HomeMy WebLinkAbout1992-12-21 r
TOWN OF GROTON
Joint Meeting Between the Town Board and the Planning Board
Monday, December 21, 1992; 7:30 p.m.
PLANNING BOARD TOWN BOARD
(* Denotes Members Present)
* Monica Carey Donald Cumming
* Sheldon Clark Carl Haynes
Verl Rankin * Lyle Raymond
* George Totman * Theresa Robinson
* Cecil Twigg Ellard Sovocool
* George VanSlyke Gordon VanBenshuten
George Totman explained that the purpose of the meeting is to bring the Town Board up to
date, relate the progress made, and get a general consensus of the opinion from the Town
Board whether they agree with the course that the Planning Board is heading. If the Town
Board does agree with the direction they are heading, then the Planning Board will finish the
Master Plan and rewrite the ordinance.
George Totman introduced Joan Jurkovich and Jeannie Barrett, from the Tompkins County
Planning Department, who have been working with the Planning Board for the past eight or
nine months. Joan appeared at this joint meeting to bring the Town Board up to date.
Joan discussed the survey that was completed by people in the town. There was a good
response from the public with comments on many topics. The first phase of this project was
getting an idea of the feel of planning in the town. In the next stage, there were three public
forums, which were announced in the second newsletter. The first meeting was on economic
development, the second on agriculture, and the third was an open forum, which discussion
mostly went back to economic development and agriculture. Based on the survey that was
done, economic development and agriculture were the two topics where there was the
greatest interest shown. The economic development forum had two visitors: Fred Paris,
from NYSEG, who is an economic development specialist; and Mike Stam, who is the
director of the Tompkins County Area Development Agency. The second meeting presented
Carl Crispell from Cooperative Extension, who talked about the state of agriculture in New
York, and had some thoughts as to what was going to be happening in the future. The open
forum didn't have any special guests; it was just for an opportunity for people to talk about
any number of issues.
The third phase of this project, as a result of the survey and the forums, is to begin rewriting
the master plan. Joan explained that they have accomplished rewriting some of the outlines
for the possible chapters of the master plan. The mission statement and goals and objectives
have been completed. The mission statement states that the purpose of the Groton Master
Plan is to preserve the area's unique sense of community or by providing for orderly
development by balancing the stability of the local economy and the protection of the town's
rural character. This mission statement has been reviewed and approved by the Planning
Board. Joan added that everything is still subject to change. A sense of community was a
very strong topic, which came up during the public discussions. Based on that mission
statement, the Planning Board has developed ten goals. The Planning Board felt that the
master plan itself should be used as a basis for decisions in the future. It should be written
so that someone either on a town board or a planning board can pick it up, see what is going
on, and use it to help them make a decision on where the town should be going in the
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Monday, December 21, 1992
future. Joan picked out a few of the goals that were unusual or specific. Goal 3 - To
promote townline activities and encourage a land-use pattern which through its physical
form fosters a sense of community. Goal 4 - Addresses the economy, stressing the need to
provide stable employment opportunities for the residents of the area. There was a lot of
discussion on what was the important part of economic development whether to build a tax
base or provide as many jobs as possible .within the town. The most important thing seemed
to be to give Groton residents the ability to find stable employment, preferably in the town.
Joan was questioned as to whether this goal would include working in collaboration with
other towns and the county. She stated that it was important and not only Tompkins
County, but also Cortland County. Goal 5 - To support the continued viability of agriculture
as a part of the economy. In Groton agriculture is still a major part of the economy and
needs to be recognized as such and the viability of that needs to be maintained. Goal 8 -
Working with the Village of Groton on issues of mutual concern like the schools,
infrastructure, and economic development. To a lot of people who live outside of the
community, there is a line between the Village and Town. Someone that is looking to locate
jobs in Groton 'isn't going to want to deal with the fighting of whether it is in the town or
village. It is important to work together to identify common goals. Goal 10 - To contain or
Iplan opportunities so that our children will not be economically compelled to relocate to
other communities.
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Joan stated that the next step is to take a look at the services that are currently provided by
the town. She showed the general stability of support for other services. For Chapter Four -
1 Population and Demographics - Joan put together some very basic information from the
1 census, comparing 1980 and 1990 statistics for the town and also for the county (1990
information). She presented some preliminary population projections using a couple of
different methods. For example, looking at the town and what is some of the potential for
population growth in the community. Based on that Joan did some housing projections as
well for the future, and a little information on the housing market in the area. She pointed
out that Groton has a much larger household size than any of the adjoining counties.
Families represent a much larger proportion of the households in Groton than opposed to
other areas. There are a lot of traditional families within Groton. She stated that on the
housing projections they are projecting an increase of between 2,300 and 2,400 units by the
year 2000 and by the year 2010, 2,400 or 2,500 units. These figures are excluding the village.
There are more mobile homes in Groton than the other communities, but very few in the way
of apartments. There is much more owner occupied housing. Housing is quite affordable in
Groton as compared to the other counties.
Joan displayed maps that showed the village's existing water and sewer systems, and
discussed starting to think about what service areas might be extended into the town.
The next item was a road inventory of the sewer lines and a tax map showing a road
classification system for the town. She explained that she classified the roads according to
their function: arterial streets, which are the major roads that get you in and out of town to
Cortland or Ithaca; collector streets, which either take you from one side of town to another,
might take you into Lansing; and local streets, which serve local traffic providing access to
property. She stated that she will be checking the mileage figures for better accuracy.
She presented the preliminary outline of the economic component. It contains some basic
1 information looking at industries and what alternatives there might for economic growth in
the town, and what the impacts of those alternatives are; then mix and match them for an
economic development strategy for the town. The availability of water, gas, and sewer will
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Monday, December 21, 1992
also impact where development might be placed. Joan was questioned as to her primary
direction with the economic development plan as far as importance. She explained that the
main factor is what kind of stable employment opportunities that the town is looking for
whether not to necessarily to get one big industry, but may be to get several new small
businesses that can provide a variety of types of jobs. The development doesn't have to be
within the town, it can be region wide.
What are the possibilities of village/ town consolidations? Joan commented that she would
like to combine some services, and questioned whether there are any current cooperatives
agreements with the village. The sewer and lights are part of a cooperative agreement and
would be paid by the people that live in those districts. Joan added that a lot of areas are
not doing formal consolidation of government, but consolidation of some services. For
example, the on-road maintenance, and the computer and data services. She stated that she
will look further into consolidation and what the implications would be.
IThe topic was raised to figure a way to use the land behind the street (road frontage),
because a large portion of the land is not being utilized. This should be included in the
master plan, that way someday when the land is desirable, a plan will already be developed
and ready to be implemented.
The next items to be looked at are: what are the options available to the town in terms of
future development; what are the zoning implications of those alternatives/ options; and
what needs to be changed in the zoning ordinance, and recommendations on those changes.
Joan felt that they are at least three-quarters the way done with this project. George Totman
explained that there needs to be at least one public hearing on the master plan, then the
Planning Board needs to hold one, then before the Town Board can pass it they also need to
have a public hearing.
George Totman explained to Theresa Robinson that the purpose of this meeting was to
h explain to the Town Board what the Planning Board has been working on. He wanted to
find out if the general concept of what they are doing is agreeable to the Town Board. The
Town Board responded that as far as the process and the work done so far, the money seems
well spent.
Another point was raised that if there is an additional 150 families coming into the area in
the future, what impact will this have on the schools. George Totman responded that he has
spoken to the school officials, and they are interested in being involved in the planning
process.
Meeting adjourned at 9:25 p.m.
Submitted by Michelle Eastman
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