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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTB Minutes 2017-04-24 Study Session of the Ithaca Town Board April 24, 2017 Agenda 1. Review May 8`b Agenda 2. Discuss and consider setting apublic hearing regarding aproposed local law regulating Signs and Murals 3. Discuss and consider setting apublic hearing regarding aproposed local law: "Amending Restaurant Drive-Through Provisions in the Community Commercial Zoning Provisions of Ithaca Town Code Chapter 270" 4. Discuss and consider authorization for the Town Supervisor to sign an agreement with Cornell for the payment of an additional Code Officer 5. Discuss the Worth Street issue regarding building code enforcement and oversight and authorization for Supervisor to sign the agreement 6. Discuss and consider authorization for Town Supervisor to sign a contract with GHD for the South Hill and West Hill Water Study 7. Committee Reports a. Planning Discuss Short Term Rentals such as Air B&B's Discuss progress on Rental Registry and two-family dwellings b. Public Works c. Codes and Ordinances d. Budget e. P&O and Employee Relations 8. Consent Agenda a. Approval of Minutes b. Town of Ithaca Abstract Study Session of the Ithaca Town Board April 24, 2017 Minutes Board Members Present: Bill Goodman, Supervisor; Rod Howe, Deputy Town Supervisor; Pat Leary, Tee-Ann Hunter, Eric Levine, Rich DePaolo, and Pamela Bleiwas Staff Present: Susan Ritter, Director of Planning, Bruce Bates, Director of Code Enforcement; Mike Solvig, Director of Finance, Judy Drake, Director of Human Resources;Paulette Rosa, Town Clerk; Jim Weber, Highway Superintendent and Susan Brock, Attorney for the Town 1. Review May 8th Agenda Mr. Goodman wanted to talk about the City's committee structure reorganization after the Board of Fire Commissioner's quarterly report. Mr. Goodman reviewed the May agenda. Ms. Hunter asked about the mural law and Mr. Goodman reiterated that he would like to meet with those who have concerns about murals and then discuss the draft at the regular meeting instead of this study session. 2. Pulled Discuss and consider setting apublic hearing regarding aproposed local law regulating Signs and Murals 3. Discuss and consider setting a public hearing regarding a proposed local law: "Amending Restaurant Drive-Through Provisions in the Community Commercial Zoning Provisions of Ithaca Town Code Chapter 270" TB Resolution 2017 - 054: Setting a public hearing regarding a proposed local law: "Amending Restaurant Drive-Through Provisions in the Communitv Commercial Zoninu Provisions of Ithaca Town Code Chapter 270" Resolved, that the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca will hold a public hearing at the Town Hall, 215 North Tioga Street, Ithaca, New York on the 8h day of May, 2017 at 5:30 p.m. for the purpose of considering a proposed local law "Amending Restaurant Drive-Through Provisions in the Community Commercial Zoning Provisions of Ithaca Town Code Chapter 270", and be it further Resolved, that at such time and place all persons interested in the proposed local law may be heard concerning the same; and it is further Resolved, that the Town Clerk of the Town of Ithaca is hereby authorized and directed to publish a notice of such public hearing in the Ithaca Journal and to post a copy of same on the signboard of the Town of Ithaca. Moved: Rod Howe Seconded: Rich DePaolo Vote: Ayes—Howe, DePaolo, Hunter, Levine, Leary, Goodman and Bleiwas TB 2017-04-24 Pg. 1 4. Pulled Discuss and consider authorization for the Town Supervisor to sign an agreement with Cornell for the payment of an additional Code Officer 5. Pulled Discuss the Worth Street issue regarding building code enforcement and oversight and authorization for Supervisor to sign the agreement 6. Discuss and consider authorization for Town Supervisor to sign a contract with GHD for the South Hill and West Hill Water Study TB Resolution 2017- 055: Authorization to Award Contract for a Studv of Potential South Hill and West Hill Water Svstem Improvements Whereas, on November 7, 2016 the Town Board approved the 2017 Town Budget (Resolution No 2016-158)that included $80,000 to fund a study of potential South and West Hill Water System Improvements, and Whereas, for consistency in the analysis of the water distribution system, it was determined to contract with the same company that performed the Town of Ithaca Northeast and Bast Hill Water System Improvements studies, GHD Consulting Services Inc., and Whereas, GHD Consulting services has prepared and submitted a proposal to complete the Town of Ithaca South and West Hill Water System Improvements; and Whereas, members of Town Staff have reviewed the proposal and presented the proposal to the Public Works Committee, which has recommended that the proposal of$69,800.00 for the study made by the firm of GHD Consulting Inc. is a qualified proposal, and be it Resolved, that the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca authorizes the award of the contract for the study of potential South and West Hill Water System Improvements to GHD Consulting Services Inc., Cazenovia New York, subject to final approval of the contract documents by the Town Engineer and Attorney for the Town, and be it further Resolved, that the Town Supervisor is authorized to execute said contract upon such approval. Moved: Tee-Ann Hunter Seconded: Pat Leary Vote: Ayes—Hunter, Leary, Levine, DePaolo, Goodman, Bleiwas and Howe 7. Committee Reports Planning—Mr. DePaolo reported that they continue to discuss rental property oversight and they are moving ahead on the assumption that we are interested in regulating the rental property in the town and devising a means by which to do so that does not require totally reinventing the regulatory structures that we already have. To that end, we have been able to adapt our needs to our existing operating permit application process and he met with Bruce Bates to discuss some TB 2017-04-24 Pg. 2 application parameters that incorporated the types of things the committee thought would be useful and we should have a rough draft for the next meeting. Some of the things discussed were occupancy limits and the scenario was what would we do where somebody who owns an owner-occupied 2-family house and they want to go on sabbatical? How do we allow people to rent both sides of their property for up to a year, say every five years? This would apply to everyone whether associated with a university or not. There is some overlap with the short-term rental issue but that will probably have to be addressed separately. There is still discussion on whether a short term rental is less than 30 days or how to define that. Ms. Hunter had questions about the rental registry and if the existing rentals would be grandfathered in with the owner-occupancy requirement and Mr. DePaolo responded that these would apply to newly-created two-family residences and Mr. Goodman added that the rental registry would apply to everyone though, new and existing. Mr. Goodman added that the Cornell representative talked about their listing of apartment issues and health and safety concerns would be available on their website and that information would be gleaned from the City's registry with information from their inspections for parents and students. Mr. DePaolo said that because the city has many more multiple dwelling units, some of the things they inspect are not the same as what is required for single and two-family homes more common in the town. We are keeping an open dialogue with Cornell, but it will not be the same information as the City. Ms. Brock stated that she had sent the board a memo regarding the letter submitted by Mr. Smith who was representing Mr. Ronsvalle about this topic and Mr. DePaolo moved to enter closed session to seek the advice of counsel at 4:55 p.m., seconded by Mr. Goodman, unanimous. Mr. Goodman moved to reenter open session at 5:20 p.m., seconded by Mr. DePaolo, unanimous. Discuss Short Term Rentals such as Air B&B's Mr. Goodman asked the board what direction the board would like to go in as far as drafting legislation, looking at other communities and what they have done, specific changes and opinions from the board. Mr. DePaolo started the conversation by summarizing what the Planning Committee has been discussing saying that in general they are discussing future short term rentals within the construct of owner-occupancy and with a limitation on the number of days per year that someone can rent and some have attended webinars looking at what other municipalities are doing. Some seem to be more interested in monetizing or getting their piece of the pie while others seem more interested in regulating the practice. He said that it is hard to balance, but they are trying to acknowledge that the sharing economy is a real thing and we live in an environment where there is a need for accommodations so the question becomes how do you balance that need and how TB 2017-04-24 Pg. 3 do we also enable homeowners to make their homes more affordable as this is a supplemental income stream that if managed properly could potentially alleviate the cost of owning a house while still providing for the level of oversight needed to avoid a lot of the nuisance related issues from non-owner occupied rentals. Mr. DePaolo stated that it would be helpful to get input from those not on or attending the Planning Committee meetings. Ms. Bleiwas talked about the committee looking at other municipalities to get a lot of ideas and then pick out what they believe would work best for the town and talk about those with the whole board. It would be good to know what more of the options are. Ms. Hunter stated that she would like to see what kind of complaints we have gotten so we can draft regulations that really do address those concerns rather than simply developing regulations with a broader brush than needed. She also would like to look at the costs of regulating this and how we could defray those costs. It seems that one of the broad concerns is that this practice of short-term rentals can take properties off the market because it can be more affordable to own the house but are we going to have a permitting process and if so, there should be a fee. If we are not going to require owner-occupancy, then we should require a response time for complaints to be responded to; things that might make it not such an easy income stream with more responsibilities. Mr. Goodman stated that he had asked Mr. Bates to researched the complaints and Mr. Bates stated that from 2014 -2017, roughly, 7% of the complaints per year are associated with short- term rentals so 7 a year. He found that the complaints were very localized, nothing from West Hill but Pineview/Hickory Place, Renwick Heights, and Forest Home with a couple on Bast Shore Drive. The system does not differentiate short-term rental but as a noise, or parking, or over occupancy, so it is hard to pull them out and this was just a quick look this afternoon. Ms. Leary added that the Committee talked about how to allow some limited rentals such as graduation weekends without it being a business as well as having the owner-occupancy or primary residence requirement which led to property managers as an option but the examples used in the webinars are not like the town with low mid-income houses so the search continues. Some discussion followed. Ms. Hunter stated that we should be mindful of ourselves as a tourist area and understand that people do want to come here and vacation and we need to think if we want seasonal vacation housing built, which is a huge thing that happens in places and then you get a lot of vacant housing owned by wealthy people that is lived in for 3 months out of the year and that really boosts property values. She thought this is a very complex issue and we have to balance it with the concerns about the impacts on our residents but this is a problem a lot of communities are facing but as a vacation spot and our wish to density, do we want the entire Lansing lakefront filled with condos because we don't want to allow short term rentals here? Mr. Goodman added that historically we have had lakefront rentals before AirBandB and now that issue is coming up down there too he thought we could have regulations in different areas or zones of the town. TB 2017-04-24 Pg. 4 Graduation and parents weekends are also a popular short term rental for many homeowners so he would like to look at a certain number of days being allowed. Mr. Goodman asked about the Northeast area where there were complaints last year and Mr. Bates and Mr. DePaolo responded that the main person there, Ms. Lawson, was in favor of owner-occupancy regulations and want the rentals to come out of the shadows and she works with her neighbors on any issues. They would like to stop arbitrary enforcement and she would be interested in hearing what other communities do and answering any questions the board may have. Public Works—Mr. Howe stated that they reviewed adjustments to the long term capital projects and some fleet replacement plans. Ms. Salon was present and there was a lengthy discussion regarding Culver Rd and Rich Schoch will be asked to go to the Conservation Board meeting and explain the town's philosophy regarding trimming or trees. Mr. Goodman added that he continues to field her calls and meet with her and we continue to assure her that we are not widening the road. There was some further discussion on the 940 B Shore Drive wall issue and the Forest Home area with Mr. Goodman stating that he will be talking to the full board at a future date about limiting money spent on road work so we are not bonding for it. Codes and Ordinances—No meeting Budget No meeting P&O and Employee Relations—Ms. Bleiwas reported that they continue to work on updating the personnel manual. The revised employee wellness policy was referred to the full board with an increase in the annual amount. The BRC continues to review the engagement survey. Other—Ms. Ritter reported that the Town has received the grant for the 96B Ithaca College sidewalk for $1.5 M with a 20% match and she will begin reaching out to Ithaca College. She added that the City also received a grant for the Route 79 sidewalk to join up to the Town's to Lindermann. 8. Consent Agenda TB Resolution 2017-056: Adopt Consent Auenda Resolved, that the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca hereby approves and/or adopts the following Consent Agenda items: a. Approval of Town Board Minutes b. Approval of Town of Ithaca Abstract Moved: Tee-Ann Hunter Seconded: Rod Howe Vote: Ayes —Hunter, Levine, Bleiwas, DePaolo, Goodman, Leary and Howe TB 2017-04-24 Pg. 5 TB Resolution 2017- 056a: Approval of Minutes of the April 10, 2017 Whereas, the draft minutes of the April 10, 2017 meeting of the Town Board have been submitted for review and approval, now therefore be it Resolved, that the Town Board hereby approves the submitted minutes, with any corrections, as the final minutes of the meeting on April 10, 2017 of the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca. TB Resolution 2017 - 056 : Town of Ithaca Abstract Whereas the following numbered vouchers have been presented to the Ithaca Town Board for approval of payment; and Whereas the said vouchers have been audited for payment by the said Town Board; now therefore be it Resolved that the governing Town Board hereby authorizes the payment of the said vouchers in total for the amounts indicated. VOUCHER NOS. 455 - 522 General Fund Townwide 78,345.90 General Fund Part-Town 11,084.54 Highway Fund Part-Town 141,490.37 Water Fund 22,812.50 Sewer Fund 15,283.09 Forest Home Lighting District 44.45 Glenside Lighting District 13.29 Renwick Heights Lighting District 22.98 Eastwood Commons Lighting District 31.07 Clover Lane Lighting District 4.15 .......-.._....--- Winner's Circle Lighting District 6.22 Burleigh Drive Lighting District 14.49_ West Haven Road Lighting District 57.41 Coddington Road Lighting District 33.42 Debt Service 332.00 TOTAL 269,575.88 Meeting was adjourned at 6:16 p.m. Submitted 1 i Paulette Rosa, Town Clerk TB 2017-4-24 Pg. 6