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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCAC Minutes 02-01-2024 CONSERVATION ADVISORY COUNCIL February 1, 2042 6:30 In Person Town of Lansing Board Room MINUTES 1. Call Meeting to Order Present: Ed Dubovi, John Fleming, Todd Walter, Adam Buck, Robyn Bailey Absent: Gabby Desnoes Town Board members: Joe Wetmore and Judy Drake Former CAC members: Tom Butler and David Wolfe With 5 of 6 CAC committee members in attendance, a quorum was present. 2. Discussion of the 1-18-24 draft of the OSCP A motion was offered by Ed to move the current draft of the OSCP to the Town Board for approval. The motion was seconded by Robyn. The floor was open for discussion. Some concern was expressed again about how the plan might be used to restrict land use. It was pointed out that page 5 of the draft now clearly stated how the plan would and would not be used. There was support to have a sentence inserted into the Executive Summary Open Space Vision statement explicating stating the “would not” scope of the plan. Some concern was also expressed about the inconsistent use of terms. For example, on page iii, the heading of the chart is “weighted value” while the chart on page 40 has the same values as “priority points”. Similarly on page iv, “category” is used to identify the items to be assessed while elsewhere in the document, these same items are listed as “criteria. Some other minor editing was identified. The major item of concern is the chart on page 40. This had been identified previously as being difficult to comprehend without considerable effort. This was also noted by the board member attending the meeting. It is almost certain this will come up as the Town Board reviews the document. A solution to the problem will be offered to Collier. Overall, there was high praise for the quality of the draft document with recognition of the considerable effort needed to produce this valuable product. The motion to move the plan to the Town Board was approved by a vote of 4 in favor with 1 abstention. 3. Discussion of Future Efforts of the CAC With the near completion of the OSCP and prior approval of the NRI and SRI, the CAC completed the major items that make it eligible for redesignation as a Conservation Advisory Board. With the creation of a CAB, any plans coming to the Planning Board that involve properties on the OSI would have to be referred to the CAB for comment as to the impact of the project on the conservation goals. There was no consensus reached as to the value of a CAB at this time. A discussion of the future efforts of the CAC was begun. The broad list of tasks for the CAC outlined in Town Resolution 19-49 requires substantial efforts which do have impact on Town resources. The CAC is also charged with being the Town’s task force for the Climate Smart Communities program under Town Resolution 19-163. It was suggested that several efforts be explored in more detail and then proposed to the Town Board for approval. CAC meetings have been held on the 1st Thursday of the month at 6:30. That time period seems to be popular for other Lansing activities. The first Wednesday of the month was offered as an alternative. If there are no objections from other Town committees, this change will be made at a later date. There are currently 3 vacancies in the CAC to be filled if we are to maintain the 9-person committee. There are at least 2 candidates that have filed applications. Following the Town Board approval of LL#! 2024, the Town Board will assess the applicants and the CAC is invited to participate in this process.