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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTB Minutes 1980-04-21 TOWN OF ITHACA TOWN BOARD MEETING April 21 , 1980 - 5 : 30 P . M . At an Adjourned Meeting of the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca , Tompkins County , New York , held at the Town Offices at 126 East Seneca Street , Ithaca , New York , at 5 : 30 p . m . , on the 21st day of April , 1980 , there were : ® PRESENT : Noel Desch , Supervisor George Kugler , Councilman Shirley Raffensperger , Councilwoman ® Catherine Valentino , Councilwoman Henry McPeak , Councilman Marc Cramer , Councilman ABSENT : Victor Del Rosso , Councilman ALSO PRESENT : James Buyoucos , Town Attorney Lawrence Fabbroni , Town Engineer Ralph G . Carpenter , 1388 Mecklenburg Road Alicia S . Carpenter , 1388 Mecklenburg Road James P . Savitt , 114 Summit Street Daniel B . Geller , 125 Highland Place Representatives of the Media : Matt Leone , Ithaca Journal Bob Lynch , WTKO Chris Fickes , WTKO PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE , The Supervisor led the assemblage in the Pledge of Allegiance . Supervisor Desch reported that a meeting will be held on April 22 , 1980 , at 7 : 30 p . m . , at the Common Council chambers . It will be a public hearing to consider the environmental impact for the "new " Waste Water Treatment Facility . He urged all who possibly could , to attend the meeting and make their concerns known . In two months , there will be a decision on the method of treatment to be utilized in the new $ 30 million dollar project . ® CONSIDERATION OF RADIO TOWERS Town Attorney James Buyoucos stated that the Town Zoning Ordinance , as written , permits only those things which are delineated in the Zoning Ordinance . It does not include radio towers . There have been no court cases that require the, Town to permit the erection of radio towers , therefore , there is nothing binding on the Town of Ithaca . The Zoning Ordinance should be amended so that radio towers could be erected by special permit . Persons could come to the Town and apply for a special permit by the Town Board , Planning Board or the Zoning Board of Appeals . The present policy has the Zoning Board of Appeals working on a quasi - judiciary basis . The application for a special permit could go to the Zoning Board of Appeals or to the Planning Board first . Mr . Buyoucos felt for efficiency , that the Planning Board should review any appli - cation first . The Planning Board having overall consideration for use Town Board Minutes - 2 - April 21 , 1980 of land , it might go there first . Then if the permit is denied , it would go to the Zoning Board of Appeals . He felt the Town Board had enough to do , without getting involved with each application for a special permit . Mr . Buyoucos further stated , that if you eliminate the Town Board ' s review of a special permit , you have a choice of doing one of two things . Limit areas were towers will be placed or you can have the Board say any place in the Town of Ithaca subject to special permit , with review by the Planning Board or appeal to the Zoning Board of Appeals . Mr . Buyoucos said he could put enough into a law to keep towers off the flat land and on to high elevations . High elevations will some - what limit them , as there are a number of factors to take into account . Attorney Buyoucos stated that there were two sets of criteria . One set apply to radio transmission towers and their size and effect on adjourning property . You have to recognize radio transmission towers are going to be high . Somebody is going to see them . The second criteria should be overall heights in the Town , this should be a general criteria . A criteria should be the effect on other property in the neighborhood . It should be determined if a radio station is a public utility needed to meet a public need . Supervisor Desch stated it was clear that the function of radio towers is one of general public need . Mr . Buyoucos asked if there was a time limit ? Mr . James Savitt stated that WVBR held an option on the land owned by Mr . & Mrs . Ralph Carpenter at 245 Bundy Road . The option to purchase the land expires June 30 , 1980 . The option could be extended , however , the tower can only be erected in warm weather . The FCC permit would expire before warm weather arrived again . He further stated that the FCC permit has not been received yet , but they expect to receive it by the end of May . Mr . Buyoucos asked who is the Cornell Radio Guild ? Mr . Savitt stated that the membership changes . The membership corpora - tion is owned by people elected to it . The board of students and membership elects the Board of Directors . Mr . Buyoucos asked why WVBR needed a new tower ? Mr . Savitt stated that WVBR wanted to cover areas in the City and Town that they could not reach with their present tower . �► Mr . Buyoucos asked if this was the only possible site for the tower ? Must it be a line of sight location with the service area ? The answer was yes to both of the above questions . WVBR did not pick: this spot for convenience . Mr . Buyoucos asked why the tower could not be placed in the Town of Enfield ? The Town of Enfield has no zoning . Mr . Savitt stated that they could not go to the Town of Enfield as they could not get the desired coverage there and this was the purpose of building a tower . Because of the special technical limits of the region , this is the only land they could acquire which would meet their special needs . Mr . Buyoucos asked , what if the tower should fall ? Will it fall on its own land ? . Mr . Savitt responded by saying that should the tower fall , it would fall 172 - Town Board Minutes - 3 - April 21 , 1980 in its own area . Also , that it was engineeringly impossible for the tower to fall straight over . First of all , .all guy wires . would have to break at the same moment . Because of the center of gravity of the tower , the top would break - off first , such as being caused by the wind at the top of the tower . Mr . Buyoucos asked what was the proposed completion date for construc - tion of the tower ? The answer was three months . ® Mr . Buyoucos stated that we are now getting into questions that are usually asked at a public hearing . ® Supervisor Desch asked what is the likelihood of other radio stations erecting towers in the Town of Ithaca ? p Bob Lynch of WTKO stated that he did not think that any stations planned to move their towers or to erect new ones . Also , he did not know if there were any air waves allocations left for the Ithaca area . Councilman McPeak stated that the new licensing procedure may change things . He thought the FM bans were full , however , somebody might be able to put in another AM station . A 14VBR representative felt that the Carpenter property was best because the west side is clouded by hills and they want to increase coverage of the campus , south hill and east hill . Mr . Buyoucos asked if the increase in coverage was for the students only ? Mr . Savitt stated that WVBR tried to cover Ithaca residents , not just students . Councilman McPeak asked if there would be an increase in power ? Mr . Savitt stated that he was not sure . 3000 watts uses a zero gain antenna on low voltage . However , they were limited to 3000 watts . Councilman Raffensperger asked if the tower should not be included under SEGR Law ? Councilman Cramer felt the SEQR Law should be amended , so that at least the short form will need to be filled out . Mr . Carpenter asked if there was any area in the Town zoned for towers ? Mr . Buyoucos felt that each area was special in its self . He felt the whole Zoning Ordinance should be revised . Mr . Buyoucos asked that comments and suggestions be given to him by next Thursday or Friday . RESOLUTION NO . 72 Motion by Councilwoman Raffensperger ; seconded by Councilwoman Valentino , RESOLVED , that a public hearing will be held on May 12 , 1980 , at 7 : 00 p . m . , at the Town Office Building , 126 East Seneca Street , Ithaca , New York , to consider the adoption of a local law to amend the Town Zoning Ordinance in the following general respects ; under present zoning regulations , radio transmission towers for commercially operated radio stations are not specifically permitted . The Town will consider the adoption of regulations in such law which ( 1 ) will allow the erection of such radio towers in the territory of the Town Town Board Minutes - 4 - April 21 , 1980 but only by special permit after a public hearing before any Town Agency or Agencies , such as the Planning Board , the Board of Appeals , the Town Board , as the Town Board shall determine , and ( 2 ) will adopt conditions and criteria which shall be considered in granting such permits ; the Town Board will also consider the adoption of such other provisions as may be reasonably related to the erection and maintenance of such towers . The public should be aware that radio towers are extremely tall structures often exceeding 280 feet in height and are highly visible . ® ( Desch , Kugler , Raffensperger , Valentino and McPeak voting Aye . Nays - Cramer ) . ® ACCESS TO FOOTE PROPERTY Mr . Fabbroni stated that when the Eastern Heights subdivision was approved , no provision for access to the Charles Foote property south of the subdivision was given . No other access along a more suitable grade has been provided through the lands of Frandsen and Blanpied to the Foote property . Access from Slaterville Road , within the Foote property , in the Town of Ithaca and the Town of Dryden is undesirable because of the topo - graphy . Mr . Fabbroni proposes that an access be given from Frandsen land by giving a portion of the Town general purpose land through to the Foote property , until a more preferable access can be found . Supervisor Desch asked if the access the Town is considering is a secondary or primary access ? Town Engineer Fabbroni stated that today it was a prime access . Town Attorney James Buyoucos asked why was this before the Town Board now ? Mr . Fabbroni stated that it was an administrative matter . If Mr . Foote develops the land , then a sense of direction was needed from the Town Board . In considering the future development of park land , consideration will be given to a future access road . Town Engineer Fabbroni will write to the involved parties informing them of this decision . Councilwoman Raffensperger asked the Town Engineer if this would be sufficient ? Mr . Fabbroni answered yes . ® INTERIOR REHABILITATION OF TOWN HALL Supervisor Desch noted that access to the Town Hall for the handicapped must be provided without a big expense or upheaval of staff . Therefore , a change in the original rehabilitation plans has been proposed . It is proposed , that the engineering and planning department be moved to the Town Board meeting room on the second floor . In turn , the Town Board meeting room would be moved to the engineering and planning room on the first floor . A ramp would be built along the west edge of the property . The seating capacity of the meeting room would be the same downstairs as the current meeting room upstairs . The engineering department can effectively use the additional space available . There would also be room for a small meeting room . / 2 Y Town Board Minutes - 5 - April 21 , 1980 Supervisor Desch asked the Board members to take a look at the proposed ramp location . Also , one space for parking for the handicapped would need to be provided . Supervisor Desch will speak with George Gesslein of Citizen ' s Saving Bank , as the parking spot can be reserved only upon approval by Citizen ' s . Councilwoman Raffensperger noted that this plan was better than the previous one . There have been in the past , public hearings which elderly persons would have liked to attend , however , they were not able because of the stairs . She also noted it would be easier for ® the courts who sometimes need to use the meeting room . Supervisor Desch suggested some sort of moveable partition could be installed to divide the room . NORTHEAST TRANSIT Supervisor Desch noted that the summer schedule has been committed . How to supply a midday service schedule is an ongoing problem , yet to be solved . It will cost $ 7 , 000 to provide the same service as last year . He asked the Town Board for a moral commitment that the level of service would not be cut from the 1981 budget . All agreed , that the level of service should not be cut . ADJOURNMENT The meeting was duly adjourned . H— Swartwood own Clerk