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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCB Minutes 2007-06-07 Town of Ithaca Conservation Board June 7, 2007 Final Minutes PRESENT: Chris Benedict, Diane Conneman, James Hamilton, Eva Hoffman, Susan McCutcheon, Jon Meigs, Larry Sallinger STAFF: Sue Ritter Public: Mike Goettel, candidate for CB, and Katie Lane, student IHS. Persons To Be Heard: None Member Concerns: James felt that some grammatical editing was needed for the CB brochure, and submitted his comments to Sue. Chair and Coordinator Reports: Chair: Diane passed around some very funny cartoons. Coordinator: The Cayuga Cliffs was reviewed by the PB on Tuesday June 5. Issues such as water quality and traffic were of particular concern to the residents who spoke. The impact of increased traffic on 96 will be assessed. The developer is seeking to coordinate with the Finger Lakes Land Trust/NYS Parks to conserve a large portion of the land. Additionally, the developer proposes to exclude land behind PRI/Museum of the Earth from development, which would allow PRI to be connected with that portion of the land that would be sold to NYS Parks. This will allow the Museum to utilize the land and nearby gorge as part of their educational programs. A letter was written by residents in the NE portion of town asking to be on the Board's next meeting agenda to talk about the Briarwood Development. Residents seek to discuss potentially new information regarding proposed development in the NE. The Town is also waiting to receive the independent engineering review of the stormwater plan proposed by the developer. Sue received a draft copy of the Tompkins County Conservation Plan and supplied it to CB members. Sue discussed a recent meeting sponsored by the Newfield Town Board concerning restoration of vernal pools, presented by the Upper Susquehanna Coalition. Business: Minutes: May 3, 2007 meeting minutes were approved as corrected. Evaluation of Fischer Award ceremony Members were very pleased with the ceremony. Events went well and members felt that having the on-site ceremony together with the tree planting was a good change. Stream Setback Law Comments, continued Initial discussion focused on the definition of bankfull. Concerns were raised over the applicability of this definition to local waterways. One of the commenters asked whether it would be more effective to use vegetation or animals as indicators. Discussion also continued about how to measure a streams width; center of stream vs. edges. Sue discussed that with larger streams using floodplain indicators for setbacks may be more effective, but that setbacks in these waterways are more complicated than with smaller bodies of water. James suggested removing all pesticide allowances in setback zones. Diane outlined that people may be using it against the manufactures label. James would like to add to section G(J) that "...unless with intent to establish native species" and Eva added "...and discourage non-native species." Lenore would like to see the addition of the allowance of composting in Zone 2. Some discussion followed about adding NRCS rules governing agricultural activities, but it was decided that these were not needed because of the limited amount of agricultural activity within the Town's boundaries. As part of the stream setback law, the Town will need to develop educational materials for the public and provide an educational role. Town staff is interested in developing a brochure to help explain to homeowners how to deal with the proposed law. Discussion by Board members followed that educational information should also focused on home maintenance, i.e. grass cutting, pesticide use. Jon asked whether this law would impact existing uses including residential structures. Sue stated that the law would affect modifications of existing structures. Regular Reports and Updates: ERC: There was no visit to the Biggs Building Site or the Cornell Plantation's proposed deer fence. Members did visit the Cayuga Cliffs site and have some concerns regarding impervious surfaces, drainage, scenic impacts, and the general "blandness" of the house designs. Currently, there are some large trees on the site, some of which will need to be removed for the development. More issues surround the potential traffic increase. Discussion followed about the general trend of increased development and the subsequent impact it will have on our surroundings, i.e. drinking water supply and wastewater. SCENIC RESOURCES COMMITTEE: The display at Town Hall has been removed and a total of 25 surveys have been received. All of the feedback has been positive. James will draft a report and Jon will develop a map. TOMPKINS COUNTY EMC: Larry outlined that at the last EMC meeting it was reported that Tompkins County currently manages over 500 acres of woodland. SIX MILE CREEK VOLUNTEER MONITORING PROGRAM: June 91h will be a stream BMI sampling meeting. Volunteers will assist with determining the health of the creek. CITY OF ITHACA NATURAL AREAS COMMISSION: None. Other Business: Jim Lassoie will not be invited to be interviewed for the CB as he is not a resident of the Town of Ithaca. Both Robert Berggren and Mike Goettel will be invited for interviews over the next month. Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 9:35PM. Minutes generated by Chris Benedict