HomeMy WebLinkAboutCB 2023-03-28CONSERVATION BOARD
March 28, 2023
Hybrid
Members Present: Gian Dodici (Chair), Bob Beck, Anne Clark, Craig Schutt, Jeanne Grace,
Steve Bissen, Tim Woods
Absent: Nancy Munkenbeck, Andrew Miller
Liaisons: Loren Sparling (Town Board), Christine Dravis (Town Board)
Guest(s): Grascen Shidemantle
The meeting was called to order at 7:05 PM.
Review and approval of minutes dated February 28, 2023
On motion made by C. Schutt, seconded by J. Grace, minutes were unanimously approved as
amended.
CSI Presentation
Grascen Shidemantle is the Executive Director at CSI (Community Science Institute).
They are a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Their mission is to work with local communities so
they can better understand and protect local water resources. They call their volunteers
community scientists. They do this by collecting and disseminating scientifically credible and
regulatory quality data. It can be used by local governments, organization, state agencies to
inform long term sustainable management strategies. They are able to fulfill this mission by
owning and operating a NYS Department of Health and EPA certified water quality testing lab.
Grascen shared a presentation with the board (attached).
Questions/Comments:
CSI is always looking for “community scientists” aka volunteers, to sample different
sites in the area.
Is there anything you would like to test for but don’t? Yes. She would like to test for
PFOS. A lot of people are concerned about this but the tests are extremely expensive.
They are focusing on areas of particular concern. There are some sites that only get
tested once every year or two.
There are very strict and tricky protocols for collecting samples because PFOS is
essentially in everything. So if you are collecting samples you shouldn’t be wearing a
waterproof rain jacket, perfume or deodorant.
Do you go around and educate the youth? They have an event called build your own
water filter and instruct them to test the PH balance on polluted water. They put it through the
filters, make hypotheses then have the kids test the water again.
Rail Trail
On May 20th there will a celebration at Game Farm Road crossing which will be open
before then.
The Finger Lakes Land Trust is interested in purchasing the parcel along Fall Creek.
The parcel is in the 100 year flood zone. Ray Burger told Andy that the site is developable but
how is it if its in the 100 year flood zone? It’s troubling. Maybe it can be developed with flood
insurance. You can develop in a flood plain but does the Town of Dryden do that?
The Finger Lake Land Trust is interested in assisting the town on acquiring parcels
along Fall Creek and other major tributaries to protect them. They have a large easement in the
village of Etna which they are in the process of acquiring. They want the town to be more
invested in partnering in these types of acquisitions. They want to come up with a resolution to
encourage the town to be supportive of these types of efforts.
Should there be a letter sent out to residents of the town encouraging them to call the
town first if they plan on selling their land? A lot of the landowners are absentee landowners
and do not respond to letters. They are a little bit more responsive through a phone call but
even then it is hard to get a hold of people.
Ditching
T Woods shared photos of Johnson Road where the Town came in and clear cut the
trees for 100 yards in a riparian zone. This is the worst he has seen yet. They were ash trees
but did not appear to be dead although there was some woodpecker damage. As you go around
the curb towards Freeville there was several trees that had died, closer to the road, but they
did not cut those trees down. Another thought might also be if you have a dead tree on a bank,
once it falls over, it will take the bank with it. What we need to do is get there replanted as
quickly as possible. T Woods is going to ask R Young if they can replant trees in the riparian
zone.
American Chestnut Trees
Melinda said researchers got a little nervous and now want to know where the trees are
going. They want to set up a meeting to make sure they know where they are going and make
sure they are going into good hands.
Is there any further plan to get tubes or caging for the trees? The board is going to try to
get some.
Are American Chestnuts legal to grow in the wild yet? ESF said it hasn’t been approved
yet from the federal government yet. S Bissen is getting mixed messages.
The board would like to plant these trees in a spot where the public will be able to see
them.
Prentiss Wetland
The Town Board is interested. B Beck is talking to Bambi Avery (board member of
Dryden Senior Housing Corp., owner of Willowbrook Manor and the 6-acre wetland), to see if
he can get an idea of what kind of proposal they would accept. B Beck may write up a proposal
to bring to the Town Board. There is a possibility of providing access with a small parking area,
an interpretive kiosk and development of a boardwalk. B Beck suggested that money could be
raised.
The land negotiation for nearby parcels is still tied up in the lawyer’s hands so nothing
is finalized yet. There is also a TC3 plan to develop a pathway between their campus and Lee
Road. There is a possibility for the pathway to go further into the wetland.
The town has talked about putting ballfields in the field behind the Town Hall.
Road Ditch Plan
The only road is 6 mile creek drainage that they are planning to work on is Card Road
which is only about a quarter mile up to one house. It will still have an affect on 6 Mile Creek
but it will be a robust demonstration site.
The subcommittee consisting of G Dodici, A Clark and C Schutt, are going to come up
with a plan of sites to focus on and bring it to Mike Hall and Rick Young. They said they will do
it; they just need a plan first. Their main focus to start is Pinckney Road.
Town Board Update
Loren Sparling shared the following:
Earlier this month, the Town Board passed a resolution requesting that the Planning
Board manage and execute a general update to the Town zoning laws, subdivision laws, and
design guidelines. This is the natural follow-up to Dryden2045, the update to the 2005
Comprehensive Plan, adopted by the Town Board in July 2022, the purpose of which was to
inform just such an update to Dryden’s zoning and subdivision laws to meet its guiding
principles and community goals. To this end, the Town has already budgeted $50,000 for
FY2023 to hire a consultant and begin the update process, in order to complete and deliver the
draft update no later than June 2025. The update will be guided by the following actions and
principles:
1. The update must be guided by the underlying tenet of the 2005 Comprehensive Plan to
preserve the rural character of Dryden and protect its open spaces, natural areas, and
farmlands.
2. The update should create a regulatory environment that supports more diversity in housing
types. Methods include allowing multifamily housing by right in more zones, expanding use of
accessory dwelling units and apartments, increasing density/reducing minimum lots sizes,
using incentive zoning (for example, density bonuses, relaxed building height regulations, area
and bulk regulations, etc.) to encourage desired development types, and, for large development
projects, consider mandatory provisions for desired housing types to include "affordability" and
"best practices for providing outdoor space for active & passive recreation.”
3. Critically examine the defined purpose of each of the zone types to ensure they accurately
describe the desired uses. The fact that current zoning includes over 130 use types that are
allowed but only with Special Use Permits suggests that the zone definitions themselves may be
unclear or excessively narrow.
4. Simplify or remove regulatory provisions that create development uncertainty for desired
types of development. For example, the aforementioned SUP table contains uses associated
with multi-family housing types including senior housing facilities. Other regulated uses have
the effect of discouraging diverse development that supports walkable/mixed use communities.
5. Review the zoning map and zoning and subdivision laws to ensure they align with nodal
development areas and existing/future services such as transit, water, and sewer. Refer to the
Future Land Use Plan in Dryden2045.
6. Critically examine the zoning and subdivision regulations that are intended to allow
regulatory flexibility, to ensure the underlying criteria and structure encourages desired
development outcomes such as diverse housing, walkable communities, and preservation of
open space.
7. Critically examine the Residential and Commercial Design Guidelines to ensure they support
the goals and principles of the 2005 Comprehensive Plan and the Dryden2045 Update.
8. Critically examine the current regulation requiring the Town Board rather than the Planning
Board to approve Special Use Permit applications.
9. Criteria for consultant selection should include that the project principle/manager for the
update project has significant, proven experience writing and updating zoning and subdivision
regulations in rural communities and using contemporary best practice methods to deliver the
above actions.
In other news, there is much ado regarding the Town-owned lands north and northwest
of Town Hall. The acquisition of new lands is currently in a holding pattern among the lawyers.
Though recreational fields are still a priority for the Town, the Board is very supportive of the
Prentiss wetlands, and would like to see plans for its layout and development. Also of note in
this area are plans by TC3 to develop a pedestrian route to Lee Rd.
EMC Update
Steve Bissen shared the following:
Paul Fenn (paulfenn@localpower.com), the CEO of Local Power, LLC gave a talk to EMC
about Tompkins Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) 3.0. CCA 3.0 is bulk energy buying in a
goal to help municipalities in the county meet decarbonization in 10 years. A description of
CCA 3.0 can be found here:
https://tompkinscountyny.gov/files2/emc/presentations/2020.11.12%20CCA%20Basics.pdf
The Town of Ithaca passed statute 135-1 on 8-22-2022 adopting the Community Choice
Aggregation (Energy) Program.
On motion made and seconded, the meeting was adjourned at 8:47 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Emily Banwell
Grascen Shidemantle, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Town of Dryden Conservation Board
3/28/23, 7 PM
Using Community Science
to Monitor Water Quality
in the Cayuga Lake
Watershed
Community Science Institute
To partner with community-based volunteer groups to better understand and protect local streams and lakes by collecting
and disseminating scientifically credible, regulatory-quality data that inform long-term, sustainable management strategies.
CSI's Mission
NYSDOH and
EPA Certified
Lab
Nonprofit
501(c)3
Organization
Public Water
Quality Database
Volunteer
Water
Monitoring
Partnerships
Outreach and
Education
HABs
Lake &
Stream
Chemistry
Water Quality Monitoring Partnerships
CSI recruits, trains, and
coordinates over 250
community scientists
who participate in our
four volunteer water
monitoring
partnerships.
Synoptic Stream and Lake
Chemistry Monitoring
Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB)
Monitoring
Biomonitoring
(Benthic Macroinvertebrate
Monitoring)
Red Flag Monthly Stream
Monitoring
Purpose: Produce regulatory-quality stream and
lake water chemistry data that can inform water
resource management decisions as well as keep
the public informed on the state of their local
water resources.
Monitor streams and lakes for:
-Nutrients
-Sediment
-Bacteria
-Salt
Synoptic Stream and Lake Monitoring Partnership
David has been
monitoring water
quality on Fall Creek
with us since 2002!
Volunteers collect
samples from their
designated stream 3-4
times each year
Samples are analyzed in
CSI’s state-certified water
testing laboratory
Online Public Database
www.database.communityscience.org
Our database houses
over 100,000
regulatory-quality
measurements of
water quality!
Town of Dryden Water Quality Data –Synoptic Stream Chemistry
CSI’s synoptic stream volunteers
monitor the following streams in
the Town of Dryden:
1.Fall Creek
2.Virgil Creek
3.Cascadilla Creek (tributary of
Cayuga Inlet)
4.Six Mile Creek
These volunteers sample 14
locations in the Town of Dryden
The Fall Creek
watershed has the
largest drainage area
of any of the Cayuga
Lake tributaries
(129 mi2)
Purpose: Determine the ecological
and long term health of streams while
educating community members about
local aquatic biodiversity
Biological Monitoring Results –Database coming soon!
Collect and identify samples of benthic
macroinvertebrates (BMI) to calculate:
-Total Family Richness
-EPT Richness
-Ephemeroptera = mayflies, Plecoptera =
stoneflies, Trichoptera = caddisflies
-Family Biotic Index
-Percent Model Affinity
-Biological Assessment Profile
Biomonitoring Partnership
Volunteers collect
samples in the field
then sort and
identify organisms
in the lab
Town of Dryden Water Quality Data -Biomonitoring
CSI’s biomonitoring volunteers
monitor the following streams in
the Town of Dryden:
1.Fall Creek
2.Virgil Creek
3.Cascadilla Creek (tributary of
Cayuga Inlet)
4.Six Mile Creek
Our German Cross Road
site on Six Mile Creek has
been monitored every year
since the start of our
biomonitoring program in
2011!
2021 Biomonitoring Results
This site’s Biological Assessment
Profile (BAP) tends to fluctuate
between “non-impacted” and
“slightly impacted”.
Outreach and Education
Free Learning Materials4-H2O Summer Youth Education
Program Annual Water Bulletin Newsletter
CSI’s 2022 Finances
Thank you to the
Town of Dryden
for supporting CSI
since 2009!
Town of Enfield $2,550
Town of Lansing $7,000
Town of Hector $1,000.00
Town of Caroline $3,365.00
Town of Danby $4,290.00
Town of Ulysses $6,438.00
City of Ithaca $10,579.00
Town of Dryden $11,196.00
Town of Ithaca $22,396.00
Town of Newfield $6,404.00
Cayuga County $24,447
Seneca County $6,000.00
Tompkins County $53,500.00
Thank you!
Stay in Touch!
Sign up for our email list or join us
as a volunteer
gshidemantle@communityscience.org
(607) 257-6606
www.communityscience.org
@communityscienceinstitute @CSIwater