HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-PEDC-2022-04-17
Approved at the
July 2022 PEDC Meeting
City of Ithaca
Planning & Economic Development Committee
Wednesday, April 20, 2022 – 6:00 p.m.
Common Council Chambers, City Hall, 108 East Green Street
Minutes
Committee Members Attending: Laura Lewis, Chair; Cynthia Brock, Phoebe
Brown, Rob Gearheart, Patrick Mehler
Committee Members Absent:
Other Elected Officials Attending: Alderperson George McGonigal
Staff Attending: Lisa Nicholas, Acting Director, Planning and
Development Department; Luis Aguirre-
Torres, Sustainability Director; Rebecca
Evans, Sustainability Planner; Tom Parsons,
IFD Chief; Aaron Lavine, City Attorney; Tom
Knipe, Deputy Director, Economic
Development; Megan Wilson, Zoning
Administrator; James Gatch, Housing
Supervisor; and Deborah Grunder, Executive
Assistant
Others Attending: TIDES (The Ithaca Dedicated Encampment
Site): Jerry Dietz, Michael Carpenter, Chris
Teitelbaum, Richard John, and Carmen Guidi
Chair Laura Lewis called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.
1) Call to Order/Agenda Review
No changes were made to the agenda.
2) Public Comment
Chair Lewis reminded all that comments are limited to three (3) minutes.
Patrick Braga, 226 Cecil Malone Drive, Suite 3, Ithaca, Vice President for Visum
Development. Visum provided a proposal for the old fire station. He believes
their proposal should be included in the process. It should be more opaque.
Approved at the
July 2022 PEDC Meeting
Regi Teasley, 201 Cliff Park Road. Ithaca, spoke of the Green New Deal. We
must all roll up our sleeves and get to work. This is rethinking public safety.
Have members of Common Council thought thoroughly about this project?
Please remember to include green space while developing.
3) Special Order of Business
No special order of business
4) Announcements, Updates, Reports
a) Green New Deal Update- Electrification Kick Off
Luis Aguirre-Torres provided a thorough presentation of the proposed
electrification kick off.
Attached to these minutes is the PowerPoint presentation presented at the
meeting.
Approved at the
July 2022 PEDC Meeting
b) East Hill Fire Station – Concept & Timeline
City Attorney Ari Lavine started the presentation as to how the City got to this
point.
Chief Tom Parsons went through the slides available in the agenda packet.
Acting Director Lisa Nicholas provided the timeline of the project, future
resolutions and resolutions. The IURA will work closely on the transfer of the
property during May and June. The final vote will happen at the July Common
Council meeting.
Nels Bohn explained the financial statements also provided in the agenda
packet.
Questions from Gearhart and Mehler.
City Attorney Lavine reiterated the extensive project process and the City was
not at all thrust upon by any developers.
Mehler thanked the project team.
Approved at the
July 2022 PEDC Meeting
c) Draft Concept Report – TIDES (The Ithaca Dedicated Encampment
Site)
Alderpersons Brock and McGonigal as well at IURA Director Nels Bohn were
instrumental in bringing this project to the Committee. There was also a large
volunteer group involved.
Bohn explained
Chris Teitelbaum explained how their group interacts with the homeless
individuals to figure out the best location for them. Some will not do well in a
shelter or a hotel setting. This is a temporary stop on the way to obtaining long-
term housing.
Carmen Guidi
George McGonigal stated this is the best time we have had. We have financial
support so that the City isn’t stuck with the bill. He thinks this is the time to do
this.
Lewis agreed with McGonigal with it’s time to come up with a solution. It would
be a terrible thing if we were to move too quickly causing the project to fail.
We are talking about this tonight as a concept. There are many people who
have been very involved. It is her hope that the group can agree on a concept.
Rich John provided the next steps. We want to bring this to the County as well,
not just the City. It is a serious health issue, a crime issue, etc. The spring is
the time when the camps rejuvenate themselves. He would like to see some
sort of concession of their thoughts and what the next steps will be. It is on City
land. The City must be on board. They have to be the leader on this. He will
be the fiercest support to the County.
Alderperson Brown stated that as a woman of color the statement, “not in my
backyard” is certainly aware of this. She thanked all who have wo rked so hard
to bring this to fruition. Many of these encampments have few people of color.
She further stated she would like to join any future meetings.
Alderperson Brock stated we will return to this committee next month and in the
meantime, we will be reaching out to the County and local businesses.
Mayor Lewis understands that the City has land, and there is the need for land.
Water and sewer are also in desperate need.
Chris Teitelbaum reiterated that there are a fair number of individuals who
cannot wrap themselves around the idea of living indoors, etc., but would rather
stay in the encampment.
Approved at the
July 2022 PEDC Meeting
Alderperson Brown thanked Teitelbaum for his genuine concern of all people.
Chair Lewis asked for a nod of support of this complex issue. All st ated they
were in support.
Approved at the
July 2022 PEDC Meeting
5) Action Items (Voting to send onto Council
a) Proposed Acceptance: Definition for Climate Justice Community
It was pulled from the April Common Council due to the criteria change.
Rebecca Evans addressed the Committee stating that the criteria had changed slightly
after the resolution was presented at the March meeting. Changes to this resolution
come from the State criteria change.
The City would also remove the word “percent” from the blue table.
PLANNING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE:
Acceptance of the Definition of “Climate Justice Community” - Resolution
Moved by Alderperson Brock; seconded by Alderperson Gearhart. Passed unanimously.
Whereas, the City of Ithaca has demonstrated its desire and commitment to be a leader in
sustainability and social equity, as exemplified by the adoption of the Ithaca Green New Deal;
and
Whereas, the City of Ithaca has further demonstrated its commitment to social and racial
equity and sustainability, as exemplified in the City of Ithaca Comprehensive Plan, Plan Ithaca
and the City’s 2017 Assessment of Fair Housing; and
Whereas, to fulfill the social equity ambitions of the IGND, a transformative effort must be
made to prioritize populations that are and have been historically marginalized; and
Whereas, current and historic marginalization can manifest in ways that are not well-
represented solely by income; and
Whereas, establishing an explicit definition for Climate Justice Community will shape future
IGND programming in a way that ensures benefits of the IGND are distributed in ways that
reduce historic inequities; and
Whereas, the effects of climate change may combine with other stressors such as
marginalization, inequality and social injustice, becoming a threat multiplier and
disproportionately affecting vulnerable population groups; and
Whereas, as a result of the pandemic and the economic downturn some vulnerable
populations may be more likely to be affected by the consequences of climate change; and
Whereas, prioritizing vulnerable populations and designating them “Climate Justice
Communities” in program planning will result in a more just and resilient Ithaca for all
residents; and
Whereas, prioritizing vulnerable populations and designating them as “Climate Justice
Communities” may result in a more equitable distribution of the economic, social and
environmental benefits of the IGND among all residents; and
Approved at the
July 2022 PEDC Meeting
Whereas, the U.S. EPA defines Environmental Justice as, “The fair treatment and meaningful
involvement of all people regardless of race, color, culture, national origin, income and
educational levels with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of
protective environmental laws, regulations, and policies.”; and
Whereas, the Center for American Progress has provided guidance on implementing the
federal Justice40 program under President Joe Biden, which seeks to advance environmental
justice and economic opportunity across the United States; and
Whereas, in 2019 the State of New York signed the Climate Leadership and Community
Protection Act (Climate Act), which committed New York State to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions by 40% by 2030 and at least 85% by 2050; and
Whereas, the Climate Act created the New York State Climate Action Council to prepare a
Scoping Plan to achieve the State’s bold clean energy and climate agenda; and
Whereas, the Climate Action Council appointed a Just Transition Working Group to make
recommendations to ensure benefits of the State climate agenda are shared equally among
all New Yorkers; and
Whereas, the Just Transition Working Group defines Disadvantaged Communities as,
“communities that bear burdens of negative public health effects, environmental pollution,
impacts of climate change, and possess certain socioeconomic criteria, or comprise high-
concentrations of low- and moderate-income households”; and
Whereas, in 2021, the state of Massachusetts set a precedent of law codification by adopting
an extended and more appropriate definition of Environmental Justice Communities that more
accurately represents the vulnerable populations in the state of Massachusetts; therefore be it
RESOLVED, that the City of Ithaca officially accepts the following definition of a Climate
Justice Community:
Climate Justice Communities are communities, including but not limited to individual
households, that bear unfair and disproportionate burden of the negative impacts of climate
change; are least able to prepare, withstand and recover from the effects of climate change;
possess certain health, environmental and socioeconomic attributes; include disproportionate
concentrations of low- and moderate-income households; or are associated with other present
or historical social factors that act as threat multipliers on a warming planet with limited
resources.
The establishment of Climate Justice Community criteria is critical to ensure that “the benefits
of the Ithaca Green New Deal are shared among all of our local communities to reduce
historical social and economic inequities”, as described in the Ithaca Green New Deal
Resolution adopted in 2019.
For a household to be considered a Climate Justice Community in the City of Ithaca, it needs
to meet either the state documented criteria or at least three of the following criteria:
• Residents are experiencing homelessness
• Residents and/or their children are eligible for needs-based local, state, or federal
financial assistance
• Residents 25 years of age or older do not possess a high school diploma or GED
Approved at the
July 2022 PEDC Meeting
• Residents experience food insecurity or low child nutrition levels
• Residents make less than 65% of the County’s median annual income
• Residents spend more than 15% of their total income on household energy costs
• Residents are undocumented immigrants currently working in Tompkins County
For a neighborhood to be considered a Climate Justice Community in the City of Ithaca, it
needs to include at least 51% of households classified as Climate Justice Community.
RESOLVED, that the city will continue to support the development and implementation of
strategies to accelerate the development of programs to meet the goals established by the
Ithaca Green New Deal.
6) Discussion Items
a) Short Term Rental
Acting Director Nichols stated they wanted the group to know that short-
term rentals consists of zoning and housing code together.
Zoning Administrator Wilson stated that in the City of Ithaca does not allow
renting single rooms. Listen to tape.
b) Existing Regulations and Housing Inspection Process
c) Updated Data & Software Tools
7) Review and Approval of Minutes
a) February 2022
Moved by Alderperson; seconded by Alderperson. Carried unanimously.
Approved at the
July 2022 PEDC Meeting
8) Adjournment
Moved by Alderperson; seconded by Alderperson. Carried unanimously.
The meeting was adjourned at p.m.