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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCB Minutes 2016-08-04 Town of Ithaca Conservation Board August 4, 2016 5:37 p.m. Final Minutes Members present: Ellie Stewart (Chair), Mike Roberts, James Hamilton, Jon Meigs, Eva Hoffmann, Will VanDyke Staff: Mike Smith Guest: Elizabeth Hageman (prospective member) 1. Persons to be heard: No public comments 2. Member Concerns:The board discussed the ongoing drought conditions and what we've done to notify the public. We discussed outreach to the Cornell Cooperative Extension and the County Health Department regarding materials already available. We also discussed what the Planning Board was doing regarding promoting the use of rain gardens in new developments. James posted a water conservation article on the board Facebook page. 3. Chair and Coordinator Reports: Ellie deferred discussion on the Invasive Species Week event until it came up in the agenda. Mike mentioned that a new gate will be added on the Aurora Street entrance of the town hall parking lot. Members will need to use the Buffalo Street entrance to park for future meetings. Mike mentioned the Parks Connect profile on Trail Steward and former Conservation Board member Aaron Donato. Mike mentioned the National Drive Electric Week event (September 171") in Ithaca which promotes the increase of electric car usage in Ithaca. The Planning Board heard a presentation on the Sleep Inn hotel on Elmira Road and had a discussion regarding the plans but did not get past the design portion and suggested the applicants go back and revise their plans. The Planning Board also saw the McGowan Farm Deer fence project, a 22-acre area off of Game Farm Road. The Maplewood applicants submitted the draft EIS and the planning board was set to review the DEIS for adequacy. The planning board will have 45 days to review before it's released to the public. James reiterated his opinion that the planning board considers the durability of the proposed buildings. Ellie noted that we included that stance in our letter to the planning board regarding the durability when the plans were first reviewed. Eva mentioned that our letter did 1 not include the reuse of materials of the existing structures and that the Conservation Board ensures that the EIS takes that into consideration. 4. Approval of Minutes: May 51" minutes. Eva wanted some more clarity on naming sections of the East Ithaca Recreation Way. James moved to approve with discussed changes. Mike Roberts seconded. June 2nd minutes. James moved to approve with discussed changes. Eva seconded. 5. Recap of July 141" Invasive Species Awareness Week:James mentioned the number of public attendees was low but the Board was well represented and was able to give very focused feedback to the public that did attend. James filled out a survey for Hilary Mosher, the administrator from the state for the event. We discussed a competing event hosted by Robert Wesley and the possibility of moving the event to a different location next year. Eva made the suggestion that we might want to ask Robert Wesley about participating in the Conservation Board event next year. Jon mentioned a previous discussion by the Conservation Board to clean up the area of Helen's Way of invasive species. James mentioned that is was a project the Scenic Resources committee had addressed. Eva proposed the area was worth looking at again. 6. Consideration of a recommendation to the Town of Ithaca Town Board regarding the keeping of domestic animals in the Conservation Zones and the keeping of chickens in the Medium Density Residential Zones: Eva, who is also on the Codes and Ordinances Committee (COC) outlined the process and discussions that went into the current draft law. Mike S noted that the current proposed law of six chickens came from examples of other town laws regarding the keeping of chickens. We discussed the basis for a Conservation Board comment in general as Ellie pointed out there's some confusion as to what grounds we'd be making a comment. Eva pointed out that some members of the community were concerned about noise issues regarding some types of fowl (Guinea Hens). Mike S made clear that this law is only in regards to chickens and does not address other types of fowl. We agreed that no action from the Conservation Board was needed. 7. Consideration of a recommendation to the Town of Ithaca Town Board regarding revisions to provisions related to solar facilities:James noted that he thought the distance proposed was too much of a hindrance to new installations. The current proposed provisions state new installations be 25 feet from neighboring property. James' proposed nine feet as a revision to the provision. James cited the current code (270-219.1) which considers solar installations that are not roof mounted as accessories and can be no closer than three feet from the back border. James moved that the small-scale accessory (small panels) use in all zones be moved back 10 feet instead of 25 feet. Mike Roberts seconded. Eva Abstained. Draft comment to be sent to Conservation Board before sending to the COC. 2 8. Review the draft displays regarding the Richard B. Fischer Environmental Conservation Award & discuss Town bluebird box maintenance: Mike S presented drafts of the displays the Conservation Board would use to recognize the Richard B. Fischer Environmental Conservation Award at different board events. The displays would highlight the criteria for the award, Dr. Fischer's contributions to the town's conservation efforts and a timeline of past winners. They would be used in Town Hall to display to the public and at the award event itself. The Conservation Board agreed to submit suggestions on any changes to Mike for the Town's intern to incorporate into the design. Mike Smith discussed his conversation with Rich Schoch regarding the bluebird boxes that are currently out in Town parks and trails. They are currently maintained by the parks department but have not had regular checkups in the last three years. He does have a database of how many are in each park and on each trail. Rich was open to Conservation Board involvement in maintaining or suggestions on how to maintain the boxes more regularly. The Board agreed that we needed to know the amount of boxes that need to be maintained prior to committing to facilitate the upkeep. 9. Deer Management, update from ad hoc committee: Mike Roberts updated the Board on the current status. The current open items were related to budget, prospective questions from the public, format for the draft and deadlines. The goal for the ad hoc committee is to have a draft ready by the end of fall. 10. Regular Reports and Updates: - Environmental Review Committee: Ellie mentioned that comments were needed for the Sleep Inn Hotel proposal on Elmira Road. - Scenic Resources Committee: Letter was sent to the Town Board for placement of our next sign. Mike S mentioned that the Town Board has directed the letter to the Town Public Works Committee. - Communications Committee:The Conservation Board needs to discuss the communications committee's reorganization based on current member statuses. - Tompkins County EMC: Nothing to report - Six Mile Creek Volunteer Monitoring Program:James reported on June 161"the volunteers sampled the creek. The volunteers agreed with the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to participate in the Rotating Intensive Basin Survey (RIBS) in which the DEC comes from Albany to look at area basins and creeks. James was unsure if there would be a benthic macroinvertebrate (BMI) sample this summer due to the lack of water. - City of Ithaca Natural Areas Commission:Jon reported that in the recent meeting the commission discussed the prohibition of swimming in the cities Six Mile Creek natural area. The commission was concerned that there were not strong proposals for controlling the prohibition. The commission also discussed the acquisition of buffer properties for the citV's watershed regions. 3 Cornell Plantations Natural Areas Program:James reports that the program has been planting natives in restoration areas that were once infested with invasive species. James also mentioned that Gary Snyder will be speaking on August 24t" at Kennedy Hall on the Cornell campus. 11. Other Business: Nothing to report. 12. September Agenda: We will discuss the bluebird box maintenance plan, water conservation efforts as well as an update from the deer management ad hoc committee. Meeting adjourned at 7:25 pm Minutes drafted by Will VanDyke 9/16/16 4