Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-03-2020 Lansing CAC Agenda Town of Lansing Conservation Advisory Council NOTICE OF MEETING The meeting of the Town of Lansing Conservation Advisory Council will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, December 3, 2020 at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs2FgU2xFnDyGS8DwXgojwA • Because of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Emergency and State and Federal bans on large meetings or gatherings and pursuant to Governor Cuomo's Executive Order 220.1 issued on March 12, 2020 suspending the Open Meetings Law, this regular meeting of the Town of Lansing Conservation Advisory Council will be held electronically via conference call instead of a public meeting open for the public to attend in person. • Minutes of the Conservation Advisory Council Meeting will transcribed and posted on the Town's website at https:Hvrww.lansingtown.com/town-docs. AGENDA: 1. Call to Order/Agenda Review: modifications to agenda 2. Approval of November 5, 2020 Minutes 3. Public Comment—Please email comments to tolcodesOlansingtown.com 4. Presentation by John Dennis - Cargill's Clean Water Act Settlement: Reducing Salt Discharges to Cayuga Lake (20-minute presentation; 10-minute Q/A) 5. Environmental Protection Overlay Districts (EPODs): Explained, examples, next steps Background: See Nolon's article on Zoning and Land Use Planning, attached From C.J.: One example of an Environmental Protection Overlay District (EPODs, included as part of g, highlighted below) is a scenic overlay. An overlay zone is a layer applied on top of the already-established uniform zoning districts (RA, IR, B1, etc.); an environmental overlay zone generally does not follow property lines but rather natural features. The Town may apply stricter standards for development in these areas based on the condition (stream corridors, wetlands, steep slopes, scenic features). See attachments for Cayuga Lake Scenic, Steep Slopes, and Stream Corridor Overlay Districts, drafted by Joe Wetmore (NOT READY for distribution). Also, as a reminder, the resolution creating the CAC is below. 6. Natural Resources Inventory, last call: https://assets.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:US:2165bebc-84al-49e5- abb 1-7c5a2d66d591?view=published 7. Scenic Resources Appendix 8. Comments on the draft Office of Renewable Energy Siting Regulations (ORES) large- scale renewables regulations. Deadline has been extended to 12/7 for Part 1. Please skim Part 2 (called "subpart 900-6"), which is attached. C.J.'s Nov. 11 email has further details, as does the ORES website: https:Hores.ny.gov/regulations. 9. Planning Board Solar Subcommittee: help with resources See Buffer Planting Resources, assembled by Tom and attached. FYI: the Lansing Parks and Rec Survey is still open: https://www.research.net/r/LansingParks RESOLUTION CREATING THE TOWN OF LANSING CONSERVATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE [snip] (a) conduct researches into the land area of the Town of Lansing; (b) seek to coordinate the activities of unofficial bodies organized for similar purposes, and to cooperate with other official municipal bodies active in the area of community planning for the Town; (c) advertise, prepare, print, and distribute publications (including, but not limited to, books, maps, charts, plans, pamphlets, and digital materials) that it deems necessary for the accomplishment of its goals; (d) keep a required inventory and map, as defined in section 239-y of the General Municipal Law, of all open areas within the Town, with the plan of obtaining information pertinent to proper utilization of such open lands, including lands owned by the state, any other municipality within the state, or by the Town of Lansing itself; (e) keep a required inventory and map of all open marsh lands, swamps, and all other wet lands in a like manner, and recommending, when it deems it appropriate, to the Town Board a program for ecologically suitable utilization of all such areas; (f) keep required accurate records of its meetings and actions and file required annual reports with the Town Board on or before the thirty-first day of December of each and every year, and once approved by the Town Board, to send a copy thereof to the NY State Commissioner of Environmental Conservation; (g) focus its preservation efforts on land it deems to be at risk of development located in areas zoned for low density or conservation; (h) develop a list of scenic or historic sites to protect as opportunities allow; (i) lobby on issues relating to the council's duties and goals; 0) actively support open space protection by facilitating the transfer of land from sellers to buyers sympathetic to open space preservation; (k) accept by gift, grant, bequest, or otherwise, money or other personal property in the name of the Town of Lansing, for its use in furtherance of the objectives of this resolution (but no authority to engage in fundraising is given or implied); 2 (1) propose, subject to Town Board action, the acceptance by gift, conditional or unconditional, grant, devise or otherwise, the fee or any lesser interest, development right, easement, covenant or other contractual right, including conveyance with limitations or reversions, land, in furtherance of natural resource protection within the Town of Lansing; (m)recommend acquisition by the Town Board by purchase in fee or any lesser interest, development right, easement, covenant or other contractual right, including conveyance with limitations or reversions, by negotiation or condemnation, such real or personal property as may advance the goals and purposes of the Council; (n) pursuant to (1) and (m), above, administer a conservation easement program on behalf of the Town, to include the crafting, acquisition, and monitoring of easements, both purchased and donated, with each such acquisition being subject to Town Board approval, and to coordinate and promote opportunities for participation in Farmland Implementation Grant Programs (and related programs and grant opportunities) and the Purchase of Development Rights, whether now or hereafter arising by program or grant of the United States, New York State, Tompkins County, or the Town, or any of its agencies, bureaus, or public corporations or authorities, as are consistent with the purposes and goals of the Council; (o) develop and implement management plans for Town-owned conservation land. At a minimum, the plan for each parcel or group of contiguous parcels shall identify and set forth the features of the property to be preserved or enhanced, the features that can be compatibly exploited for public benefit, and the actions needed or desired in order to do so, complete with a schedule of steps to be taken. For conservation properties owned by the Town at the time of creation of the Council, the Council shall create management plans within three years. For newly acquired properties, the Council shall create management plans within two years. For each management unit, an opportunity for public comment shall precede adoption of the unit's management plan by the Town Board, with adoption required before implementation by the CAC. The management plans for every management unit, once adopted by the Town Board, shall be reviewed by the Council every five years. Progress, via the specified implementation steps, toward the adopted goals, shall be carefully scrutinized. The public, particularly the neighbors of the management unit, should be encouraged to participate in the review. The Council may propose changes to a management plan, subsequent to its periodic review, which changes must be approved by the Town Board before implementation or adoption and approval by the Council. (p) for land acquired by the Town for conservation not protected by conservation easements or restrictions at the time of acquisition,prepare an easement (or like reservation, restriction, or other right) for Town Board review and possible adoption. 3