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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOC Packet 2023-12-14 DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING 215 N. Tioga St 14850 607.273.1747 www.town.ithaca.ny.us 12/7/2023 TO: Codes and Ordinances Committee: Rob Rosen, Chair Bill Goodman Eric Levine Eva Hoffmann Chris Jung Ariel Casper FROM: Christine Balestra, Senior Planner RE: Next Codes and Ordinances Committee Meeting – December 14, 2023 The next meeting of the Codes and Ordinances Committee is scheduled for Thursday, December 14, 2023, at 5:30 pm in the Town Board Room, located in Town Hall at 215 North Tioga Street. A quorum of the Town of Ithaca Town Board may be present at this meeting. However, no official Town Board business will be conducted. The following items are attached: 1. Minutes from the November 9, 2023, COC meeting. 2. Draft 2024 Meeting Schedule. If you cannot attend this meeting, please notify Abby Homer as soon as possible at (607) 273- 1747, or ahomer@town.ithaca.ny.us. cc: Susan H. Brock, Attorney for the Town C.J. Randall, Director of Planning Marty Moseley, Director of Code Enforcement Abby Homer, Administrative Assistant Paulette Rosa, Town Clerk (email) Town Administrative staff (email) Town Board Members (email) Town Code Enforcement staff (email) Town Planning staff (email) Town Public Works staff (email) Media TOWN OF ITHACA CODES AND ORDINANCES COMMITTEE 215 North Tioga Street Ithaca, New York 14850 (607) 273-1747 PLEASE NOTE: This meeting will be held in person in the Town Board Room at Town Hall, 215 North Tioga Street, Ithaca, NY, on December 14, 2023, at 5:30pm. Members of the public may join the meeting via Zoom:  Join Zoom meeting: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87531393743  Zoom meeting ID: 875 3139 3743  Dial in phone: 929-436-2866 Meeting of December 14 – 5:30 P.M. AGENDA 1. Member comments/concerns. 2. Review minutes from November 9, 2023, COC meeting. 3. Continue Review of Initial Draft Subdivision of Land regulations (existing regulations: https://ecode360.com/8660770), Articles I-III. 4. Other business:  Discuss 2024 Meeting Schedule.  Next meeting agenda. Town of Ithaca Planning Department December 7, 2023 1 TOWN OF ITHACA CODES AND ORDINANCES COMMITTEE (COC) Meeting of November 9, 2023 – 5:30 pm Shirley A. Raffensperger Board Room, Town Hall Minutes Members present: Rob Rosen, Chair, Eric Levine, Eva Hoffmann, Ariel Casper & Chris Jung via Zoom. Member absent: Bill Goodman. Staff Present: C.J. Randall, Director of Planning; Chris Balestra, Planner; Susan Brock, Attorney for the Town; Marty Moseley, Director of Code Enforcement Guests: none The meeting was called to order at 5:35pm. Everyone was reminded to leave their microphones on during the meeting, for the online viewers and for future minute transcription purposes. 1. Member comments/concerns. Rob mentioned that a property owner in the Eastern Heights neighborhood contacted him after a code inspection by town staff revealed that they had a second kitchen in the basement of their single-family home, which is not permitted by Town Code. Marty and C.J. will follow up with this another time, as it may end up as a future agenda item for the committee to consider. C.J. noted that the planning and codes departments intend to develop a process for residents to request zoning/code changes via the online OpenGov permitting system. 2. Review minutes from August 10, 2023, COC meeting. Rob moved to approve the August 10, 2023, minutes as presented; Eric seconded. 5 Ayes. No changes proposed. 3. Begin review of initial draft of Subdivision of Land Regulations. C.J. introduced the initial draft of the subdivision regulations that was prepared by staff and circulated to the committee, along with a memo that highlighted areas of change. She noted that the intent of this first discussion was to go through a high-level, broad overview of the draft, with any immediate questions or concerns; and to continue with the intent of the Scope of Work that was approved by the committee. The committee would thoroughly review the draft and provide feedback for staff at the December and January COC meetings. In the meantime, the draft would also be circulated among the internal town departments for staff input. C.J. proposed that she would present revised draft language for the February 2024 COC meeting, with potential local law consideration by the town board later in 2024. With that, the committee began a high level review of the document, which was shared on screen. The new language was shown in red text; the areas to be removed were shown as struck out in red; and the existing language remained in black. 2 C.J. highlighted the largest changes in the document. The group began with the policy changes. C.J. explained that a secondary stand-alone project with public works, planning, and engineering would result in a “Site Design And Development Criteria Manual” that may change more frequently than the base subdivision code. The manual is therefore referenced throughout the draft document. C.J. briefly explained the sections related to the classification of and application for subdivision review. Chris Balestra gave examples of some of the processes and how the town previously managed some types of applications and projects. The checklists for application requirements would be amended by Town board resolution rather than being set into the subdivision law, as they also may need to change more frequently than the base law. The proposed new planning board findings section was reviewed and explained. C.J. and Chris noted that the environmental review process, fees and appeals, and waivers sections would need further review and modification. C.J. mentioned three new sections in the law: “Design Standards,” “Flag Lot,” and “Conservation Subdivision” sections. The COC spent a bit of time on the Conservation Subdivision section. The committee asked about the difference between “conservation subdivisions” and “clustered subdivisions,” and C.J. explained that the terms are essentially interchangeable. To clarify the law, the committee asked for one term or the other to be used. C.J. then pointed out that she included a document in the mail out that explains such subdivisions, titled “Chapter 19: Designing Subdivisions to Save Land,” by Randall Arendt. The committee commented that the diagrams in the draft were hard to understand, so staff will put better visualization diagrams into the next iteration of the law. The removal of the Solar access section was noted as needing further discussion before removing. The phased development section was highlighted as area to discuss further. Chris explained the proposed “expiration of approval” change written in the draft law. The current subdivision regulations allow developers 10 years to meet certain conditions of subdivision approval before the approval expires. There are no other New York State laws or other Town Code provisions that give this extensive of a time allowance prior to expiration. Chris illustrated how the provision has created significant issues through the years. The draft subdivision regulation lists the expiration of subdivision approval at 36 months to be consistent with the town site plan review regulations. The committee asked for clarification: would the approval expire 36 months from the date of the filed plat or the approved resolution date? Staff will clarify in the next iteration of the law. Other high level items in the draft law that were discussed included a large “Building Permit” section and the “Terminology”/definitions section. Staff noted that future iterations of the document would include manual and calculation worksheets. C.J. reiterated that the committee could see a revised iteration of the law in February 2024. Then, the environmental review process would begin in spring 2024; and approval could be as early as summer 2024. 3 The committee thanked staff for the review and for the large amount of work that was put into the draft law. Eric commented it was helpful to focus on the highlighted areas that staff is seeking specific committee input on to help the process move along. Also, breaking the document down into smaller pieces with deadlines for review may also be helpful for the group going forward. C.J. offered that the committee could review parts of the law at the December and January meetings. Eva expressed a desire for more simple visual representations and language for the public and applicants. She mentioned that diagrams are helpful but should be presented to be large enough to easily read and interpret with keys for colors, etc. Susan noted to Rob that she began inputting her comments into the online/one drive version of the document, if he wanted to pre-view them to address any initial question between now and the next meeting. She mentioned that her comments showed up in blue in the online/one drive version. COC members were encouraged to add comments online as needed for discussion later if that is easier for them as well. Rob asked if the latest draft would be sent out prior to the next meeting and C.J. replied “no, the committee would work from the existing paper copy and the share point/one drive would function as the place to track the evolution of the document with the staff comments added as it progresses.” The committee will begin a specific, thorough discussion of the draft Subdivision Regulations at the December COC meeting. 4. Other business: Next meeting: December 14, 2023, at 5:30 p.m. This is the final meeting for member Bill Goodman – and there will be an informal gathering after the meeting at Kilpatrick’s for anyone who would like to attend. Agenda: Continued review of initial draft Subdivision of Land Regulations. A motion to adjourn was made by Ariel and seconded by Eric at 6:48 p.m. Unanimous. TOWN OF ITHACA CODES AND ORDINANCES COMMITTEE DRAFT 2024 MEETING SCHEDULE Unless noted below, the Town of Ithaca Codes and Ordinances Committee (COC) will meet from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on the second Thursday of every month in 2024: January 11, 2024 February 8, 2024 March 14, 2024 April 11, 2024 May 9, 2024 June 13, 2024 July 11, 2024 August 8, 2024 September 12, 2024 October 10, 2024 November 14, 2024 December 12, 2024 Meetings will be held via Zoom and in the Town Board Room at Town of Ithaca Town Hall, 215 North Tioga Street, Ithaca, NY. Please contact Christine Balestra, Senior Planner, at 607-273- 1721 or cbalestra@town.ithaca.ny.us for more information.