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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCB 2023-06-27 attCB 2023-06-27 Approved Page 1 of 5 CONSERVATION BOARD June 27, 2023 Hybrid Approved July 25, 2023 Present: Gian Dodici (Chair), Bob Beck, Steve Bissen, Anne Clark, Kate McKee (alternate), Craig Schutt, Tim Woods Absent: Jeanne Grace, Andrew Miller, Nancy Munkenbeck Liaisons: Spring Buck (Town Board) Staff: Loren Sparling (Deputy Town Clerk) The meeting was called to order at 7.04 p.m. Kate McKee was welcomed as the new alternate. Brief introductions were made by all in attendance. Review and Approval of Minutes from May 30, 2023 L Sparling noted that J Grace was not listed as in attendance. S Bissen suggested that “ESF” (in the EMC update) be further clarified. On motion made by A Clark, seconded by S Bissen, the minutes of May 30, 2023 were unanimously approved with the above changes. Update: Agriculture Advisory Committee G Dodici reported that the Agriculture Advisory Committee did not meet. Update: EMC S Bissen reported that he was not in attendance at the last meeting of the EMC, so is unable to provide a report. Update: Town Board S Buck stated that she had nothing to report from the Town Board that was germane to the Conservation Board, though there had been much discussion about billboards. Before the Town Board approves any studies or moves forward with allowing LED-lit signs in the Town, the Town must be happy with what a certain company will do and also make sure that the lighting requirements meet dark sky standards. This company is asking that their signs be brighter than what was in the initially approved request, and so, that was the main point of topic. The Town Board is working to stay committed to the dark skies effort versus the New York State standard requirements. At this time, the Town has not enacted anything that would change the current billboard standards. These LED signs would have variable brightness. There is a lot in the documentation about how bright they would be based on the ambient light to make sure that the Town is respectful and environmentally friendly. There are very strict dark sky standards out there to protect the night sky and nocturnal animal activity. The New York State guidelines are brighter than that, so there is some discussion around that point. S Buck’s main focus in the Town Board discussions was to hold firm to maintaining the lowest light level possible, which is far less bright than what is currently out there now. G Dodici thanked her for the report and explained that one of the roles of the Conservation Board is to provide input on all things environmental to the Town Board and CB 2023-06-27 Approved Page 2 of 5 encouraged her to reach out if issues do come up that she would like the Board’s input on. Regarding the billboard issue, if she could provide the information, the Conservation Board could potentially provide a resolution to the Town Board supporting the dark skies standard. Given that this is a site near some wet areas, A Clark was curious whether there was anybody at Cornell who was looking at specific lights and wondering if the lights had to vary by site (so as not to affect the behaviors of, for example, specific moth or bat populations). S Buck will investigate via some of her contacts at Cornell. T Woods questioned why this is necessary and who is driving this effort. S Buck responded by saying that the goal is to reduce the number of advertising road signs in the Town. It will improve driver safety and safety overall. Another part of the impetus is that there is a road sign in the right-of-way for the rail trail bridge, so the timing is right to ensure the path is clear. She added that she feels it is a win-win overall, as long as we do it right. Update: Rail Trail B Beck reinforced S Buck’s report by stating that there is currently a large sign on the northern/eastern side of Rte 13 on property that has been donated to the Town by the Knickerbocker Bed Frame Company for the Rail Trail. This sign has to be moved (or at least taken down) for the construction of a ramp. Putting it back on the edge of the ramp after construction remains a possibility, but the Rail Trail Task Force would prefer it to be relocated or removed altogether. The matter is complicated because the Town of Dryden will own the property upon which the billboard is located once the donation is accepted by the Town. Ray Burger knows the details. T Woods added that he walked down the bed of the Rail Trail from Johnson Rd toward the end of the dogleg where the sewage treatment line goes and discovered that two washouts had each been filled with two culverts and tons of gravel (the first of these washouts is located about a half-mile from Johnson Rd). These were located on property owned by Cindy Marquis, who had been told by the utility company that they could not bridge those two gaps the way they had other gaps in the railbed; they had to be filled in in order to get the utility through those two locations. Of concern to T Woods are the facts that 1) the largest of the culverts has already completely clogged, through either natural means or beaver activity, and that 2) the stream, which is quite active through that location, has backed up and there is now a lake covering both Marquis’ and Ron Szymanski’s properties. They will contact the Town Board and the Rail Trail Task Force to voice their displeasure at having their property flooded. B Beck stated that Rick Young needs to get out there and unplug the culverts as needed to prevent flooding. G Dodici inquired why the Town is responsible for maintaining these culverts if they were put in by a utility company. C Schutt asked who is paying for these culverts to be put in. B Beck clarified that this is a broadband project, that Rick Young was working with the broadband engineers, and that they filled those washouts with culverts and put the fiber line atop those culverts. This is the utility easement for the Town that runs from Dryden Village to Ithaca. The Rail Trail was not involved in that section; it does not have an easement there. G Dodici thanked T Woods for bringing this to the attention of the Conservation Board but does not know what it can do. He hoped that all necessary permits were obtained to put said culverts in said waterway but acknowledged that they are undersize if they are clogging already. Broadband is good, but if it is affecting property rights …. New Business: Plan for the Town’s Property North of the Town Hall and DPW Barns / Road from Neptune Drive (behind Fire Hall in Village) CB 2023-06-27 Approved Page 3 of 5 This matter was put on the agenda by C Schutt last month, but discussion was tabled due to his absence. Discussion resumed with reference to the map entitled “Survey Map Showing Lot Line Adjustment Lands of Bernard Cornelius Located on East Main Street – NYS Route 392” (attached). G Dodici asked if the plan was to put recreational fields in the wetland, as had happened at Buttermilk Falls Park, Cass Park, Stewart Park, Wegmans, and Ithaca High School. C Schutt explained that Parcel B was transferred to the Town by Bernie Cornelius. There was a swap so that the Town could put the trail across his property in Freeville. Cornelius wants a road through the wetland from the end of Neptune Drive to the southwestern corner of Parcel A, so that he can get up there. He wants to build in Parcel A. He had a right-of-way (that began on the line just east of Town Hall and ran northward), but he didn’t like that. C Schutt has heard that the road through the wetland is the only right-of-way that Cornelius will accept, and that Rick Young was willing to build it. S Buck stated that there was interest in building recreational fields north of Town Hall, but even to talk about that, there needs to be a genuine wetland study around the area because we don’t really have any good wetland studies in Dryden. Hiring somebody to conduct a good wetland study is forthcoming by the Town Board. G Dodici noted that the wetlands are all DEC-regulated. C Schutt disclosed that he is on the board of Willowbrook Manor and that two years ago, they had dirt brought in and dumped on Neptune Drive to establish vegetable beds for the residents. Because of the lay of the land, the person that was moving the dirt wanted to drive just barely on the edge of the wetland, but DEC stated that the wetland was strictly off-limits. In looking at the proposal put forth for the development of North Rd, T Woods noted that the old grocery store on Freeville Rd was to be turned into a youth center, with all types of youth activities to be held around that youth center. Additionally, there has been a proposal to put a boardwalk over the wetlands behind the fire station. Were either of those options discussed in regard to the Town’s plan? C Schutt responded that he too had heard of the proposed boardwalk, but now the Cornelius map has surfaced with a road going through the wetland. A Clark asked how the wetlands were currently listed. G Dodici knows that they are state-designated but would need to pull information from the environmental resource mapper. There may also be a UNA (unique natural area) out there, but that doesn’t have any legal standing. G Dodici pointed out that the DEC recently changed their wetland regulations, that they are no longer going with their maps. By doing so, it is more protective, which is good. The wetland north of Town Hall would definitely be covered. Highway/DPW would need an Article 24 permit to do any work in there. The problem historically with the Town is that the Town does work first without obtaining the proper permits. G Dodici also does not think the environmental resource mapper designations are current anymore. C Schutt observed that the map designates Parcel B as predominantly wetland. G Dodici stated that the more a wetland is filled, the more flooding there is for people downstream. It saddens him to be having conversations in 2023 that we don’t know enough about stormwater runoff to know that we can’t continue to do things in the same way and expect nothing to happen. We just need more information, as it is all hearsay at this point. But a map does exist that has a right-of-way delineated. CB 2023-06-27 Approved Page 4 of 5 G Dodici wondered who was paid to survey the property in order to produce the overall map and the delineated right-of-way. Who in the Town approved the right-of-way? The answer came back that there are different theories, but the general feeling is that it was decided by Jason Leifer and Rick Young. Due to there being at present no Planning Board liaison to the Conservation Board, C Schutt reported that the Planning Board was a little taken aback when they found out about the right-of-way, that they had not been asked. A Clark inquired whether the Board should summarize what it has heard alongside its questions and concerns and circulate them, for example, to the Planning Board and Willowbrook, as it sounds like there are lots of cooks in this kitchen. Things are going to happen when some of the cooks’ backs are turned. C Schutt understood that the Planning Board passed a resolution supporting the wetlands being delineated and offered that the Conservation Board draft a resolution supporting the Planning Board’s resolution. G Dodici stated that a wetland can be filled (for placement of a right-of-way) as long as a permit is obtained, regardless of the wetland being delineated or not. Just because it is a wetland doesn’t mean that they can’t fill it. They’ll have to mitigate it, they’ll have to do stuff to offset the impacts, but they can certainly get a permit to fill it. The concern that G Dodici has is work being done without a permit and the question of why the town is even requesting that a wetland be filled. For something like this, the request seems absurd. S Buck has not heard about the right-of-way/wetland issue but has heard discussion that they are investigating opportunities to improve pedestrian access to TC3, and opportunities to utilize the abandoned dollar store as a way to provide more children’s resources in the future. Delineation of wetlands. C Schutt responded that what S Buck is talking about is a separate issue because those are part of the North Street Redevelopment plan. S Buck acknowledged that, and stated her support for a solid wetland study because it will help protect the wetlands and ensure that people are making solid decisions. A Clark felt it was important that these things not get through in the first place (rather than a wetland being filled and then forgiveness being asked). Is the Conservation Board totally powerless? C Schutt formally proposed a resolution stating that the Conservation Board supports the Planning Board’s resolution to have the wetlands officially delineated. G Dodici was hesitant to do so before actually reading the Planning Board’s resolution. C Schutt then suggested that the Conservation Board devise a resolution of its own stating that the wetlands be delineated by someone qualified to do so. The Planning Board does not even have to be mentioned. At T Woods’ request, C Schutt agreed to seek out better information from the Planning Department about the plans for the right-of-way, the recreational fields, the TC3 trail, and the North Street Redevelopment Project. G Dodici reiterated that the wetland is already a state-designated wetland. A delineation can be done, but it is not going to change anything. He believes that no wetland should be filled, that the Board should fight this however it can, but doing a delineation for the sake of doing a delineation won’t help. A Clark related that she doesn’t know what all the stakeholders are thinking or what is going to hold back permits adequately, but at least we should be telling everybody who seems to be involved that we have our eyes on it and want to know more. CB 2023-06-27 Approved Page 5 of 5 G Dodici concluded the discussion by saying that he will email Jason Leifer on behalf of the Board for clarification on the issue. He pointed out that the map is dated December 2021 and the road has not been built yet. He is confused as to why the Town would want 24 acres of wetland from Cornelius. It is good if it is to protect the wetland, but you can’t protect it by putting a road through it. New Business: Purvis Road Wetland Infraction C Schutt explained that the Purvis Road Wetlands are a part of the Cornell Natural Areas (see attached map). The Rail Trail passes through here. For a number of years, there has been lots of beaver activity. The Town apparently drove equipment down into the wetland (at some time in May) to take out the largest of the beaver dams. Their rationale for doing this was to address the breach in the dyke that was going to affect the Rail Trail. After doing so, they laid down fill and placed pieces of concrete along the tow. They made a mess. S Buck added that they not only took out the main dam, but the terraces as well. The DEC investigated this and was not happy. Its representative revealed to C Schutt that Dryden gets a blank permit every year to do whatever they need to do with beavers and can thus understand the concern. C Schutt added that Cornell had been contacted but did nothing. G Dodici admitted his frustration, but there’s no recourse. The Town DPW is an independent entity. However, the Town Board has budgetary power over the DPW. S Buck stated that she will be meeting with Rick Young two weeks from now. This and ditching (from last month’s Conservation Board meeting) are topics that she wants to discuss with him. Her other goal is to start getting a stronger understanding of current fiscal year and projected budgets. Understanding not only current decisions but how they will impact the future helps make informed decisions in the long term. She doesn’t want single bottom-line money decisions to dictate decision-making. C Schutt informed the Board that the Town is in the process of hiring a consultant to rewrite the zoning law, so we may want to review the parts pertaining to conservation. Once hired, the process will quickly be completed. G Dodici thought it would be helpful to have Ray Burger come in to speak to the Board about this. There being no further business, on motion made by S Bissen and seconded by C Schutt, the meeting was adjourned at 8:20 PM. Respectfully submitted, Loren Sparling Deputy Town Clerk L A K E R D PURVIS RD Æü Parking Area Natural Areas Intermittent StreamPerennial Stream Natural Areas TrailsUnblazed Trail Finger Lakes / Jim Schug Trails ² 1,000 0 1,000500 Feet Cornell Botanic Gardens Natural Areas - Purvis Road Wetlands