HomeMy WebLinkAboutCB Minutes 2001-04-05Town of Ithaca Conservation Board
April 5, 2001
Final Meeting Minutes
Present: Barney Unsworth, Chairman, Clifford Blizard, Donald Weir, Lenore Durkee,
Jon Meigs, John Yntema. Eva Hoffmann, Libby deProsse
Staff: Sue Ritter
Meeting was called to order at 7:30.
There were no persons to be heard.
Members Concerns: Clifford has received the Ithaca College Report on the South Hill
area which we are interested in protecting. He is concerned about their remarks about
the "successional" nature of the habitat, whether it will be a major argument regarding
establishing some protection measures. Don suggested that Clifford ask Cornell Professor
Peter Mark, who might know.
Chair Report: There was discussion on the future of local congressional redistricting.
Will we lose one of our Congressmen?
Coordinators Report: Jonathan Kanter has been re -appointed Town Planner.
The Town of Ithaca did not receive the state grant which would have allowed the
Town to purchase the development rights to the Genex property, which is on the corner of
Sheffield and Hayts/Bundy Road.
The Pew Trail, which begins at the intersection of Honness Lane and Pine Tree Road
and will connect up with Tudor Park, is currently in the development stage. The state grant
that helped fund this project requires a great deal of oversight by DOT, and therefore actual
construction will not likely begin until probably next year. Barney thought a map of the trail
in the Newsletter would be helpful.
Sue read a letter from the local Sierra Club, which offered to become an umbrella
group for organizations interested in water quality issues for Cayuga Lake. They plan to
initially focus attention on Stewart Park. This was referred to Barney. There was a scarcity
of enthusiasm for the suggestion, given that the Watershed Network and the Intermunicipal
Organization, which is working with local community leaders to adopt a Cayuga Lake
watershed management plan, are well entrenched in this issue.
The Tompkins County Public Safety System will probably be involved in much
controversy. The Town has submitted a letter to the County expressing concern over the
County's assertion that local municipalities will not be an involved agencies in the SEQR/EIS
process.
The Vet College Waste Management team has responded to the DEC comments and
are working on a Scoping Document for the EIS .
Jon Meigs asked about the "Paper Street" involved in the subdivision on
Pennsylvania Ave. No one knows who owns it, the subdivision was created around 1890.
The Town attorney is investigating this.
The proposed Italian Carryout, to be located on the west side of Rt.96, near King
Road, has received preliminary site plan approval.
Don commented on the fine appearance of the Lake Source Cooling plant landscaping
from the west side of the lake.
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Joe Francis is interested in becoming a member of this group but he wants to attend
another meeting before he commits.
Minutes of March meeting:
Clifford moved that they be accepted as amended. Passed.
Natural Heritage Proposal:
George Frantz, working as a consultant to the Town, has produced a document entitled Town
of Ithaca Natural Heritage Preservation Program, which establishes a Purchase of
Development Rights program for environmentally sensitive lands. The document identifies
and ranks areas which would be conducive to conservation protection.
Don asked if there would be a way to encourage donors by offering legal aid. The
Land Trust requires money from its conservation easement donors, in order to be prepared
for any future legal challenges.
Water Resource Ordinance:
A sub -committee will work on revising the Water Resource Protection Ordinance.
Interested members will meet during lunch hour on April 24th. Don, Lenore, Barney, Jon,
and John will meet with Susan. This will be a brown bag affair.
Meeting as adjourned at 9:05.
Submitted by Libby deProsse, secretary
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