HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOC Minutes 2024-01-11 TOWN OF ITHACA CODES AND ORDINANCES COMMITTEE (COC)
Meeting of January 11, 2024—5:30 pm
Shirley A. Raffensperger Board Room, Town Hall
Minutes
Members present: Rob Rosen, Chair, Eva Hoffmann, Chris Jung, Eric Levine &Bill Arms.
Susie Gutenberger-Fitzpatrick via Zoom.
Staff Present: C.J. Randall, Director of Planning; Chris Balestra, Senior Planner; Susan Brock,
Attorney for the Town; Marty Moseley, Director of Code Enforcement; Daniel Thaete, Director
of Engineering.
Guests: none
The meeting was called to order at 5:34 p.m.
1. Member comments/concerns. Rob noted that the newest COC member would be
attending the meeting remotely via Zoom this evening.
2. Review minutes from December 14, 2023, COC meeting. Rob moved to approve the
December 14, 2023, minutes with minor changes provided by the Attorney for the Town;
Eric seconded. 5 Ayes.
3. Review proposed 2024 Codes and Ordinances Work Plan.Rob went over the highest
priority on the Work Plan,which is completing the Subdivision Regulations. He also
mentioned the next set of high priority tasks and regulations, followed by the regulations
that were completed in 2023. Rob noted two completed regulations that were omitted
from the list by mistake: the Solar provisions and minor amendments to Chapter 148.
4. Continued review of initial draft of Subdivision of Land Regulations. C.J. led the
continued review of the draft, starting with Article II-Procedures for Lot Line
Adjustments and Exempt Subdivisions. The relative section of the document was shown
onscreen for viewers. C.J. explained the details of the language,proposed additions, and
removals of text, etc. She answered committee questions as they were raised. Dan Thaete
explained the existing lot line modification process tied to the Engineering Department,
and how the current language in the law was very vague. This led to the the new Lot Line
Adjustments section in the proposed law,which is much clearer to read and to enforce.
Chris B. and Susan Brock added clarifications.Additional committee and staff suggested
changes/recommendations were as follows:
PgA,Article II, §234-8.Applications for lot line adjustments shall be made to the
Planning Department and shall consist of the following documentation:
B. Remove the words "engineer or" in the first line.
C. Remove "C"in full.
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(A is crossed out but not replaced in the draft-should be 'E') "Applications for lot line
adjustments shall be reviewed by the Code Enforcement Officer..." Susan Brock
recommends cleaning up this language. Be clearer about what the Officer would be
basing the approval or denial on; what specific standards will they apply?Wordsmith
a bit more to make clear to be 30 days from complete application. Will a stamp be
used as a"certificate?" Marty, CJ, and Dan will work together to provide the COC
with a criteria list and revised language at a future meeting.
PgA §234-9. Exempt Subdivisions. Intent of this section is to exempt from Planning
Board review the "simple two-lot subdivisions"that have gone to the Board for review
for decades. The Planning Board has asked staff to consider an internal review and
approval process for such subdivisions, rather than sending everything to the Board for
review. The COC suggested adding an"Exempt Subdivision" definition to the law, or
possibly explaining the purpose for these types of subdivisions somewhere in this section.
The committee also noticed that this section was rife with acronyms and abbreviations;
and recommended spelling out all acronyms and abbreviations the first time they are used
in the document before using the acronyms/abbreviations multiple times, so users know
what they mean. One committee member also reminded staff to review the whole
document to make references to the Director of Planning or their designee more uniform.
A. Required Submissions:
A.l.d. change two acres to 10,000 square feet and add"Stormwater Management
Officer"before the first SMO.
A.2. add"SMO" after the word"Town."
B. The examples of items in this section, such as "the presence of creeks or streams"
was questioned—does the town consider any/all streams? Or just those listed on the
Town Stream Setback Map (which was not referenced in the section)?What about
Unique Natural Areas? Or wetlands? It was explained that this was not meant to be an
exhaustive list but acknowledged that the list could be more specific. Staff will think
more about this and will look at the Town Code §270-191 list of items as a template
to follow. The intent is to have clear language for the Director of Planning to follow,
so they do not need to refer applications to the Planning Board. Staff will wordsmith
and provide updated language at a future meeting.
C. Staff will brainstorm wording for this section. How far back do we look to
determine if a lot was involved in a prior subdivision?
D. The wording in this section needs to be cleaned up.
E. Discussion about the "seal"- does the Planning Department have one? Should this
say"certificate"?Will the general raised"Town of Ithaca" seal that exists suffice?
Staff will look into this and revisit.
F. Remove "F" in full.
Pg.S §234-9 (should be 10-numbering will be checked). Re-subdivision. Delete this section
entirely- considered either a lot line modification or a subdivision.
Pg. 5,Article III, Classification and Application for Subdivision Review.
§234-10 Pre-application conference—should this be made a requirement for all
applications and not just required for cluster subdivision? Chris stated this happens in one
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form or another(phone call, email, in person, Zoom)with all applications, whether
spelled out currently or not. Committee still wants it in the law.
A. Change the last line in this paragraph to read"All Applicants are required to
attend a Pre-application conference prior to submitting an application."
§234-11-Sketch Plans.
A. List out when sketch plans are required and change "Planning Board or Town
Planner"to "Director of Planning or designee."
Pg.6 §234-11 A.3.
a. Change "Map"to "Parcel."
b. Remove "conventional" in the last line.
c. What are "community facilities"?Please clarify this.
Eva requested more detail from applicants and staff when applications are referred to the town's
Conservation Board. She noticed that a staff-prepared aerial location map was included in a
recent referral, and it helped her clarify the location of the project. She wondered if maps like
that could be required for Conservation Board referrals. Chris stated that she creates the aerial
location maps as part of the staff review for a Planning Board project and that the map is often
created well after the agency/board referrals go out. She also noted that the town sometimes
forwards projects to the Conservation Board that are in a"sketch"phase of review, which does
not require detailed maps. Planning will try to provide more mapping details for Conservation
Board referrals going forward.
The committee left off on Page 6 of the draft,just before#4 (line 239 of the printed draft). Rob
asked if C.J. felt the committee was on schedule with the review. She responded that the
recommendations by the committee were more valuable than accelerating the process.
5. Other business: Bill asked the best way to submit comments or questions on the draft
subdivision document—use the One Drive portal?Email? Save comments for the next
meeting? C.J. replied that the One Drive portal is effective at tracking comments in the
document; however whatever means is best to communicate is workable. She will
double-check access for committee members and staff. Susan noted not being able to
access the document in One Drive.
• Next meeting: February 8, 2024, at 5:30 p.m.
• Agenda: Continued review of initial draft Subdivision of Land Regulations.
The meeting adjourned at 6:54 p.m.
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