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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1994-04-26 - MP TOWN OF ULYSSES MASTER PLAN COMMITTEE MEETING APRIL 26 , 1994 TOWN BALL P RESENT : CHAIRWOMAN : SUE POELVOORDE ; MEMBERS : DAVID TYLER , JOANNE MOLINO , CATHERINE STOVER ; BUILDING / ZONING OFFICER : ALEX RACHU ; SECRETARY : RO ANNE SMITH G UEST SPEAKER : MONIKA CRISPIN ( TOMPKINS COUNTY COOPERATIVE EXTENSION AG PROGRAM LEADER ) 111 GUESTS : KRYS GAIL , BEECH STOVER , DOUG AUSTIC , STAN AND LAURA KOSKINEN AND TOM REITZ The Chairwoman opened the evening at 7 : 35 PM with her introduc - t ion of Monika Crispin . Monika was asked to give her perspective on agriculture and where it ' s going in Tompkins County . She will also address the issue of changes in the Agricultural Law . Monika said she would like to focus on the Town of Ulysses . She h as been the Ag Program Leader for Cooperative Extension in Tompkins County for the last fourteen years . She has worked on the Ag District Advisory Committee ( with Beech Stover ) . A year ago , the Ag District Advisory Committee changed to become the Ag and Farmland Protection B oard . George Holmes is the .representative from this area . Donika began with an overview . Most of the land in the Town of U lysses is in the Ag District . There are 13 , 100 acres within the hg D istrict . As the Villages of Trumansburg and Jacksonville expand it will most likely occur there . There is some question as to whether all the land should be in the Ag District . When the Ag and Farmland P rotection Board does review the Ag District , the State will be encour - aging them to make sure the Ag land is really viable . Monika gave a comparison from 1972 and today ( 1992 was the most recent survey ) . She indicated that there were 25 farms then and today . ( Beech did not agree with that number . ) The number of acres cropped in 1972 were an estimated 9000 . In 1992 there were 9840 . She tried t o break down the types of enterprises . In 1972 there were 5 dairy , 1 dairy replacement , 100 head of beef , 200 head of hogs , no sheep , 2 poultry and 8 field crops . In 1992 there were 4 dairy , 2 dairy re - placements , 3 plus beef , 0 huge , hobby sheep , 1 poultry ( Houghton ' s ) and 15 field crops . In terms of the number of operations the increase showed up in H . field crops . Ten of the field crops have more than 500 acres . Of the significant enterprises ( 111 - 500 acres ) , there are I . These mostly part time to full time operators state that they farm to help pay their t axes . They can get Act Value status if they farm if acres or more . There are I part time ( 40 - 200 acres ) farmers . If they did not get the Ag Value status they would be gone . In 1972 there were 1 orchards , 1 plus vineyard , no Christmas tree farms , no vegetables . In 1992 , there was less than 1 orchard , 1 vine - ., yard , 1 Christmas tree farm and no vegetables . L ooking ahead , the horticulture industry is the fastest growing business . Anwthere industry could be horses and hay producers , D oug questioned the processing acreage ( vegetables ) as his brother farms 111 - 300 acres of corn , which was not mentioned . ( She agreed , the farms crossed counties . ) Monika stated 10 years ago there was e surplus o f strawberries . Now there is potential for pick - your - own strawberries . There is better land here than the southern but of the county . to lot o f the land is tied up in crops , there isn ' t that much free Ag Land . Of the 400 agricultural surveys that the Ag and Farmland Protection Board sent out , only 168 hare responded . In far , just very beginning data has been received . Of those that responded , 1 are pert time , the rest are moving toward full time . The Town of Ulysses only had 9 people respond . ( There will probably be about 15 who are full_ time . ) In this 1 • 111 • TOWN OF ULYSSES 2 MASTER PLAN COMMITTEE MEETING APRIL 26 , 1994 TOWN HALL Town you have more larger crop farms . If you look at Groton , there is almost a " flip flop " . They are all dairy . A lot of land is being u sed for crop production intensively in the Town of Ulysses , and a lot o f it is rented . Monika handed out a map of Ulysses and suitability of the soil as it is rated for general farming . On the back of it was soil information . It states in the last paragraph : " Good soil to form the basic resource , coupled with an active on going soil conservation program , good farm managers , and a town government who is agricultural minded , such as is ® the case in Ulysses , makes a good combination for an active , viable e xpanding agriculture . " Monika responded to Alex ' s question of whether there were any new farms coming in by stating that there have been turnovers , very few new farms and where new farmers have been coming in are the specialty enter - prises ( which are not land intensive ) . Alex mentioned that there have been blocks of what looks to be suitable farm land up for sale , for. 4 years , and there seems to be no interest . Is there any kind of incentive ( even at the County / State level ) to get people out to Ulysses to farm ? Monika responded that where she has seen agriculture grow is in Yates County ( Amish ) . It is probably due to the property taxes / prices . One t hing that people have done ( which is expensive ) is to purchase the development rights . The land would sell at Ag Value as opposed to market value . The land would continue to be farmed , not just be a d esirable rural setting . David queried on the impact on tax assessment It ends up that the other tax payers support it . Suffolk County has done it ; yet it hasn ' t succeeded in keeping farmers there . A Town in Monroe County tried ; but their voters defeated it . There is not a State wide program . Municipalities might have to float a bond . If you are t rying to preserve Ag land don ' t do large lot zoning ; do it in clusters . The bottom line is if you can ' t make money , who will want to farm ? The average age of the respondants is 55 . There was a lot of pessimism in t heir responses . When the data is done , each Town will receive survey ✓ esults . More land will be needed . The integration of non - farm neigh - bors with farmers causes friction . A mechanism to encourage farming could be the fire tax exemption . The law has been changed . The Town has to look into it . It is now cleared up and Monika will try to get the new legislation out to every - o ne . The Ag District Law needs to be adopted ( the Town of Ithaca has gone ahead and passed it . ) It only applies to people who are receiving Ag Value assessment ( even those who are renting ) . The Town of Ithaca has t alked about operations that are just starting up that may not have met t he $ 10 , 000 income sales requirement . In the beginning years they may also receive a tax break . ( They may not meet the acreage requirement e ither . ) This idea has not been implemented . If anyone is interested t hey could talk to George Frantz ( at the Town of Ithaca office ) . Some change that has occurred , is the broader role the Advisory Committee is taking ( now called Ag and Farmland Protection Board ) . They ® are charged with implementing a new Article of the Ag District Law . Article 3A is essentially to develop ag and farmland protection plans for the county . The survey will be completed and the plans will take place next year . If there are advance of public funds for any develop - ment process in an Ag District , a " Notice of Intent " has to be filed . It would describe the impact on agriculture by the development . The Ag and Farmland Protection Board and Ag and Markets would review it . They would then come up with a legal ruling . They have a 60 day process o utline . Alex questioned if that was in conjunction with SEQR ? You have t o do an environmental impact standard for SEQR and a Notice of Intent said Monika . What they really want in that Notice of Intent is still ✓ ague , she said . The result is advisory , not binding . They might sug - gest that the developer look at alternatives instead of using up viable lands . 103 TOWN OF ULYSSES 3 MASTER PLAN COMMITTEE MEETING APRIL 26 , 1994 TOWN HALL The only time land can be taken out of an Ag District is during an 8 year review of Ag Districts . The Towns can not take the land out ( only Counties / State ) . It is usually taken out at the land owner ' s ✓ equest . At this point the method is being reviewed , regarding whether t hey should go ahead and remove non - farm parcels . Alex mentioned that the land for PUDs requested and approved for commercial development n ever went as far as the County . Theoretically the land is still in an Ag District . Anything that restricts or regulates farming in an Ag District is not permitted stated Monika . Those kind of parcels ® need to be taken out , she stated . Monika handed out a pamphlet concerning local laws and Agricultural D istricts . If does not have the " Notice of Intent " classification listed . The changes made to the Ag District Law is to hopefully clear it up so it is more understandable and also so it has more " teeth " in it . D avid asked that if it is only advisory , where are the " teeth " ? Monika ✓ esponded once it is written out , she ' ll have to let everyone know . Beech asked where Agriculture stands in relation to Education , Tourism , etc . in the County ? Monika responded that she did attend the economic conference that the County held . Education is number one , but she feels that Tourism and Agriculture are really close . Multipliers were being used . Traditional Ag lenders are not familiar with speciality farming . They haven ' t been much help in business start - ups . Farmers are going outside of the County for credit . Alex asked if the farming community was remaining viable ? Monika said no ; we ' re losing farmers . From 1964 to 1987 ( which was the last census ) the numbers are going down . In 1964 there were 780 farms . In 1987 , there were 200 . One hundred of them were dairy farms . IIAlex asked if a farm goes up for sale , does it get sold as a farm ? In traditional enterprises , in the 14 years Monika has been involved , only 4 farms have been sold as farms ( that come to her mind ) . This does not include specialty farms . Many people ( in the last Ag D istrict review ) stated that they use to rent their land to farmers ; now they can ' t find anyone to rent it to ( especially in the southern end of the county ) . People who come from a farming heritage , who no longer receive Ag Value assessment , can not affford to hold on to the land , resulting in loss of open space ( due to taxes ) . Beech stated t hat land is not at the price that you can afford to buy for agricul - t ure , that ' s what it amounts to . Monika stated taht she doesn ' t think that the County ' s assessment is totally unfair . Beech does not agree ; stating that one thing that could help agriculture more than anything else , is our real estate t axes . Monika agreed , stating that 99 % of the survey responses from t he 168 received said that taxes were the big isssue . Monika mentioned a study that the American Farm Land Trust did . It looked at the cost of services demanded back for every dollar that they pay . For every dollar that was spent , Residential demanded $ 1 . 12 ; ® Commercial ( low ) demanded 18 ; and Agriculture demanded 48 . Krys asked what type of services were included ? Any type , responded Monika . This was done in Dutchess County . It was a more rural town , however . People were saying " thank God for Ag Value assessment " on the survey , she added . It takes just a little bite out of the tax bill . Beech mentioned that assessments are decreasing every year . David said that it suggests t hat the initiative from Albany is to discourage , not to encourage . They are talking out of both sides of their mouths . Monika agreed . At t he State level it should be looked at that for the most viable land , you have the least exemptions ; why shouldn ' t people be encouraged to farm viable lands ? ( As opposed to giving them the most exemptions on the poorest land . ) Whenever a piece of land in an Ag District is sold , the realtor has to notify the buyer that they have bought land in an Ag District . They are starting to implement it . That ' s because whenever you go to a closing , you have to sign a statement saying you got the notice , said D avid . Sue thanked Monika for all the information . The meeting adjourned at 9 : 05 PM .