HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-01-2020 CAC Minutes I Town of Lansing
2 Conservation Advisory Council Minutes
3 Thursday, October 1, 2020 6:30 PM
4
5 Present via Zoom Excused
6 Robyn Bailey John Fleming
7 Andra Benson
8 Thomas Butler
9 Karen Edelstein
10 John Greenly
11 Carrie Koplinka-Loehr
12 David Wolfe
13
14 Other Staff via Zoom
15 C.J. Randall, Planning Director Heather Dries, Code Clerk Joe Wetmore-Town Board
16
17 Public Present via Zoom Meetings
18 Andrew Zepp, FLLT William Klepack, LAC-FPP Hilary Lambert, LAC-FPP
19 Robb Jetty, LAC-FPP Robert Bland, LAC-FPP
20
21 Co-Chair Tom Butler opened the meeting at 6:30 pm
22
23 Motion to Approve the September 3, 2020 CAC meeting minutes - no changes needed to be
24 made.
25 So Moved by: Carrie Koplinka-Loehr Seconded by: Robyn Bailey (Motion Carried)
26
27 Public Comments via email to tolcodes@lansingtown.com
28 - No Public Comments by email before or while meeting was live streaming on YouTube
29 at https://www.Voutube.com/channel/UCs2FgU2xFnDyGS8DwXgoJwA
30
31 Power Plant/ Bell Station Land Discussion
32 - We were joined by several members of the Lansing Advisory Committee on the Future of the
33 Power Plant (LAC-FPP) and Andrew Zepp from the Finger Lakes Land Trust.
34 - Andy Zepp recounted the history of the land.
35 o NYSEG is the current owner
36 o 490 approximate acres with 3400' of shoreline.
37 o It is the largest un-developed private parcel of property with shoreline in the finger lakes
38 as far as he knows.
39 o We have been exploring the protection of this land for about 15 years.
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40 - How should we use this land?Can we do recreational area of possibly 350 acres, a wildlife area
41 with the remainder being Solar in the upper acres currently being farmed. The Solar could offset
42 the tax implications.
43 - To become a State forest,they require at least 500 acres.
44 - Weighed the monetary benefits of choosing between solar and State Forest land. How does the
45 community feel about that?
46 - Solar would be more interested in land near lake ridge road, closer to the lake has steep grades
47 that are not suitable for solar. We could use forested land near the lake as recreational or
48 wildlife zones.
49 - Concerns about the previous use as a coal ash landfill.Who is responsible for cleanup?
50 - Very low soil quality in the old landfill area would be better for solar, as the land is less valuable
51 - Clean up should be brought up later in the game, but not as a condition.
52 - Don't want to be pushy towards the solar people,we don't want to scare them away from
53 potential negotiations.
54 - Possibility to get acreage to the north of Bell Station to make up the 500 acres and still have
55 enough for solar.
56 - Generally,the Town Board does not want to see the shoreline turned into solar.They would
57 prefer it be kept natural. If it is changed,there is no going back.
58 - Lake Front home development is also an option but would reduce the ability to receive money
59 from the State in Lieu of Taxes.
60 - We need to provide clarity and avoid undermining the solar proposal.
61 - CAC will not be issuing their own statement; however,they do stand behind LAC-FPP's proposal.
62 We are in support of the concept and believe it has true potential!
63 - CAC would like to add to the LAC-FPP's resolution (see below) so it can be distributed to the
64 Town Board before their special meeting.
65 o Add a "Where As" about the Town's Solar Law.
66 o Strengthen the Resolution on the Conservation Environmental Review.
67 o Adding the idea of acquiring the full 500 acres.
68 o Emphasizing that our region is in support of contributing in a reasonable fashion of
69 acting with a well thought out plan.......
70 o Karen's has some language that she will send in an email to the group.
71 Motion to support the LAC-FPP Resolution that will be given to the Town Board as amended
72 So Moved: John Greenly Seconded by: David Wolfe (Motion Carried)
73
74 Natural Resources Inventory
75 - We believe Terry has the most up-to-date copy, C.J. will check.
76 - The duplicate acknowledgement section in the executive summary should be removed.
77 - The target for submitting the documents to the Town Board will be after next week.
78 - The Open Space segment is looking thin;the Simms parcel is not in yet. Do we want to wait for
79 that? Do we want to publish this and have it outdated as soon as it is released? Robyn agreed to
80 add a small paragraph when Terry returns the documents.
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81 - We need to compile all the photos into one spot. Everyone should send them to Karen via
82 Google drive.
83 - Multi-meeting process to narrow down, add, and compile sites. No rush.
84 - We would like to see an interactive map that includes the pictures.This could help us with any
85 redundancies or gaps that we have missed on the map.
86 - Great job Karen!
87 Membership
88 - Reminder that 4 members have their terms expiring on 12/31/2020;Tom, Andra, Karen, and
89 Robyn all have 1-year terms expiring.
90 - We need to have recommendations no later than the 12/3 CAC meeting for the Town Board's
91 January Organizational meeting.
92 - Tom, Robyn, and Karen all expressed interest in staying for another term. (Andra had already
93 excused herself from the meeting).
94 Reports from the CAC to DEC, EMC
95 - Annual reports to DEC& EMC are due 12/31/2020.
96 - These reports just explain what we have done throughout the year.
97 - Carrie,Tom, and Dave to work on this with input from C.J.
98 U.'s Plan of Work
99 - C.J. has proposed the same number of hours for next year that she has put in this year.
100 - We are happy with what we have! C.J. is integral to the whole process.
101 - C.J. does plan on bringing on a consultant to work on Land Use Ordinance.
102 Planning Report
103 - Recap of solar information sent to the Town Board and Planning Board members.
104 - Any questions, let C.J. know.
105 - There are a lot of new rules.
106 - eCode360-getting away from only attorneys and real estate people knowing the code. Makes it
107 available to everyone, including the public.
108 - Still learning how to use it effectively.
109
110 Co-Chair Tom Butler called the meeting to be Adjourned at 8:37pm.
111
112 Minutes taken and executed by Heather Dries.
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