HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-07-11Dryden Ag Committee
July 11, 2018
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Dryden Agriculture Advisory Committee
July 11, 2018
Members Present: Evan Carpenter (Chair), Kim LaMotte, Steve Foote, Marie McRae,
Brian Magee, and Jeremy Sherman
Liaisons: Craig Schutt
Guests: Debbie Teeter
K. LaMotte called the meeting to order at 7:48 PM.
Proposed zoning definitions update
The draft document that C. Anderson had printed out regarding proposed definition
changes to the zoning document was distributed. D. Teeter asked if the changes to the
document were exactly what was proposed by this committee. C. Schutt said that he
believes that is what was done; C. Anderson had asked the deputy clerk to insert the
proposed changes in red in the document. D. Teeter suggested they review the
document, the portions in red, and make sure it agrees with the proposed changes they
had agreed upon. K. LaMotte noted that on page 6 under “Farm Market” there is a
typo; agricultural is misspelled and needs to be corrected. J. Sherman brought up the
suggestion proposed by another board that markets could only sell items generated
within a 50-mile radius. That stipulation would put some markets out of business. C.
Schutt said that there is an issue regarding parking and traffic that some members of
the Planning Board are concerned about. D. Teeter said that in order for a farm market
to be successful they need to have a variety; like bananas for example. She also said
that Ag & Markets has a paper on this that says it may not be unreasonable to require
that 50% of the products being sold are produced locally or regionally. J. Sherman said
that under the rules 500 miles is the distance, not 50 miles. C. Schutt said when
strawberries from Baldwinsville are being sold at market here he considers that to be
local. B. Magee said that Owego has a Strawberry Festival and most of the berries
come from California. C. Schutt explained that these issues were brought up at the
Planning Board meeting in response to some of the zoning definition changes proposed.
D. Teeter asked if the Planning Board had approved the proposed changes to
definitions and C. Schutt said no, they are still studying it. M. McRae asked if they
could all agree with the definitions as proposed in the draft document. E. Carpenter
asked if they should expand the “Farm Worker Housing” definition to include more of
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July 11, 2018
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the definition from the original proposal. J. LaMotte said yes, it should be in there. It
was decided that “Farm operations may consist of one or more parcels of owned or
rented land, which parcels may be contiguous or noncontiguous to each other” should
be added.
J. Sherman made a motion to pass the following resolution:
RESOLUTION #6 for 2018 from the Dryden Agricultural Advisory Committee to the
Dryden Planning Board thanking the Planning Board for their timely attention to the
proposed zoning definition changes, and
Whereas the Dryden Agricultural Advisory Board is in agreement with all the proposed
changes in the draft document with the exception of the definition on Farm Worker
Housing, and
Whereas the Farm Worker Housing definition should include the last sentence under
item #6 in the document dated May 10, 2018 listing proposed changes, and should be
defined as follows:
Housing, including manufactured housing, used for the on-farm housing of
permanent or seasonal employees. Farm operations may consist of one or more parcels
of owned or rented land, which parcels may be contiguous or noncontiguous to each
other.
Therefore, be it resolved that the Dryden Agricultural Advisory Committee
recommends that the Dryden Planning Board adopt the proposed definition changes as
noted.
K. LaMotte seconded the motion and it was unanimously approved.
D. Teeter asked about the “Draft Site Plan Review” that was passed out and if this
committee is supposed to comment on it. This was in the packet of information C.
Anderson provided along with the proposed zoning definition changes. C. Schutt said
that he thinks this document details what is required currently and he thinks C.
Anderson wanted this committee to be aware of the procedure. Perhaps he wanted the
committee to go through the document and note any possible changes that the
committee might like. D. Teeter suggested someone speak with Code Enforcement to
find out what the policy is with regards to building a barn because if this is the policy
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a recommendation should be made to change the procedure. C. Schutt said this isn’t
the way that works, and he said that we need more information from C. Anderson or
someone before working on this.
Cornell Law Students zoning research update
D. Teeter gave the committee the document that was submitted from the Cornell Law
students zoning research project. They’ll discuss that at the next meeting.
Bi-laws update
D. Teeter said she’d gotten a copy of the Dryden Conservation Board rules and
procedures and used that as a template. She presented a first draft copy for the
committee to look over. They went over the document and she said she’d work on the
document and add suggested changes and have it ready for review at next month’s
meeting.
M. McRae said she would accept the role of liaison from this committee to the Rail
Trail.
E. Carpenter asked if everyone had reviewed the minutes from the June 13 meeting. J.
Sherman made a motion to accept the minutes, K. LaMotte seconded the motion and it
was passed unanimously.
K. LaMotte made a motion was made to adjourn the meeting, seconded by M. McRae
and unanimously approved.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:05 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Diane Michaud
Deputy Town Clerk