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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTB Minutes 2013-04-22 Meeting of the Ithaca Town Board Monday,April 22, at 4:30 p.m. Minutes Agenda Item 1 Call to Order Mr. Goodman called the meeting to order at 4:35p.m. Mr. Engman was out of town at the Planning Federation Meeting Agenda Item 2 Review Draft Agenda for Regular Meeting Mr. Weber asked that the award of contract for the salt storage building be moved to June and Mr. DePaolo asked about the request for speed limit reduction item. Mr. Goodman responded that this is the request we have had in the wings for a while because we were waiting for letters of support from the Town of Dryden and Cornell and we just got those. He asked where exactly and Ms. Terwilliger read from the letter of support noting that the request is for a reduction from 45mph to 35 mph on Forest Home Drive between Route 366 and the hamlet of Forest Home at the beginning of the current 25 mph zone. Agenda Item 3 Consider Approval of Award of Contract for the Danby Rd/W King Rd Water Main Water Improvement Project TB Resolution No. 2013- 066 : Authorization to Award Contract for Construction of the Town of Ithaca Danbv Road/West King Road Water Main Replacement Water Improvement and to Establish the Town of Ithaca Danbv Road/West King Water Main Replacement Water Improvement Capital Proiect Fund WHEREAS: On April 17, 2013 the Town of Ithaca Director of Public Works/Highway Superintendent received bids for the Town of Ithaca Danby Road/West King Road Water Main Replacement Water Improvement for the replacement of 4,411 feet of existing ductile iron main with new 8"water main made of Polywrapped Ductile Iron pipe, new valves, hydrant connections and related ancillary facilities will be placed as necessary, and WHEREAS: The Director of Public Works has reviewed the bids and qualifications of the bidders and has recommended that the low bid of $606,000.00 for the total project made by Vacri Construction Corporation, One Brick Avenue, Binghamton, NY 13901, is a qualified bid, and WHEREAS: At the December 10, 2012 Town Board meeting under Resolution No. 2012-215 the maximum amount of$850,000.00 was authorized to be expended by the Town of Ithaca for this improvement,now therefore be it RESOLVED: that the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca authorizes the award of the contract for the Town of Ithaca Danby Road/West King Road Water Main Replacement Water Improvement project to Vacri Construction Corporation, subject to final approval of the contract documents by the Town Engineer and Attorney for the Town, and be it further 1 RESOLVED: that the Town Supervisor is authorized to execute such contract upon such approval; and be it further RESOLVED: that the Director of Public Works is authorized to approve change orders to such contract upon receipt of appropriate justification provided that the maximum amount of such change orders shall not in the aggregate exceed $61,000.00 without prior authorization of this Board, and provided further that the total project cost, including the contract, engineering, legal and other expenses does not exceed the maximum authorized cost of the project, and be it further RESOLVED: that the Town Finance Officer is directed and authorized to establish a "Town of Ithaca Danby Road/West King Road Water Main Replacement Water Improvements" capital project fund to record all necessary and appropriate budgetary and cash transactions, and transfer $606,000 bid amount plus a $61,000 contingency to establish the construction account, and $3,000 for ancillary project costs, for a total capital project fund budget of$670,000; MOVED: Rich DePaolo SECONDED: Eric Levine VOTE Ayes—DePaolo, Levine, Leary, Howe, Hunter and Goodman Agenda Item 4 Continue Review of draft Comprehensive Plan — Chapter 2 The revised Energy and Climate Protection was reviewed. (Attachment#1) EC-1-A Discussion on timelines for sustainability efforts, staffing and tasks associated with those efforts. EC-1-B Remove "every four years" and replace with intervals to allow for flexibility in timelines. EC-2-D and E Discussion on green building policy and its applicability to town-owned buildings and other buildings. The intent would be to adopt a policy prior to the Green Building Code to express the intent that any upgrades, renovations etc of town buildings would strive to be as green as possible. Also discussed lighting and added the word"investigate" instead of tying ourselves to LED lamps because there are some issues that are coming forward from them. Also added consider visibility and aesthetics when reviewing lighting options. Goal E-C 3 Discussion on water and sewer; Bolton Point reviewing options for incentives for water conservation. EC 4-13 Discussion about requiring alternative fuels instead of requiring alternatives to be investigated. The expense of retrofitting or purchasing green fleets may not match our fiduciary obligations. A green fleet policy was supported but not the detailed requirement of biodiesel because there may be other options out there. Focus on"more efficient"vehicles not the "fuel" itself. The word"fuel"was deleted. 2 EC-5-B "Reduce permit fees"was discussed and the board was not sure we can do that and asked for legal comment on that. EC-5-F Purchasing credits could be considered a subsidy and Mr. DePaolo wasn't sure we can do that either. Ms. Leary responded that Don Barber has said that the credits are so low that you can use greener products and the net cost is not much more. The board was comfortable with the "consider"verbiage which gives some leeway. Other—EC-7 C and D from the older version that did not carry forward regarding planting trees. The Board asked that something be added to plant trees to combat urban heat. Renewable resources where captured in EC- 5 C of the new version talking about working together for renewable energy. Agriculture Introduction—There was some discussion on paragraph 3 which were fixed by removing the word"while"which changed the tone of the sentence. AG 3 B Discussion on whether we want to "require" community gardens or encourage. Board felt that require is better and guidelines would be established in the zoning. AB-4-A and C Dairy princess and"female"poultry were discussed. Dan Tasman thought the poultry was aimed toward the move towards having chicken and roosters are very noisy. Both words were removed. AG-6 Add the words "negative impacts of after the word"from." Recreation (Park and Trails) Introduction—Last paragraph; discussed difference between"necessity"with"priority" and looked at adding the work"transportation"when describing trails because they are used for both transportation and recreation. Discussion followed and the board determined that the multi-use was referenced in the second paragraph and this is the parks and trails section and the transportation section further along. The last paragraph was reordered with"priority"to link the recreation focus of the section. RE 1-E Discussion regarding "depositing" funds. Change to "to be held in reserve." Historical Resources Minor changes. Mr. DePaolo thought the word"subdivision"has a bad reputation in this document and not all suburbia or subdivisions are bad and some people like it. The goal is to have a range of options of subdivisions and styles. Remove "today's" in the introduction and add examples of groups to work with in HR 1-E Agenda Item 5 Discuss and consider holding a study session in May to continue review of draft Comprehensive Plan The board agreed to hold a study session on Tuesday, May 28th at 4:30 3 Agenda Item 5 Consider Consent Agenda Items TB Resolution 2013 - 067: Adopt Consent Agenda BE IT RESOLVED, that the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca hereby approves and/or adopts the following Consent Agenda items: a. Approval of Minutes of April 8, 2013 b. Town of Ithaca Abstract c. Ratify SCLIWC Appointment—Coakley Moved: Rich DePaolo Seconded: Eric Levine Vote: ayes: DePaolo, Levine, Hunter, Goodman, Howe and Leary TB Resolution 2013 - 067a: Approval of Minutes of April 8, 2013 WHEREAS, the draft minutes of the April 8, 2013meeting of the Town Board have been submitted for review and approval; THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the governing Town Board hereby approves the submitted minutes as the final minute of the April 8, 2013 of the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca. TB Resolution No. 2013 -067b : 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. 3588 - 3654 General Fund Town wide 54,238.74 General Fund Part Town 1,720.93 Highway Fund Part Town 14,442.37 Water Fund 10,381.18 Sewer Fund 3,402.34 Forest Home Lighting District 108.25 Glenside Lighting District 42.97 Renwick Heights Lighting District 57.19 Clover Lane Lighting District 9.92 Winner's Circle Lighting District 14.86 4 Burleigh Drive Lighting District 34.65 West Haven Road Lighting District 137.33 Coddington Road Lighting District 79.91 Debt Service 227.00 TOTAL 84,975.95 TB Resolution No. 2013-Q67c: Appointment Geographic Information Systems/ Information Technology (GIS/IT) Snedalist-SCLIWC. WHEREAS, there is presently a vacancy in the full time position of Geographic Information Systems / Information Technology (GIS/IT) Specialist in the Distribution Department at Southern Cayuga Lake Intermunicipal Water Commission; and WHEREAS, the interview committee interviewed 6 candidates from the open recruitment for the position; and WHEREAS, the committee has determined that Benjamin Coakley possesses the necessary knowledge and skills to satisfactorily perform the duties of a GIS/It Specialist; and WHEREAS, Benjamin Coakley was appointed provisionally by SCLIWC at the April 4, 2013 meeting based on a full time level of 40 hours per week, effective April 22, 2013; Now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca does hereby ratify SCLIWC's appointment of Benjamin Coakley as a full time Geographic Information Systems / Information Technology (GIS/IT) Specialist in the Distribution Department; and be it further RESOLVED, this is a 40 hours a week position, at the hourly wage of $24.15, which is an estimated annual salary of $50,232, from account number SW8340.101, with full time benefits; and be it further RESOLVED, the said appointment is provisional pending the results from the next civil service exam for this position. Ms. Hunter would like to discuss having comments regarding the Plan put in verbatim. Will discuss at the next meeting. Meeting adjourned at 5:25 p.m. and the board moved to the Boardroom for the Public Hearing regarding the draft Comprehensive Plan and acceptance of comments on the draft Scoping Document follows this meeting at 6:30 p.m. in the Town Boardroom Submitt Paulette Terwilliger, f Ithaca Town Board April 22, 2013 Public Hearing regarding the draft Comprehensive Plan Board Members Present - Bill Goodman, acting Chair; Pat Leary, Rich DePaolo, Eric Levine, Tee-Ann Hunter, and Rod Howe *Note/disclaimer - The audio recording was very bad due to a fault in the connection that did not register on the system doing the recording. The indicators were showing it was fine, but that was not the case. These minutes were done from notes taken at the meeting and limited parts of the recording that were audible. Mr. Goodman opened the public hearing at 6:42 p.m. and explained that this is the second public hearing on the Comprehensive Plan (Plan) and is just the second in many opportunities for both oral and written comments as the Plan goes through the various processes and reviews. Margo from West Hill, City of Ithaca - She feels like the problems we are facing in this generation call for a plan that isn't slightly mitigating the usual sprawl which everyone is accepting. We need much more creative thinking about how to design our cities and our areas around the city. The current plan has made efforts to reduce mistakes from the past which has been unmitigated sprawl but it isn't tackling problems in a way that is actually going to pull us in the right direction. She felt the Plan will slow us down in going in the wrong direction but not put us in the right direction and the Town doesn't have to reinvent the wheel because there are cities out there that have done this and found ways to reduce traffic and increase density as opposed to lowering the sprawl and these other municipalities or companies could help us. She felt we could come up with a plan that genuinely creates an environment that nurtures children and reduces traffic and provides an example for other cities to how a city can grow without further damaging the environment. She went on to say that she was wondering if the board is considering the minority report line by line in the same fashion they are reviewing the Plan because there were some very good points that were made in it and the two could be integrated to get the most benefit. Claire Forrest - Ms. Forrest was upset that the W King Rd area was being proposed as a neighborhood center noting that she has been fighting development in that area for years and allowing the apartments and the hotel was a big mistake and this would further that mistake. She felt that any farmers should be grandfathered in to the existing zoning. Pat Dutt - (Attachment #^') Ms. Dutt read from her written statement. She is in favor of the Minority Report and would like a meeting with the Town Board that would allow back and forth dialogue with residents rather than the public hearing format and she also thinks that it doesn't make any sense to plan without input from the City of Ithaca. Tom Hohn (Attachment ^ Mr. Hohn read from a prepared statement. He feels that the Town is going against its own recommendations and has not communicated with West Hill enough. He Adopted as Final 6-10-2013 feels that the proposed development is not staying in character with the neighborhood and the Minority Report has been ignored as well as the traffic issues any development will exacerbate. Mike Parker, South Hill resident - Mr. Hill was curious about the proposed high density on Troy Rd. Yvonne Fogarty noted that she is a Town of Ithaca Planning Board member but is here tonight as a resident - Ms. Fogarty noted that she has recently read the Route 96 Corridor Report, the Comprehensive Plan and the Minority Report and felt that the discrepancy between the 3 is amazing because they say there will never be enough density but yet the nodes are continually talked about and the Biggs land proposal can't be a node because you can't have mixed uses with federal backing; they only subsidize low-income. She also felt that the traffic issue is not clear in that everyone says it is ok but the residents' experience is certainly not that it is ok. She stated that turning onto Bundy Rd is very dangerous and she stated that she can't stress enough the traffic problem and since we do not have any control for the road because it is owned by the state we can't continue to build and ignore the traffic. Ms. Fogarty went on to say that the Biggs property could be used for a school, museum, wind farm or something outside the box. She felt that the draft Plan is not bold in its land development scenarios and we have a chance to do something bold. Greg Perrault City of Ithaca (Attachment Mr. Perrault is concerned about the quality of the environment and the quality of life in our area. He is concerned about the traffic in the Cambell Ave area where multiple TCAT busses travel small neighborhood roads and cause traffic issues along with vehicles trying to avoid the main roads. He stated that he came here from NJ and wants to see proper planning such as building roads differently and keeping control of the rights-of-ways to connect properties and buildings and to develop a neighborhood. He felt that Ithaca does not have enough bypasses. Because of the topography of West Hill, feeder streets need to be looked at and connect neighborhoods. Route 13a is a bypass that works great for that area but we still need roads for traffic; he did not necessarily agree the statement in the Minority Report about "if you build a road, there will be more traffic" and if someone opposes a road, they should oppose the development. He said he has heard before that development is not a question of whether development will happen but just how, where and when and he appreciates the conflict between avoiding sprawl and the need to preserve undeveloped space close to the city. He stated that he has read most of the Minority Report and is working his way through the Plan and he commended everyone on their hard work and will remain in contact. / b Larry Fabbroni (Attachment #.4) Mr. Fabbroni read verbatim from his prepared statement representing Mr. Lucente. He felt the naming of specific projects or developments is very inappropriate for a Plan and shows bias. The Lucente land(s) are largely designated as conservation in the future land use plan and this contradicts what the Town and Mr. Lucente have been discussing this past year for uses of his remaining land. Jennifer Goodman West Hill Ms. Goodman was concerned about the health, safety and character of the West Hill neighborhood noting that there is a lot of high density areas and it is Adopted as Final 6-10-2013 not safe right now. There is increased crime, the roads are dangerous and there are environmental impacts forcing wildlife closer and deer are known to attack pets and they carry diseases. Andy Yale, Taughannock Blvd. Mr. Yale stated that he has lived on West Hill for over 40 years and way back Mr. Ligori presented plans for nodal development and he doesn't see it happening. He stated that the current population trends are doubling over a ICQ years and he can't imagine doubling the size of the town without some different transportation options. Angela? She stated that she has read both the Plan and the Minority Report and discussed them with a friend who used to live here and the devil is in the details. It is a strategic document so that makes sense, but two things that should be called out better are intermunicipal communication and working together. She was amazed that there is a city a town and a county who all seem to have their own schedule and agendas and who don't communicate or try and plan together. She also felt that aging in place should be focused on a bit more. Mr, Perrault again - Mr. Perrault talked about the proposed road that will connect the neighborhoods. Mr. Fabbroni again - Water and sewer development and there is not a lot of mention about services and a lot more study needs to be done regarding services on West Hill because there is a lot of sharing that can go on and would be a great answer to the minimal system that is at the end of Cliff St. Board Comments Bill Goodman - Talked about the process going forward and wanting to meet with West Hill residents and talking about ideas. Rich DePaolo - Mr. DePaolo had a few observations. Observation - there is an inherent problem with the way the public hearing process works and we need to figure out a way to engage the public in a more free flowing fashion because this way is stifling and creates an adversarial environment Observation - there is a misunderstanding by the Ag Committee regarding the math for the number of allowed houses in Ag zones, so we need to do more education on that: Observation - there is a City-centric view on how to develop the town. Some people feel that all development should happen in the City. But people have inherent land use rights. The Town of Ithaca can't simply be the green space for the City. Planning is often about mitigation. In government you can often chew around the edges because making broad sweeping strokes is not always possible or practical. Pat Leary - Regarding the Minority report; the Comprehensive Planning Committee lived through the minority report. Joe Wetmore was on the Committee and insisted on discussing each of his points and everything was discussed and the committee did not ignore the points made in the minority report. Adopted as Final 6-10-2013 Tee-Ann Hunter - Ms. Hunter said the two things she has heard from residents tonight were requests to work inter-municipally and we should seriously discuss making that happen. We need to insist on face to face meetings with the City and with TCAT. She also felt the Board should be able to respond to the questions people bring to us n those two topics Rod Howe - Mr. Howe thought the Board would be open to sitting with neighborhood groups including other hills and having more of a give and take discussion on the Plan. Eric Levine - Mr. Levine thanked people for coming, noting that this is what he really enjoys about service on the Board; hearing what people are thinking and working on those thoughts and ideas. Public Hearing was closed at 7:47 p.m. Adopted as Final 6-10-2013 Town of Ithaca Comprehensive Plan Update Draft Date; originally 12/5/2012 Revised 4-17-13 Energy and Climate Protection The Town of Ithaca is committed to protecting and enhancing its economic, environmental, and community resources to benefit future generations while at the same time addressing the needs of today. The Town Board has endorsed sustainability and climate protection as overarching principles to guide long-term decision-making; elements of these principles are infused throughout this Comprehensive Plan. The guiding principles for the Town's sustainability efforts are as follows: • The Town leads by example through integrating energy efficiency, sustainability and climate protection into its daily operations • The Town enacts policies and regulations that integrate sustainability and climate protection, into building and development practices and land use planning • The Town engages in partnerships that strengthen sustainability efforts internally and community-wide • The Town provides education and outreach to its constituents to promote sustainable practices, energy efficiency and conservation, and to encourage public participation The transition to a more sustainable future for the Town of Ithaca goes beyond the work of government. Residents, business owners, and organizations each have a part to play in creating the community we aspire to live in. Though the Town government cannot do it alone, it will provide leadership to the community as we move forward. The long-tenn goals articulated here support the guiding principles and provide a framework to advise future decision-making and policy development. The actions that accompany these goals are specific activities to be implemented to achieve the long-term goals. GOALS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Goal EC-1: Incorporate sustainability and climate protection into long-term planning. EC-l-A Institutionalize sustainability in Town operations. Consider continuing a sustainability position and creating an internal sustainability committee. Distribute necessary sustainability- related tasks to existing staff. EC-l-B Conduct GHG inventories at least every four years to assess emissions from government operations and from the community at large. Streamline and facilitate data collection. EC-l-C Implement the Government Energy Action Plan 2011 to achieve a 30% reduction in GHG emissions from government operations by 2020. Update the Energy Action Plan (EAP) on a regular basis and consider incorporating long-term actions in future Plans to meet the existing goal of reducing government GHG emissions 80% by 2050. EC-l-D Set short- and long-term goals for community-wide GHG emissions reductions. Develop and implement a Community Energy Action Plan to meet reduction goals, and update Plan on a regular basis. Town of Ithaca Comprehensive Plan Update Draft Date: originally 12/5/2012 Revised 4-17-13 See also: LU-2-C (landscaping standards), LU-4 (mixed use/traditional neighborhood development), LU- 6 (best planning practice), NR-2-E (tree preservation), EC-4-F (on-site energy generation), AG-3-C (community gardens). Goal EC-2: Reduce energy consumption and GHG emissions in buildings and infrastructure. EC-2-A Consider using policy instruments and regulations to reduce energy use in existing buildings. For example, building owners could be mandated or encouraged to perform energy audits and energy efficiency improvements, and to track energy usage. EC-2-B Consider adopting a building code to require all new construction projects and major renovations to incorporate green building techniques and achieve specific energy efficiency standards. EC-2-C Partner with local organizations and businesses to create, promote and maintain incentives, financing options, and education and outreach campaigns that support energy efficiency in new and existing buildings. These products could be marketed to building owners, tenants, developers, builders, code enforcement officers, and other populations. EC-2-D Ensure municipal buildings and facilities act as a model of good energy efficient practices. Track energy usage on a regular basis. Conduct energy audits and implement recommended upgrades. Adopt a green building policy for all major renovations and new construction projects. Provide education for employees about behavior change to reduce energy use. EC-2-E When replacing lamps in municipal streetlights and traffic signals, use LED lamps or other high-efficiency equipment. When specifying replacement technologies, take into account the full life cycle costs, including energy and maintenance costs. Also take into account the spectrum of light produced, and its effect on the health of humans and wildlife. Encourage NYSEG to improve the efficiency of the streetlights it controls. Goal EC-3: Reduce energy consumption and GHG emissions related to the treatment and distribution of water and wastewater. EC-3-A Conduct comprehensive energy audits of municipal water and wastewater treatment facilities and infi-astructure, and implement recommended upgrades. When replacing equipment, use the most energy efficient equipment that is economically viable when taking into account full life cycle costs. EC-3-B Work with Southem Cayuga Lake Intermunicipal Water Commission (also known as Bolton Point) to establish a water rate structure that incentivizes consumers to reduce usage. EC-3-C Develop and implement an education and outreach program to encourage water conservation and efficiency community-wide. Consider using policy instruments and regulations as well. Town of Ithaca Comprehensive Plan Update Draft Date: originally 12/5/2012 Revised 4-17-13 Goal EC-4: Reduce energy consumption and GHG emissions in the transportation sector. EC-4-A Partner with local organizations and businesses to support programs that educate residents, businesses and Town government employees about cleaner operating and more efficient vehicles and vehicle use. See also: LU-4-A (pedestrian sheds), LU-4-B (mixed use neighborhoods), TR-2-E (street design following TND principles), TR-6-A (Complete Streets), TR-6-B (neighborhood design and automobile dependence), TR-7-B (vehicle dependence). EC-4-B Adopt a municipal green fleet policy that: includes a vehicle replacement plan that specifies vehicles that are smaller, more fuel efficient, and well-maintained; requires that alternative fuels (such as biodiesel B20) are used in an increasing portion of the fleet; reduces vehicle miles traveled by Town government vehicles through greater efficiency, planning, and cooperation; and reduces idling in municipal vehicles. Goal EC-5: Encourage and facilitate the production and use of renewable energy. EC-5-A Adopt renewable energy goals for the community and for government operations, to guide decision-making (e.g. meet a certain percentage of the Town government's energy needs with renewable energy sources by 2025). EC-5-B Revise town regulations to facilitate local renewable energy production and use (e.g. revise Town Code, streamline the permit process, reduce permit fees). EC-5-C Work with other municipalities, local utility companies, businesses and organizations to develop financial incentives for the installation and use of renewable energy systems. Explore models for community-owned renewables. EC-5-D Partner with local organizations and businesses to support programs that provide resources and information on renewable energy technologies, installation, and financing. EC-5-E Generate renewable electricity on Town property. Consider integrating renewable technologies in all new Town buildings and significant renovations; address this early on in the planning process. Consider using power purchase agreements (PPAs) or lease agreements to make solar photovoltaic installations on Town property more economically viable. Consider installing biomass systems when replacing boilers. EC-5-F Consider the purchase of renewable energy credits (RECs) to offset a portion of GHG emissions related to Town government electricity usage until Town-operated renewable systems can be installed. Encourage residents and businesses to purchase RECs, Goal EC-6: Reduce GHG emissions related to waste generation and purchasing. EC-6-A Adopt a waste reduction policy for municipal operations to strengthen existing practices and consider implementing a compost program in Town facilities. Town of Ithaca Comprehensive Plan Update Draft Date: originally 12/5/2012 Revised 4-17-13 EC-6-B Partner with local organizations and businesses (e.g. Tompkins County Solid Waste and Finger Lakes ReUse) to support programs that encourage Town residents and businesses to reduce, reuse, recycle, and compost. EC-6-C Work in cooperation with other municipalities to eliminate duplicate recycling, reuse, and composting services. EC-6-D Adopt a sustainable purchasing policy for Town operations that calls for the procurement of products and services that have a reduced negative impact on human health and the environment as compared with their conventional counterparts, and are sourced from or provided by locally owned businesses when possible. Encourage local businesses to consider similar policies. See also: CS-4-A (waste management and curbside composting), CS-4-B (demolition material reuse and recycling) C@-4-C (Promote Recycling and Solid Waste Center). Goal EC-7: Build a resilient community by preparing for and adapting to the unavoidable impacts and costs of climate change. EC-7-A Become a Climate Resilient Community through ICLEI to gain access to adaptation planning tools, climate science, technical assistance, training, and networking. EC-7-B Work with the Tompkins County Planning Department and other municipalities in the County to develop a county-wide climate change adaptation plan. Develop a climate change adaptation plan that provides specificity under the County-wide framework to prepare for the impacts and costs of climate change within the Town of Ithaca. EC-7-C Adopt new or modify existing policies so that the anticipated effects of climate change are considered when changes are made to Town infrastructure (e.g. increase the height of bridges over waterways and of pipe diameters of culverts and other stormwater conveyance systems). Town Meeting April 22, 2012 https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=:7193c38f4a&view=pi«Sisea... Pat Duti <pdutt@£rayugalandscape/. Town Meeting April 22, 2012 1 message Pat Dutt <pduttster@gmail.com> Mon, Apr 22, 2013 at 5:36 AM To: "pdLitt@cayugatandsoape.com" <pdLJtt@cayugalandscape.com> Pat Dutt, 135 Westhaven Rd, Ithaca 4-22-13 I"-™, After scanning the Town of Ithaoa's Comprehensive Plan and The Minority Report I had the sense that there were two directly opposing forces at work. The first, whose main goal seemed to be to sell off as many of Ithaca's resources as quickly as possible, and the other, to preserve what we value here,. The idea of a comprehensive plan , according to a planner friend of mine, is to "lay outa road map for future community development in a manner that ensures protection of key community assets, the environment and to provide for efficient use of public resources and infrastructure investments." My opinion is that the Town's Comprehsive Plan has not met this obligation in terms of food security, viewsheds, infrastructure development, traffic and safety issues and community febric. ^ I am asking the Town for a meeting with the West Hill residents so we can have a conversation about these issues. I want to know why The Minority Report is not on the Town website and I want to know why it was dismissed. I want to know why there is such an intense effort to plunk down huge, out-of-character developments on the West Hill, and I want to pose these questions directly to the Town Board Members. Th-< Thank you for listening. 2.^ U ^ Sincerely, - _(> ^ ^ ithacawest.org plantcycle.net independentsciencenews.org lofl 4/22/2013 6:31 AM 4/22/2013 6:31 AM Gmail - west hill Gm il tom,magda hohn <nithohn@gmail.com> l-.f H ' west hill 1 message tom.magda hohn <mthohn@gmail.com> Men, Apr 22, 2013 at 3:00 PM To: "tom.magda hohn" <mthohn@gmail.com> After reading the Comprehensive Plan, I was surprised that the Town Board seems to be going against Its own recommendations. For example, the Town wanted to enhance communications between the Town and the West Hill neighborhoods. This has not been happening as I have spoken with literally hundreds of West Hill residents of which only 2 or 3 residents knew of the plan. The Town also pledged to work with the West Hill residents to determine the important character of the West Hill area and develop with that in mind. The now-proposed developments are a huge contrast to the character on West Hill. The Town pledged to work with the City of Ithaca neighborhoods, which again, has not been happening because I have also spoken with many of these residents who are not aware of West Hill development. The Plan recommends that developments be a mixture of multi-aged housing and multi-income housing. Now, the seniors are to be given their own development near the hospital and there are planned separate low income developments. The Comprehensive Plan has recommended developments built around "nodes." Now, the proposed developments seem to reject this in favour of sprawl. The Town has pledged to dramatically reduce Green House Gas Emissions, which has not been addressed by the Town as the huge increase in traffic will overwhelm any GHGE goals. In fact, the traffic issue has been completely avoided. The Town has pledged to educate any developer with respect to the natural environment of West Hill and develop along those lines. All past developments have ignored that. Several Town Board members supported and promised to implement the recommendations of the 96 Corridor Report. This has not been done. And the Minority Report has been completely ignored. These are but a few examples. I realize that development on West Hill is inevitable, but as a City of Ithaca Planning Board member stated, it is next to impossible to develop the West Hill area extensively because there are only 2 roads connecting West Hill to Ithaca, and these roads are already overburdened with traffic. https://mail.google.com/maiI/u/0/?ui=2&ik=886e71al56&view=pt&searchHnbox&th-I3e... 4/22/2013 Paulette Terwilliger i From: Greg Perreault <gregp_69@yahoo.com> Sent: Wednesday, April 24, 2013 9:50 AM To: D Nutt; Paulette Terwilliger Subject: Ith Town Bd article Hi D W (I think your name is David), I sat behind you at the Ithaca Town Board meeting/public hearing on Monday night. You asked how to spell my name correctly. Thank You. Today 1 saw the article on Page 3A. Of course, my wife and 1 were eager to see if 1 was quoted. However, 1 was not. 1 realize that in the 5+3 minutes that 1 spoke, 1 addressed a variety of topics. 1 did make an effort to stay on point instead of rambling. In the next few days, 1 hope to write down a summary of my comments and send them in. When 1 transmit it to Town Clerk Paulette Terwilleger, 1 will also fire off a copy to you. She is copied, for her amusement. 1 have learned in my previous activities in Trumansburg, before moving to City of Ithaca 8 years ago, that the best way to be understood and quoted accurately is to hand over a block of prose. Numbered or bulleted points are good if not overused. When apartments were to be built on the land behind mine, and 1 objected to elements of the design, 1 spoke up and enumerated points #1-5. When the Village told the developer what needed to be changed, their document had the same (l)-(5) and it all got done. A fence was included in the design, and the driveway and buildings were moved away from my property line. It ended up having much less impact on my neighbors than they would have thought, back when they were mad at me for entertaining the notion that anything should be built back there ,-sin Auble's cornfield at all. Our present situation is not the first time 1 have been treated like a sellout for being reasonable and trying to optimize outcomes, instead of just opposing the project entirely. I am neither pro- nor anti- development in any blanket way. I am in favor of doing things in a smart and forward-looking way. That is why I want the Town to keep open its options and rights-of-way on a road that would connect Overlook and Linderman Creek (therefore, Routes 96 and 79), crossing Bundy Road, with full NYS Complete Streets functionality: sidewalks, bike lanes, the works. Then the bus can run there, instead of cutting through Campbell Avenue ~30 times/day starting at 6:15AM. The Minority Report recommends against building any new roads. While it is visionary and more exhaustively complete than anything 1 could organize, it also includes points with which I disagree. I am willing to argue anything on the merits. The Comp Plan says Traditional Neighborhood Development has roads that connect the neighborhood together, instead of "dendritic" topology where you have to go out to bigger and bigger roads to go anywhere. Whether in 10 or 15 years we still have cars, or just have buses and go back to bicycles and pony carts, those vehicles will still travel on roads, along with service vehicles such as garbage/recycling trucks and moving vans. It is not going to be houses ^ connected by a bunch of deer paths. If you ever quote me on any single point, I suggest: I moved here from the suburbs of northern New Jersey 45 years ago. This is a beautiful place, and I never want to leave. As more development occurs, it is getting to look more like Jersey, and I want to speak up to keep that from happening. In all that go-go sprawling development, a lot of dumb things got done, like exits from limited access state highways (NJ 208) just spilling out into residential streets. In Ithaca and Tompkins County, we can do better, and we must. (NJ 208 is the highway Tony is driving up at the beginning of the Sopranos). Thank you for taking the time to read my comments. I'll see you at future meetings, handing out hard copy if I have it ready. Best Regards, GREG Perreault home 272-3284/ work 216-1138 e(Av > April 22,2013 Hon. Herb Engman, Town Supervisor Town of Ithaca 215 N. Tioga Street Ithaca, New York 14850 Re: Objections to Town Comprehensive Plan Draft Dear Mr. Engman: Mr Lucente is out of town on a family matter and has asked me to represent his sentiments in person. Many people should be thanked and have spent a great amount of positive effort outlining a future vision for the Town that can be sustained for generations. Unfortunately, for a few matters the conclusions reached represent the bias of the committee and are based on opinion and not as much on the facts. It is inappropriate In the neighborhood sections to be identifying particular projects by name in a comprehensive framework for the town. Particular aspects of a project that are positive or negative examples of development forms the town would like to emphasize or deemphasize are more appropriate to be outlined than to call out different projects by name. In particular, calling out Briarwood II on page D-4 by name is highly inappropriate for a general planning document. For at least three individuals on the Comprehensive Planning Committee, Mr. Stein, Mr. Wagner, and Mr. Sonnenstuhl, who were active participants in the opposition after Preliminary Subdivision Approval to the Briarwood II project, there is no objectivity. Bias is very clear in the attached comments made on the record by Stefan Wagner at the Planning Board Meeting July 18,2006. There are many other statements of opposition in the public record made by these three individuals. The Town Board compounded the problem by instituting a questionable moratorium and meddling in the Town Planning Board business after the Planning Board had laboriously reviewed and granted Preliminary Subdivision Approval to the project. In fact, both the Planning Board and Conservation Board felled to support the moratorium after the facts were fully examined. The future land use map on page 64 for Mr. Rocco Lucente's land north of Hanshaw Road and south of the TownA/'Hage line west of Sapsucker Woods road is haphazardly shown as almost entirely Conservation. This does not reflect the facts presented during the course of many meetings over many years, 2002 to present, with the Planning Board and Town Board. As part of the record of these Comprehensive Plan review proceedings Mr. Lucente would like all of the submissions made by him and his representatives and all of the public record of the Briarwood II Subdivision included. This would, among other facts, show that Mr. Lucente had fully complied with the recommendations of the Town commissioned Milone & McBroome drainage study and had objectively disputed the erroneous professional views of the Wesley and Le Cain Environmental Services Inc. studies too closely affiliated with Sapsucker Woods as factually supported by industry standards and professional analyses of two well respected independent third party NYS environmental firms. Terrestrial Environmental Specialists and GHD/Stearns & Wheler. The current draft also ignores the report "Evaluation of the Town of Ithaca; Proposed Zoning Action on Cornell University Land" dated December 7,2009 prepared by Uri Avin of Parsons Brinkerhoff. The current draft appears to be another attempt by the above individuals on the Comprehensive Planning Committee and others in the neighborhood to prevent Mr. Lucente from moving fonward with more positive and inclusive efforts for his remaining land and the genera) community with the Town. As you are well aware from meetings we have had in the past year, we have been examining alternatives that attempt to balance Mr.Lucente's rights as a property owner with identified concerns for wetlands and wildlife. Our understanding based on our last meeting with you and others on the board was that there was a mutual Interest in such a plan, something that the proposed Comprehejjsive Plan completely^ontradicts. Sincerely, Lawrence P. Fabbroni, P.E.,L.S. Briarwood II Project Manager xc. Town Board Susan Ritter Rocco Lucente Robert Holdsworth, Esq. Town of Ithaca Comprehensive Plan Update Draft: 12/5/2012 Future Land Use Town of Ithaca BOftnve Liirifcjct'/r ; L.iikI Uf.j' C-TioyarU.'S AgtMuilutal mm Conse(vatk>n Senu-Rural NeiglibothooU Establislied Neigliboiliood Ncv/ Ncighboihood Enierptise hislitulionni NeiyhboiliocK] Ceiilei Inlet VaDey CoiikiDi Area of Special Concent -fM 0.5 I Ul'eS DR.^pr uip oaiE JuriE 12 Map 5y To/vn of Ittuta Fhnnfn^D^potVnan* Data Sources. To.-.n Piann-nj Oeparwen: and TOmplins Coiir.Tr IT S«r.-icc; 01S DMsion 64 I jT wmm I mmm m ^ILe 4, OATE~^ PLANNING BOARD MINUTES JULY 18. 2006 215 NORTH VfOGA sVr^^ ITHACA, NY 14850 PRESENT Fred Wilcox, Chairperson; Eva Hoffmann, Board Member; George Gonneman, Board Member; Tracy Mitrano. Board Member (8:12 p.m.); Larry Thayer, Board Member; Rod Howe, Board Member; Kevin Talty, Board Member; Jonathan Kanter, Director of Plarining; Susan Brock, Attorney for the Town; Creig Hebdon, Assistant Director of Engineering; Susan Ritter. Assistant Director of Planning (7:52 p.m.): Mike Smith, Environmental Planner; Carrie Coates Whitmore, Deputy Town Clerk. EXCUSED Daniel Walker. Director of Engineering; Christine Balestra, Planner Nicole Tedesco Planner. OTHERS Peter Trowbridge, Trowbridge and Wolf; Adrian Williams and Mary Plowe, 108 Sapsucker Woods Rd; Robert O'Brien, HOLT Architects; Rick Couture. Ithaca College; Linna Dolph and David Dunbar, 1457 Trumansburg Rd; Margaret Rumsey, 110 E Buttermilk Fails Rd; Larry Fabbroni. 1 Settlement Way; Erik Whitney. 409 Auburn St; Bernie Carr, 210 Parish Ln; Scott Sutcliffe, CU Lab of Ornithology; Brian How, 109 Birchwood Dr; ? 311 Salem Dr; Gerald Davis, 309 Salem Dr; David Collum, 1436 Hanshaw Rd, Eileen Gravani, 203 Salem Dr; Mary ? , 108 Sapsucker Woods Rd' Stephan Wagner, 112 Sapsucker Woods Rd. CALL TO ORDER Chairperson Wilcox declares the meeting duly opened at 7:02 p.m., and accepts for the record Secretary's Affidavit of Posting and Publication of the Notice of Public Hearings i^ Town Hall and the Ithaca Journal on July 10, 2006 and July 12, 2006, together with the properties under discussion, as appropriate, upon the Clerks of the City of Ithaca and the Town of Danby, upon the Tompklns County Commissioner of Planning, upon the Tompklns County Commissioner of Public Works, and upon the applicants and/or agents, as appropriate, on July 12. 2006. Chairperson Wilcox states the Fire Exit Regulations to those assembled, as required by the New York State Department of State, Office of Fire Prevention and Control. PERSONS TO BE HEARD Chairperson Wilcox invited any member of the audience wishing to address the Board on matters not on the agenda to come forward. There was no one present wishing to address the Board. have only lived on thai road 0^ h,e road are definitely quite a ltd speeding. I would ^ ™cem My ^ conoem Is the woods right .'Sr the speed limit so that s h, this projeol We are thebehind our house and they wouM to »t^ w, gije ol Sapsu<*er Woods Road and second house In from Hanshaw m the house who ^ aeTr^rardra°:^;C3 Srniruh ThamrV Ohahperson y^cox - ThaMr ym. very nwch. Anybody elseT Wot« anybody ^se lAe to speak this evening? Yes sir. Stefan Wagner, 112 Sapsucker Woods ^ ^ mention a few of A number of thoughts that nhiiosoohicai at this stage because theone Is I don't Know If this dduhf "° »hv does there have process is pursued by some ^*^^99 Is go many areas in and around Ithaca to be a development in this very sp<^ n njamaae Why is it that this very areawhere if you develop them,you would do ^ VVhy? Why needs to be developed, wrtiich is one of th P vegetation or some trees do we have to tear something down of what it was like? Why can'^erward. which is never the '^Jat is already an incredibly curtailed area vire not leave nature and have to violate nature by. I mean, thisbecause of previous <^®^®'°P'"®"*„ . , ggn tell you from a personal perspective vtfhatarea is woodlands ®"dr®«®"^„fbeLuTe w^ experience in the last few yearn having a house on wetland "J®®"® "P'J , ^1 unfit to be built on. Now virhy go to all that we have lived there, butthi . proven to impose that, to this length to try to come "P ^ gahrre and the conditionsmake your developrnent work when re^ y^^^^^ you dont that exist that people have had to ^®®'^ .. hujidinq Why is land owned so youtouch me. this is not where V®® ^^^^^rivT agd SaSary Drile are prime examples, own the right to destroy it? ^ -aid about the experience, the simpleI can only reiterate what other people ha^ sa^d^ ^ gt gig^t | have experience of going there at "'9') • . [gpg and ifs curious to me that rf the always vtfondered for how long would this be ten a property along those issue of what Mr. Lucente apparently . afged and a certain inevitability thatLds, because I do think that a matte o^ personal gr^. and the development is supposed to h^e. t . g^j machinery have to get to worknot want to see it raised. me the principal of eminent domain is in this very area? The thougltt occurr^ to me the pm ^ P^invoked right peopte own something and they t gg^^ggngcaims the principal of bequeath it to their children and so cm and ^ ^ ^^em for that Why is thateminent domain, takes it away fr®/"^7^^ad 5 you may own this land, but d^ny principal for instance not invoked here? Instead y ^,aced by the kinci ofL Ld is far too Pr®®«®®®/° 'developments that you have put up before, wnyaoniyo a mean' it seems to me absurd that you attract people by saying come and live in the woods, come and live in this nature preserve only to raise it completely, and I mean rgally raise it, put up extremely monotonous housing and then as I said plant some I^en trees. When I look at previous developments by Mr. Lucente in this area, especially along Sapsucker Woods Road, which I believe is the first one, the poor quality of the architecture and the poor material quality just strikes me and I thought to myself well if someone proposes, someone has done this and he proposes to do more of this, except only in the 80s style or 9Qs style or (inaudible), would anyone let him? I would say maybe you should look into something else, so even though this process has already, has been moved along and you're sort of asked to consider various details, I don't see there's any Inevitability in this. I wish you had let me say the greatness to consider not to let any of this take place, not a scaled down version, not some partial raping of the woods, but just let them be realized that you have something precious and when you look at, I was looking at the architectural history of Ithaca neighborhoods and I realized how many crimes that have been committed. Beautiful buildings have been tom down, they have not been destroyed by anything like a fire or other natural catastrophes, but they've simply been torn down out of insensitivity because people just didn't realize the value or a row of houses on a street (inaudible) deprived of one important element and to me if this development were to take place on Sapsucker Woods Road, it would feature on that list of architectural crimes against nature that can tgke place in the community. The problem is development is always seen as I said L ore as something inevitable as if it had to take place. And I think it doesn't. It can take place as well where it is less damaging, but that's all the thoughts I can think of now. Thank you very much. Chairperson Wilcox - Thank you sir. Anybody else? There being no one else, I will close the public hearing at 9:24. Thank you very much. Okay we've got some questions that we will try to respond to, try to keep my notes here and we will do the best we can. Larry and other agents want to come forward. Creig you want to talk about the drainage structure, the water detention structure first, because I saw you as the question was being asked, you were nodding your head, making some notes, and shaking your head, things like that? There was a question about the particular... Mr. Hebdon - Yes. The pond at Salem Drive when you said I got it at 5 o'clock tonight, so one of things I will be looking at is what the pre and post and what it's supposed to be doing with whafs going down through that Like I said, I haven't had a chance to take a look at the numbers yet and see what's going down the ditch line between those two houses, but it's definitely one of those things that we are going to have to take a Jftqk at. That is what was happening before and what's happening now and are we » jping it, are we hurting it, what are we doing? Chairperson Wilcox ~ Go ahead keep going. Mr. Hebdon -1 am trying to look at all of the...