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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCB Minutes 2009-08-06 Town of Ithaca Conservation Board August 6, 2009 7:30 p.m. Final minutes Members present: Diane Conneman, Andy Goodell, James Hamilton, Eva Hoffmann, Tony Ingraham, Susan McCutcheon, Jon Meigs, Nirav Patel, Kristine Shaw Staff: Darby Kiley Guests: None Persons to be heard: None Members' Concerns: Tony had received an e-mail expressing concern about tree clearing going on at Ithaca College (IC). James saw the cleared area this morning. It can be seen from Coddington Road. There is very little buffer area as seen from the road. There was general agreement that the clearing was probably part of creating replacement wetlands where the IC Athletic & Events Center will be built. Jon said that this calls for Town oversight. Darby will check on this to see what the clearing is for. James checked on the invasive swallow-wort plants at the South Hill site we visited in the Deer Run area. They seem to be setting seed pods now. The plants have only been cut down along a small path close to the fence around the water tower, and only along part of that fence. Diane will call Rich Schoch to find out what is being done to control the plants. Darby, Nirav and James have seen swallow-wort along the North Rim trail and next to the stream at Taughannock Falls State Park. Tony has seen it in many places in our area. James reported that the City of Ithaca's Board of Public Works (BPW)recently voted unanimously to agree to rebuild the City's water plant in Six Mile Creek. The Mayor abstained. James feels strongly that the work needs to be done now and not wait for studies to be done. He feels we should speak up and say the BPW has made the right decision. Diane stated that it's not our business generally, but that the dam is in the Town of Ithaca. Eva sees no problem with doing a dam safety study, stating that we don't know enough about dam failure possibilities in general. Jon said that Common Council needs to decide on this matter first. Most of us agreed that we need more information before contacting the City. Andy said that giant hogweed is another invasive plant to be on the lookout for. Eva wondered if a tall plant she has seen growing by the water near the dock at Ithaca Farmers Market might be giant hogweed. Chairperson and Coordinator Reports Chairperson: Diane mentioned the Town Board's June 22, 2009 resolution regarding Non-Native Invasive Species on Town Property and stated she was disappointed that it only covers swallow- wort. Tony said the Town should stop planting invasive species like the Norway maples at 1 Tutelo Park. Jon and Diane stated that they may not be Norway maples. The Fischer Award tree was supposed to be a sugar maple. Eva said we need to identify those trees before we say anything about them. Coordinator: Darby reported on the last Planning Board (PB) meeting. The Forest Management Plan for the West Hill property of the Edward J. McArdle Trust, for which the CB's Environmental Review Committee (ERC) had prepared written comments, had been reviewed and approved. Darby described the seven conditions the PB attached. PB member Susan Riha had discussed Vermont forestry practice and cases of conflict of interest where the forester buys the harvested lumber. The PB recommended that the Town Board add language to our law regarding this. Andy asked if there was discussion about using a portable bridge since the gullies in the area are deep and a lot of soil could be washed down into them. Eva asked if the ERC memorandum had been helpful. Darby responded that it had and that PB member Hollis Erb had referred to it several times. Darby will send the PB minutes to all of us when they are available. Jon asked about the Cornell University water system at Cascadilla Creek. The PB passed it as proposed. The approved plan would protect the area more than what had been the case before. Business: The minutes of the June 4, 2009 CB meeting were approved after some corrections were made. Coy Glen presentation and discussion of next steps: Darby gave a presentation about Coy Glen: "Sixteen Cascades —Two Miles of Embowered Beauty". There were slides of maps showing different areas, parcels with names of owners, UNAs and CEAs. The green area on the map shows the current proposal for a Conservation Zone. Cornell University owns a large parcel. The area owned by Tompkins County was once a gravel mine. The Town of Ithaca owns the Bill Dress property where he maintained a beautiful garden. Darby passed around several documents relating to Coy Glen and suggested that Board members come into Town Hall to review them: • Special Project, "Coy Glen, A Unique Area of Tompkins County"by Dennis Charles Colliton, May 1976. This was a Master's Degree Thesis in Landscape Architecture. • "Coy Glen Preservation Area Report", Town of Ithaca. This was prepared when Walter Schwann was Town Supervisor, Larry Fabbroni was Engineer and Barbara Restaino, Planner. It was in the late 1970s. • "Town of Ithaca, NY, Draft Coy Glen Biological Corridor Plan", September 1994. This was written by the Town's CB at the time, consisting of Candace Cornell, Richard Fischer, Janet Hawkes, Eva Hoffmann, Jon Meigs, Cheryl Smith and Phillip Zariello. Darby suggested what the next steps might be for working on the Coy Glen Conservation Zone: 1. A field trip to the area,possibly with Todd Bitmer. 2. Finishing the map with boundary, documentation. 3. Justification for the project. 4. Resolution to the Codes and Ordinances Committee. 5. Public information meeting. 6. Comments from the public. 7. Send the proposal to the Town Board for approval and adoption. 2 A possible field trip at the end of August or in September was discussed, but no date was set. Regular Reports and Updates: Environmental Review Committee: Nirav stated that a detailed memorandum was sent to the PB about the Forest Management Plan for the West Hill property of the Edward J. McArdle Trust. Scenic Resources Committee: The committee has not met. Tony has kept in touch with the company which sent out samples of signs for scenic view locations. Darby mentioned that Shannon, the intern, who has worked on a scenic view inventory and report, will not be available after Friday next week(8/14). The SRC has not had any input into what she has been working on. Tony stated that the SRC ought to meet with her before she leaves to be debriefed. R. Fischer Award Committee: There is information about Tom Reimers, our most recent award recipient, on the Town's Web site. Susan said that the Soil and Water Conservation Newsletter would be a good place to put a notice in for next year's nomination. Tompkins County EMC: Kristine gave the following report: "Resolution passed at EMC on May 13, 2009. Whereas, The Tompkins County Environmental Management Council is committed to protecting our natural environment and the public health and welfare of our County's residents who are vulnerable to the health hazards caused by BPA. Therefore, let it be resolved that the Tompkins County Environmental Management Council supports this effort to reduce toxins in our environment and requests the Tompkins County Legislature pass legislation with the following components: • Immediate ban on the sale of children's products in Tompkins County containing BPA, including baby bottles, and sippy cups intended for children under age three. • Phased in ban in Tompkins County on the sale of infant formula packaging (including powdered and liquid infant formula), children's toys intended for children under age three, and sports bottles containing BPA. Prior to the vote there was a discussion led by Katie Kelly from Clean New York Notes: BPA (Bisephenol A) was grandfathered in at time of the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976. FDA classifies BPA as `safe' yet 93% of low dose studies found harm, none of the published industry studies found harm. Some retailers and manufacturers have voluntarily removed BPA from shelves and products. 20 states and many countries already acting independently to reduce/ban BPA." Kristine stated that PBA falls in the plastics category of"other", or number 7. It will probably be 3 replaced with another product in the number 7 category. There was upheaval on all committees at the organizational EMC meeting in June. She had no report from the July meeting. Six Mile Creek Volunteer Monitoring Program: James stated that Nick Schipanski (who has been coordinating for the group) is leaving for Montreal. There will be another meeting coming up where the group may get new members. September 7 to 12 there will be another sampling of the creek water. City of Ithaca Natural Areas Commission: No report. Comprehensive Plan: Diane missed the July Comprehensive Plan meeting. There had been discussion about nodes as a planning concept. Other Business: There was discussion about the proposed changes to the local law regarding fences and walls and whether to send a resolution to the Town Board with the CB's recommendations on this matter. It was decided that Diane would write a letter on the CB's behalf, regarding our concern about saving the views we have designated as special and making sure the law does not compromise them. Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at approximately 9:30 PM. These draft Minutes were written by Eva Hoffmann Approved 9/3/09 4