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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-10-20PB 10-20=20 11 Page 1 of 3 ' TOWN OF DRYDEN Planning Board October 20, 20] 1 Members Present: Joseph Lalley, Chair; David Weinstein; Megan Whitman; Martin Hatch; Tom Hatfield. Excused: Wendy Martin, Joseph L aquatra, Jr.; Staff Present: Jane Nicholson, Planner; Patty Millard, Recording Secretary. Town Officials: Joseph Solomon, Towii Board Liaison. Meeting called to order at 7:00 pm. M Whitman will be resigning as she is moving out of the Town. Ag District Presentation Miss Teeter could not attend this evening. She had planned on coming to discuss the Ag District update process in Tompkins County but had to reschedule. Charge from the Town Board An email was sent to the Planning Board with a Resolution the Town Board passed this month asking them to evaluate strategies for managing impacts of industrial activities that could occur ui the Town of Dryden. In starting this discussion, Chair Lalley has attended a number of conferences and discussions this past year and lrom those sources, the topics lie would suggest focusing on initially are: Stormwater Road protection Noise Aesthetic Solid Waste The town originally discussed passing regulations to protect its residents to avoid a ban, which is Chair Lalley's opinion is illegal. Focusing again on land use issues and protections is the better way to go and other members agreed. The town already has a stormwat.er ordinance. Superintendent Bush just finished a study with Delta that could help give a baseline of our road status and give information useful to drafting a road protection law. Bonding by applicants to cover damages as a result of their activities is something that the town has done before. For example, cell tower applicants have to put up a bond to cover the cost of removal of the tower when building one. in addition to bonding, the right kind of road regulations can help protect the roads. Chair Lalley interpreted this charge from the Town Board as the Planning Board coming up with legislation to protect areas in terms of heavy industry. With work done recently around the state, k PB 10 -20 -2011 Page 2 of 3 he believes there are enough sources that have dratted regulations that we could use that information and draft proposed legislation in house by December. 'i'he CaRDI Reports Issue Number 14 dated September 2011 was distributed prior to the meeting and has some good guidance on regulations a town can enact to protect its resources. One way to approach this is for the Planning Board to form a subcommittee, meet with stall' outside of the regular meeting, and come up with a draft timeline of topics that could and/or should be done first and how much it will cost. For example, the Town has stormwater regulations in place; they need to be reviewed to determine if the protections are adequate to cover any activity that would take place in the town. The same would need to be done for road regulations to protect the town's roads. I'lle matter of noise is a difficult one. Living in a farming town, there is a certain level of noise accepted with agricultural activity. J Nicholson stated that her and Dan's (Director of Planning) interpretation was that the Planning Board was to do a gap analysis. They should identify the areas we need to protect if heavy industry were to take place in the town; this includes a review of existing regulations and the comprehensive plan for what areas are already protected and which ones aren't and evaluate whet -her the existing protections are adequate. With budget constraints, we can't afford to hire any consultants in the next budget cycle. However, the gap analysis piece could be done with myself, Dan, and the Planning Board, over the next 6 months or so. At that point, the Town would be in a better position to move forward on drafting legislation once they have a bullet list of priorities. The items Chair Lalley thinks they should focus on first are the ones there is no ambiguity about the Town being able to regulate. These were listed earlier in the meeting. Once these items are addressed, others can be explored. One point of view was the outcome the PB and eventually the T'13 should be aiming for is not to ban gas drilling, but instead to ensure that any activity that takes place within the Town is governed by a "do no harm" philosophy. The regulations that need to be put in place should ensure that people are free to do what they want with their own property, but that will ensure that those activities not only don't adversely affect their neighbors but also don't adversely affect the town as a whole in terms of increased costs for things like road repair as a result of the activity. While the Town can't regulate some activities, we can regulate certain things like how they handle solid waste on a property. If a neighboring resident's well is contaminated because a business doesn't handle their solid waste properly, the Town can legally account for and regulate that type of situation. Discussion on ways to protect water, not just stormwater, but well water. Could the Town enact legislation that requires certain heavy industries to test all wells within 1 mile of a site to ensure no contamination is done? If contamination is caused, the industry owner would have to pay to repair the problem. PR 1040 -2011 Page 3 of 3 The PB needs information from organizations that don't have a political agenda. Much of the information out there is prepared by a group either for or against drilling and is biased. The regulations needs to be put in place that help us protect residents ftom harm; whether that is in the form of regulations to prevent contamination through stormwater and/or solid waste management regulations, among others, there need to be methods in place to mitigate potential problems and compensate when there are problems. If the PB is comfortable wlrith this approach, Chair Lalley suggested either a sub committee meeting OR using the November meeting to come up with a list of what needs to be done and an estimate of costs and then figure out how to fund it if necessary. Staff reiterated that the charge is only to come up with a task list and a strategy for prioritizing, not legislation. `l" Hatfield and J Lalley stated the initial priority list is done. Also, J Lalley would like the PB to go one step further and come up with a draft action plan with some cost estimates that can then be acted up. T Hatfield didn't think the Town Board would of to that initiative being taken. J Lalley suggested between Cornell and other resources, they might be able to affirm that and come back to the Town Board in December with an action plan. M Hatch made a motion that the PB take the following action: Identify the areas the town can regulate: roads, solid waste, noise, aesthetic, stormwater (runoff). Focus on developing legislation around those areas that would protect the town from any activity that might occur within its boundaries. In that context, review the existing legislation and propose updates to the extent that it needs to be improved. This work would be done at or completed by the November PB meeting. 2nd D Weinstein All present voted in favor. Varna Plan Update A draft was handed out of the work to date. "This was shared with the Advisory Committee. The current focus is the five area plans included. They are not set in stone designs. They are suggestions of ways to stay with the character of the community. Input will be requested from the land and business owners in the area. Those meetings have started and have gone well so far. The next draft is anticipated next week. November 2 "d will be the public presentation of-the Varna Plan. Writing the Code would be the next step. Density has not been discussed yet. The focus is more on form and staying with the character of the community. That is the item that is most important the community. Recreation Plan John Dean Studios & Must Have Plan, LLC, have put together a draft plan to develop the property owned by the Town in the vicinity of the Town Hall. This will be presented on November 3rd at 7:00 p.m. here at the Town Hail, The Recreation Master Plan was passed earlier this year by the Tov`m Board. There is a state grant (Healthy Communities) that is covering the cost of the plans. There being no further business, on motion made, seconded and unanimously carried, the meeting was adjourned at 8:00 p.m.