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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1993-08-17 - MP OP / TOWN OF ULYSSES MASTER PLAN COMMITTEE AUGUST 17 , 1993 TOWN HALL PRESENT : Members : Joanne Molino , Catherine Stover , David Tyler ; Zoning Officer : Alex Rachun ; Secretary : Roxanne Smith OTHERS PRESENT : Sue Poelvoorde and Tom Reitz • The meeting began at 7 : 20 PM . Zoning Officer Alex Rachun had brought in the Land Use Maps from the County . He said that t he County does have the ability to create a new set of maps . A planner who is a student from Cornell University is doing his internship with the County . He will be working on digitizing the Maps ; noting all the changes that the Committee made . They will be brought down to 1500 so the graphic overlays can be used . The major roads will be put in and the new Agricultural / Residential zone . They are very near completion . David Tyler suggested that they begin work on reviewing the Master Plan - Draft 3 from June 22 , 1991 . Roxanne will contact Rita Brown on locating the original disk . The Committee decided to begin with page 6 , AGRICULTURE . The evening was spent editing t hat one page except for the last paragraph . It was suggested t hat the Committee address the topic that currently farmers can not sell land as an on going business at the next meeting . That meeting will be August 31 , 1993 at 7 : 00 PM . The meeting adjourned at 9 : 15 PM . Attached please find revised page 6 , AGRICULTURE , Master Plan - D raft 37 dated June 227 1991 . AGRICULTURE Since its early settlement Ulysses has been a strong agriculture community . Town residents cite the area as a farm community and the rural character as a large contributor to the perceived quality of life for many residents . In addition there is evidence that the citizenry of Ulysses supports the goal of maintaining an agricultural economic and cultural base . The Town of Ulysses is in an agricultural district . Since land is the chief raw material used in farming , the population density is much lower on agricultural land than on residential land . Therefore , farmers are not required to use the infrastructure to the extent that residential users or perhaps o ther commercial users do . Farms traditionally use fewer services that require a higher tax base . In addition much of the farm profit goes directly back to the community to purchase goods and services . The farm family , in addition , provides other services to the community . Farming preserves the land from erosion , encourages ✓ aried wild life and bird population diversity and keeps the land fertile through crop rotation . Only a major public sector initiative on the part of the community could supply such large amounts of " green - space " or " wildlife refuge " , which the farming industry now provides . As in many areas in this country farming costs have outstripped profit . Costs of equipment , labor , raw materials , chemical additives , etc . have risen faster than the revenues received by farmers . Where large farms are more able to take advantage of price supports and subsidies , the complexity of the programs applications make it difficult for the small farmer to benefit to the same extent . Typically farmers receive less than minimum wage when all farming hours are tabulated . Historically this has been true , but in the past the farm family produced much of its own food , fiber and fuel . Today farms are more specialized and farm family members must often work at other jobs to augment farm income . In many rural areas , including the Town of Ulysses , there h as been pressure to develop farm land . Farmers often cite increasing property taxes , cost of production and level or d ecreasing product price as reasons for selling land . The best agricultural land is often most desirable for new housing and commercial development since it is generally flat , well drained , and frequently scenic . Development speculation tends to drive up land prices . This presents a dilemma to farmers given the d isadvantageous conditions of farming today . REV 80193 193