that may befall us as the result
ofne regulations that may be imposed on us should this be approved ,
I feel very uninformed on this process and , though I ew not in favor or against CPA ' s at
this point, I feel that more research should be done and policies set in place that can
protect homeowners in a way that may also preserve the exquisite and unique area that
comprises the town in which we live,
I have a strong concern as to how this might affect changes that I may wait to do to my
property , property value . reseleability of the property, etc . The packet we received was
very vague.
Since this will affect oreo home and property owners. we e
Y p p red to b more informed and
1 feel this should be something that is voted on by the people that live in Dryden .
Please consider further research and possibly a public vote, before issuing a final decision
on something that could potentially have negative affects on Dryden property owners .
Thank you for your time and attention to this issue .
Sincerely ,
wrrPR a
Tarni i,. Tabone
Town of Dryden Resident since l Odd
September 6 . 2012
To : the Town of Dryden Board Members and Supervisor Sumner
From = Susan W . Norte, property Town of Dryden
My husband and I own 48 acres in Dryden along with 2 other parcels in Town of Groton .
The CEA literature received is of significant concern _ Our parcel and that of the other
land owned was to be part of our retirement plan created years ago and on good faith that
we had a sound plan .
We have seen land values decrease and taxes increase . We have sold land leveIl ahead of
schcdute to pay the property taxes in the past several years . Our ultimate retirement
location will now be 700 mites down the road in -astern Tennessee where the entire
year' s property taxes are the same as one month here for our current residence . That
location includes 40 acres, a ranch house with garage and several storage/outbuildings.
While we are assured that folks should not he concerned with the labeling of COM, l see
that more rights are being whittled away . A Dryden school official shared some years
ago about the "Boiled Frog Theory" in regards to getting projects/budgets passed . That is
to tarn the heat up slowly an the dog goes to sleep and he never knows what happened.
a, I believe the same theory is being used with CEAs and any ] and limiting legislature in
years past _ I request that any part of tax map 24 . - 1 - 16. 4 that has been designated be
removed Tom the CEA and return the property rights to the owners .
I have lived in Tompkins County for 32 years and before that in Cortland and Madison
aunties . Our past and current home was built by as as the money came in . It was not
built for us. It was built with retirement and easy access in mind for our later years . I
work full time and have a pet sitting business locally, I cannot work any more hours to
pay for more taxes and less rights, My family and lTaads am I nearly . It tears me
apart to have to face leaving primarily for economic reasons and fears of what will be
next in NYS . This is the most troubling time of wy life and you folks on the Board need
to recognize how more and more decisions that limit the property owner affects lives now
and in the future .
Sin rely, ] �
nsan NAB _ Norte
Remarks by Martha Ferger September 6, 2012
I understand that Unique Natural Areas, UNAs, were defined for our county some years
ago by a long process in which scientists walked the lands in question, with permission
of the landowners. Those scientists gathered geological data and surveyed populations of
plants and animals, thus creating a huge storehouse of information, available to the
public, which is stored in the County Planning Department. i also understand that, over
the years, this information has been used by many landowners, developers and others in
making voluntary decisions related to things they were thinking of doing in these
sensitive areas.
Using the UNA information as a base, Critical Environment Areas have now been
defined with slightly expanded UNA boundaries, giving official recognition to the need
to protect these unique areas . UNA status alone cannot achieve that protection.
I appreciate the time and energy of the Town planners and Conservation Board members
who have done the basic work and the many hours the Town Board has spent reviewing
the details and the adjustments suggested by the public. I believe that giving CEA status
to these areas will protect our town and its land values by requiring reasonable impact
studies before new projects are approved.
6 Can xarczna 7��. ..
is support approval of all CEA designations . As an owner of farm land, I am
comfortable with the protections for agricultural activity that are in place at state
level .
I understand from my reading of the DEC web site that agricultural practices on
agricultural lands are exempt from SEQR and thus are not subject to review even
when those lands are included in one of the Critical Environmental Areas .
Specifically, and I quote : agricultural farm management practices, including
construction, maintenance and repair of farm buildings and structures, and land
use changes consistent with generally accepted principles of farming " would not
require SEQR paperwork .
Additionally, I know that clearing a field for cropland ; building a dike, ditching
for drainage, installing drainage piping, or erecting a farm stand would not
require SEQR review .
and although it would not be agricultural practice to build home for my
daughter on my farm land, I know that too is a Type II action and again (pursuant
to 617 . 5f c) (9) exempt from SEAR. revie w .
So I find no undue burden added to my life as a farmer by designating CEA
boundaries . I am cheered by the thought that for those actions that would disturb
a large part of our landscape, an extra layer of review is required .
I appreciate the work of the Town Board members , the town planners, and
Conservation Board members who have spent their time and energy to put
protections in place in Dryden that maintain my land value . I ask you to please go
ahead with this process and approve the group of CEAs before us tonight .
Marie McRae
i
1 Sept _ 6 , 2012
My name is Bob Beck . First , I should disclose that I am a current member of the Town
of Dryden 's Conservation Board and earlier I was a member of the Tompkins County
Environmental Management Council , where I worked for many years in helping
prepare the first and second editions of the county's Inventory of Unique Natural Areas
( UNAs) .
But tonight I want to speak as a Dryden citizen and property owner because my home
is adjacent to EA-09 at Nlalloryville .
I strongly support Dryden 's designation of DEAs . Sere are my thoughts :
1 ) Our Town is uncommonly rich in special natural areas and natural beauty that
residents here deeply treasure , natural features that provide a high quality of life that
many other places have regretably lost_
2 ) The fundamental purpose of CEA designation is to provide INFORMATION ,
information meant to help and to benefit landowners , project sponsors and
government decision-makers in mating careful and wise decisions about the use of
land , while thinking about short- and long -term environmental quality .
•
• P ) CEA designation is net a law _ Environmental information and knowledge are
•
preferable to ignorance , and CEA designation providing environmental information is
preferable to the alternative which would be more laws and more regulations .
4 ) CEA designation by the Town simply passes this information on to the State DEC to
e nsure that it is available and used in environmental reviews. That 's all it is ; there is no
hidden agenda ,
5 ) Property rights work both ways _ Landowners have many rights, as they should , to
u se their land , but neighbors and citizens have a right and obligation to protect their
own land and their community 's future from environmental degradation . The notion of
u nlimited property rights is archaic , short-sighted and selfish in the modern world _
a ) The phrase Critical Environmental Area was chosen by the State , not the Town of
Dryden , and is tap narrow a term . But Dryden is doing precisely what the State
enabled local governments to do . Perhaps Significant Environmental Area (SEA)
would be a better fit .
Bob Beck
54 VV , Nlalier rviila Rd , j 114kCa,
Freeville , NY 13068
838 -3590 (h )
423- 0397 (c)
I thought it might be helpful to offer a little history on how we came to the creation
o f CEAs .
The conservation board is charged with advising the town board on environmental
Issues. As such we are often involved in the consideration of questions that
u ltimately involve landowners. Being landowners ourselves we are very conscious
o f the potential impact that our recommendations might have on the landowning
public. It was during discussions focused specifically on our concern for the
potential arbitrariness of laws involving environmental regulation that someone
mentioned the idea of creating CEAs.
A CEA designation, we learned , is not a law , nor is it a one size fits all approach to
complex problems that deserve individual attention . What a CEA does is request the
• town and the state to take a second look at some forms of proposed development to
assure that the long term shared interests of the residents of the town are not
u nduly compromised .
I believe that CEA designation is the fairest approach to the very complex
and controversial problem of land use in the twenty- first century. By design, it
encourages careful review of each case individually instead of creating an arbitrary
set of laws that at best do a poor job of addressing the problems they are designed
to solve .
Our town is exceptionally rich in very special and highly sensitive
e nvironmental resources, Resources that, once gone, can never be replaced . In my
view it would be unconscionable not to acknowledge them when considering
• alterations to land use in the town . Bard Prentiss 9 /5 / 12