HomeMy WebLinkAboutCB Minutes 2010-02-04 Town of Ithaca Conservation Board
February 4, 2010 7.30 p.m.
Draft minutes
Members present: Jon Meigs, Diane Conneman, James Hamilton, Tony Ingraham,
Nirav Patel, Kristine Shaw, Andrew Goodell, Eva Hoffmann
Staff: Darby Kiley
Guests: Aaron Donato
Persons to be heard:
Guest Aaron Donato introduced himself, explained his background, and expressed
interest in the Conservation Board. Members went around the room introducing
themselves and explained why they are on the board.
Members' Concerns:
Eva reported on some things of interest she learned on her recent trip to Denmark.
• Eva noted that the Danes have a lot of wind turbines, but she was particularly
impressed that she saw no cell towers, and speculated that they are all
underground. Diane thought that the Danes might be using satellites instead, as
is done in some other countries.
She also noted that many people ride bicycles, mostly adults, including during the
winter, but that they don't wear helmets.
Chair and Coordinator Reports:
Chair:
• Invasive plants: Diane talked with Craig Schutt of the Tompkins County Soil and
Water Conservation District about some plants that are sold by the SWCD that
are listed on the County EMC invasive plants list, namely black locust (popular
for fence posts) and periwinkle. She also asked about Norway spruce and
burning bush. Craig said he is willing to distribute educational literature with
plants sold. Darby noted that Don Siegel of Plantsman Nursery is open to getting
more native plants on their list. Diane passed around a sample of an invasive
species summary sheet published by Penn State.
• Ditches: Diane noted that the SWCD does hydroseeding of ditches as a service
to municipalities. They do it for the county and they could do it for the Town. We
need to continue to investigate ditching practices, e.g., installing culverts speeds
up water.
• There is a new chair of the public works committee.
• Susan McCutcheon has resigned from the Conservation Board, citing time
constraints.
Coordinator:
Planning Board: At the January 19 meeting, the Silvers Medical Clinic received
subdivision and site plan approval. The Cornell Water System Improvement project
received approval for the site plan modification and the approval included the following
conditions that might be of interest to the CB: in order to provide adequate notice to the
public that the East Ithaca Recreation Way will be closed during construction, the
applicant must install an advisory sign at all trail entrances at least one week prior to the
trail closure with the proposed starting and completion dates of construction and trail
closure specified; the East Ithaca Recreation Way shall not be closed for more than two
weeks without a plan in place acceptable to the Town Parks Manager to keep the
Recreation Way open as much as possible while the work continues to completion. The
applicant, further, shall update the advisory signs to reflect the new proposed
Recreation Way reopening date; Removed trees greater than 8 inches diameter breast
height shall be replaced by trees that are a minimum of 5 feet tall and are protected
from deer browsing by deer cages.
At the February 2 Planning Board meeting, the Melen/Markowitz two-lot subdivision was
approved, this was a subdivision that was filed in 1985 without town approval. The spur
of the Cayuga Waterfront Trail Phase 3 that is located in the Town (at the Chamber of
Commerce) received site plan approval. The PB also heard sketch plan presentations
for the modified Cleveland Estates (now 13 lots with open space and stormwater
facilities) and modified Holly Creek Townhomes; INHS is the applicant for that project.
The PB discussed planning for West Hill in light of the current projects before the
board. The resolution will be discussed again in March. The Feb 16 meeting is
cancelled.
For the next CB meeting, Conservation Zoning language changes will hopefully be
available for review.
Newsletter: The CB should consider writing an article for the upcoming spring
newsletter. Diane said that she would put together a draft on invasive species.
Business: The minutes for the January meeting were approved, with minor corrections
of a typographical nature. Eva suggested that when we mention revisions to minutes
that we include those corrections, unless they are minor spelling or typographical errors
rather than a more substantial revision.
The work priorities for 2010 were adopted with the refinements made at the January
meeting.
Coy Glen Conservation Zone:
In the meeting packet, Darby sent out an annotated outline of the Coy Glen/Culver
Creek and the group discussed the boundary line:
• Regarding the private property adjacent to the west side of the public works
facility, James suggested including the part of their property already designated
in the CEA. Tony felt the rest of the property (except for a small holding) ought to
be included in the CZ to provide buffering to protect the continuity and integrity of
the entire CZ. The CB concluded that the whole parcel or at least the part
currently in the CEA be included in the CZ.
• Several other small properties around the area were discussed vis a vis
inclusion.
• The boundary around the cemetery will change to follow either the CEA or UNA,
most of that area is wooded.
• Nirav asked about the history of the decisions regarding properties included in
CZs. Eva said that it's been a combination of ecological concerns and landowner
feelings.
• Nirav asked that we stress the importance of micro-habitats due to the geology
and hydrology of the area.
Regular Reports and Updates:
• Environmental Review Committee: No report.
• Scenic Resources Committee: The committee has been suggesting text versions
for the East Shore Park interpretive sign, and will meet soon in person to make
decisions as a whole committee.
• R. Fischer Award Committee: The committee has been talking with organizations
about nominations, including EcoVillage, Finger Lakes Land Trust, and
Sustainable Tompkins. EcoVillage is nominating itself. The Land Trust has not
responded yet. Kristine volunteered to join the committee, in light of Susan's
departure.
• Tompkins County EMC: The EMC has restructured its subcommittees, focusing
resources on a narrower field so they can accomplish tasks more effectively,
including an Environmental Review Committee, Communications Committee (as
a liaison to other groups), and Unique Natural Areas. The EMC is the "door to the
County Legislature." Working on Unique Natural Areas is a big project this year.
• Sixmile Creek Volunteer Monitors: James reported on the Community Science
Institute's sixth annual symposium on water quality monitoring held Feb. 3. Don
Barber of the Town of Caroline gave a "rousing keynote speech on how Water
Quality Monitors were keeping the pulse on gas drilling." They had their largest
symposium attendance ever, probably because of the gas drilling issue. A big
theme was the value of conducting a select set of surface water tests to prove
unpolluted waters prior to drilling operations, something CSI doesn't currently do
but could do fairly cheaply.
o Volunteers were asked to sign "signature forms" to meet certified lab
requirements to improve the legal value of data collected.
o Additional watersheds being sampled:
■ Cayuga Inlet now has lots of sample data.
■ King Ferry has four creeks with CAFO problems; sampling is
getting organized to look at fecal drainage problems.
■ Though the Trumansburg Sewage Treatment Plant is releasing
excessive E. coli during storms, more sampling along the creek
indicates that the contamination is not reaching Cayuga Lake at
Camp Barton.
o The next Sixmile Creek WQMV meeting is scheduled for February 15 at
Cooperative Extension.
• City of Ithaca Natural Areas Commission: No report.
• Comprehensive Plan: Diane reported that at their recent meeting, the committee
had consensus on the need to decrease the use of energy in the Town, stressing
alternative energy sources.
Other Business-
Swallow-wort removal strategy: Tony asked about the status of Town parks staff
taking measures to control invasives, particularly swallow-wort. Nothing has
happened. It was suggested that the CB offer a work session to help cut down
the population near the water tank that threatens the Cornell Plantations
preserve. Diane talked with park manager Rich Schoch about this possibility and
he was delighted by the idea. Kristine noted that a group of ten LACS students
are interested in helping with this as part of their community service hours
requirement.
Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 9.30 p.m.
These draft Minutes generated by Tony Ingraham