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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAG Minutes 2014-03-25 Agriculture Committee Town of Ithaca March 25, 2014 Final Minutes Present: Mike Smith, Rod Howe, Sharon Tregaskis, Bill Goodman, Lisa Ferguson, Russ Wedemeyer, Claire Forest, Christianne White 1. Persons to be heard Caetlyn Russ from Ithaca High School attended, to fulfill an assignment to observe a government meeting. 2. Member announcements and concerns a. Rough cut lumber may be used in a farm building/structure, or for commercial or residential structures, as long as it is not load bearing. If it is used for support it must be graded, certified, and stamped. Contact Bruce Bates in Town Code Enforcement for more information. b. Alfred Eddy attended the January meeting and the committee was very happy to have him present. He is a founding member of the Town Ag Committee. Mike Smith agreed to send him a paper copy of minutes and agendas, in hopes that such correspondence may promote his attendance. 3. Chair and coordinator reports a. Debbie Teeter has written a short piece for the Town newsletter about farm vehicles and farm equipment and transportation. Sharon Tregaskis is writing a small piece about Town of Ithaca farms and products for a March 28 deadline. b. Mike Smith e-mailed us with information about a hunting lease organization. One property north of the hospital is part of the network. c. There will be an open house on Thursday, April 3, from 5:30–7:30 regarding the Gateway trail project. The trail will start at Home Depot/Lower Buttermilk and go up the hill, then back towards town to connect with the South Hill Recreation Way/ Hudson Street. d. April 1 is the deadline for Ag Assessment forms to be turned in to the county assessment office. e. As the bylaws are written, if a voting member misses three consecutive meetings of this committee, that farm loses its voting status on the committee. Teeter Farm and Sweyolaken Farm have each missed three meetings. At the second of two consecutive meetings at which they are present, their voting status will be restored. The committee is open to new voting members and welcomes attendance by both voting and non voting farms. 4. Ithaca Town Board Report a. Bill Goodman noted that the Town has completed a draft of the DGEIS. The public hearing will be April 22 at 6:30 PM in the Ithaca Town Hall. The Town has a legal obligation to reply in writing to all substantive comments about the DGEIS. b. Bill Goodman reported that the COC Committee has drafted changes to the sign ordinance. Square footage of total allowed signage will be increased from 6 sq feet to 24 sq feet per parcel, with no single sign larger than 12 square feet. Some discussion about the frequency of signage allowed over distance. COC has not decided at what height signs may be placed; regulation might be different along Rt 13. Some parcels cover corners and more than one thoroughfare. Speed limit along road might be a factor for size and spacing of signs. If there are more than 500 feet of ROW different rules may apply. Signs will not be allowed on neighboring property. Definition of a sign? If it communicates a message, so a logo is a sign…. Comments should be submitted as soon as possible. The COC committee will meet a couple more times, the Town Board will set a public hearing and then may do further work or send it back to committee. The next Codes and Ordinances Committee meeting will be April 9 at 6:30 PM. Once the committee has finished its draft, it may be referred to other committees as well. Bill Goodman offered to share a copy of the latest version of the draft code with members of the Ag Committee. c. Rod Howe reported that the new ad hoc economic development committee met and has interfaced with County and other economic development committees. They have a robust vision with lots of ideas. Focus right now is on the Inlet Valley corridor. Town will have increased visibility and will be more focused on specific geographic areas. Lisa Ferguson is interested in agritourism and has attended regional conferences on this subject. La Tourelle and Robert Frisch have applied for ‘Glamping’ permits, to host glamor camping on the La Tourelle property. There will be 5 campsites to begin with, augmented by propane grills, bathrooms, showers, office space, hot tub, fire circle, and a common tent for socializing and dining. The total plan might include 25 tents. Town ordinance will have to be amended; the public hearing will be in May. La Tourelle is already in a Planned Development Zone, so different rules apply. Ithaca Farm to Fork (ithacafork.com) is another agritourism project, coordinated by the Tompkins County Convention & Visitors Bureau. Advertising targets Philadelphia, Brooklyn, etc., to bring people to this area, to visit a farm and restaurant and boost hotel tax revenues by spending the night in the area. 5. Approval of Minutes a. Minutes of January 28 submitted, amended to identify Alfred Eddy as a founding member of the Town Ag Committee, and approved unanimously. 6. Discussion of DGEIS for Town Comprehensive Plan a. Mike Smith explained that this is the document that looks at the environmental impact of the proposed new Comprehensive Plan. He copied the section on agriculture, 2.8, which declares that the proposed Comp plan places the vast majority of active farmland in Rural Agricultural and Open/Conservation character districts. Policies will preserve working lands, ensure that agriculture and agribusiness remain viable, and protect food security of Town residents. About 240 acres of farmland will be in a character district that will be vulnerable to development for non agricultural uses. Compact development will be encouraged. b. There was some discussion about language about cost/value of farmland. There was also discussion of the sentence implying that agritourism should not take over the majority of farming property or become primary to agricultural production. Committee members felt that it was not helpful to try to curtail agritourism to a percentage of space on a farm. Further, the term agritourism is not defined in this section. Lisa pointed out that many farms only survive because of the boost of income from agritourism. We want to enhance and allow more agritourism in order to strengthen agriculture. c. Public Hearing will be April 22. Written comments on the DGEIS will be accepted until May 5. Changes in the Comprehensive Plan (not the DGEIS) and subsequent zoning would reflect the changes that would be formative. 7. Ithaca Town Board Farm Tour a. All seven members of the Town Board would like to visit four Town of Ithaca farms, perhaps in May or in the fall. Mike Smith will coordinate. 8. Review recommendations from Ag and Farmland Protection Plan a. Briefly reviewed this document. There are certain changes that will come into play when the Comprehensive Plan is enacted. 4J, when property is purchased in ag district there will be protocol for disclosures. State Right to farm law noted. 9. Other Business a. Next meeting will be July 29, 7–9pm at Town Hall. Please RSVP, so that if we will not have quorum, the meeting can be cancelled. b. There is space in the Town Hall lobby for display of farm information if the Committee would like to put something together. The Ag Committee could award ‘Farm of the Year’ or other awards to showcase agricultural activity in the Town. 10. Adjourned at 8:59 pm Minutes prepared by Christianne White