HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOC Minutes 2023-11-09 TOWN OF ITHACA CODES AND ORDINANCES COMMITTEE (COCA
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(not officially present).
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. -4 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.
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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 an 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.
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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 questions
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.
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