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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCB 2023-10-24CB 2023-10-24 Approved Page 1 of 5 CONSERVATION BOARD October 24, 2023 Hybrid Approved November 28, 2023 Present: Gian Dodici (chair), Bob Beck, Steve Bissen, Anne Clark, Jeanne Grace, Andrew Miller, Nancy Munkenbeck, Craig Schutt, Tim Woods Absent: Kate McKee (alternate) Liaisons: Spring Buck (Town Board) The meeting was called to order at 7:07 p.m. Review and Approval of Minutes from September 26, 2023 B Beck, N Munkenbeck, and C Schutt provided the Deputy Clerk with some minor edits to last month’s minutes via email. On motion made by B Beck, seconded by J Grace, the minutes of September 26, 2023, with these revisions, were unanimously approved. Announcements A Clark reported that NYSACC members had received an email blast from Simon Skolnik (President of NYSACC) to contact Governor Hochul if they agree with her NOT vetoing local control (as opposed to DEC control) over how wetlands are managed, because apparently, DEC has been given over to managing LG wetlands with herbicides rather than with site investigation and research. S Buck had shared with the Board via email some information from Town Councilperson Leonardo Vargas-Mendez about the Cargill Salt Mine, specifically the current discussion at the Cayuga Watershed Intermunicipal Organization (WIO) about asking DEC and the state government to require Cargill for a full environmental review under SEQRA, including an Environmental Impact Statement on its mining at Cayuga Lake. She was curious to know if the Board had any thoughts regarding this potential legislation. She also had shared an article about biosolids in Tompkins County; the County had been spreading biosolids but are now sending it to the landfill. This is a topic that is addressed in the draft Solid Waste Management Plan that Tompkins County had out for public comment; over 1000 comments were received in response, and the County will be updating their draft before submitting it to the DEC in late December. Updates: Agriculture Advisory Committee C Schutt reported that t here is no report from the Ag Committee as they did not meet this month. Updates: EMC In this meeting, Peter Penniman spoke about the sale of the Cargill Salt Mine. S Bissen was not present at this meeting, as he was out-of-town. Updates: Town Board S Buck reported that the Town Board has been working on the 2024 budget for the past month . CB 2023-10-24 Approved Page 2 of 5 Also important for this Board to know is that the RFP that was sent out earlier this year to have Dryden’s zoning law updated received only one response, and so it is going back out for bid. Updates: Rail Trail Task Force B Beck reported that the Rail Trail Task Force (RTTF) is moving forward with getting approval for building the trail through the wetland by Hall Rd. Some years ago, Nick Bellisario was given approval by the Town to push a lot of fill into the sewer/water easement there; much of the easement, including a portion of the former rail bed, was covered to build his buildings. Apparently, in the process, he also bulldozed away a part of the raised rail bed and inadvertently allowed the wetland to expand to the south; this has made it difficult for the RTTF to get the trail through dry ground. The RTTF applied for an Army Corps Wetland Permit a while ago; finally, after six to eight months, an Army Corps biologist from Auburn visited the site with him and Ray Burger, resulting in recommendations being provided in an email. Dondi Harner (of T.G. Miller) has since provided a plan that minimizes impact on the wetland. (In order to avoid requiring mitigation, impact had to be kept below 0.1 acre. This they did with an impact of 0.05 acre by skirting the embankment.) The RTTF is now waiting for acceptance by the Army Corps. Rick Young has agreed to build out the trail there, with support from N Bellisario, whose property it is, in the provision of fill from his business. There is some concern, though, that N Bellisario might not like the plan, in which case the RTTF might have to go through the wetland. Brief discussion then turned to bank stabilization, but B Beck and the RTTF feel pretty confident that a mudslide/landslide there is unlikely. From Hallwoods Rd, the Rail Trail will continue towards Pinckney Rd on property owned by Heidelberg Materials. R Young has agreed to get in there soon and level what needs levelling. There is the possibility of doing some planting there, perhaps some chestnut or red cedar trees. It is the hope that this section will be connected to the eastern section of the Rail Trail next year via the Rte 13 bridge. S Buck wondered if the stretch of the Rail Trail from Hallwoods Rd to Pinckney Rd might be a place to have educational signage about wetlands. B Beck acknowledged that there is some visual evidence of it being a wetland (cattails), but there are other places with more perceptible indications, e.g., Etna and Freeville. There will be a lot of opportunity in the future for using the trail as an educational outlet. New Business: Native Plants and Pollinators in Town Planning / Laws, Etc. G Dodici was contacted by Jennifer Michelle (President of GreenTown Consulting; greentownconsulting.com), who consults with municipalities looking to write pollinator-friendly language into their zoning ordinances and laws. She offered to give a presentation to the Board, but it sounds like it would be a fee-for-service payment. S Buck felt that there would be value in sharing her contact information with the Planning Department; she may be a good resource for Planning as they move forward with the zoning update. J Grace would like to discourage the us e of expansive mow ed lawns in the site plan review process or zoning laws, which is up the alley from what J Michelle is offering. You see CB 2023-10-24 Approved Page 3 of 5 the old farm fields get chopped up into house parcels, and then everybody just mows everything for no reason. N Munkenbeck offered that, in terms of being pro-pollinator, people should ensure that certain kinds of pollinator plants exist in a corridor. A Clark expressed that, unlike many pro-pollinator people, J Michelle specializes in consulting with municipalities; the thinking is larger in its approach. It might be worth it. G Dodici will pursue this. Other entities that would be invited to her presentation would be the Planning Board, the Town Board, and the Climate Smart Communities Task Force. Old Business: Planning Board Complaint against the Planning Department (Updates) C Schutt attended the last Planning Board meeting (on 10/26/2023) and spoke during its Privilege of the Floor about Conservation Board concerns regarding the site by Dryden Lake (at the intersection of West Lake Rd and Chaffee Rd); two Planning Board members agreed with C Schutt about this. Ray Burger stated that his department was issuing another stop-work order on the property the following day. C Schutt continued that the Planning Board also filed a complaint that night against the Planning Department regarding the site by Elemental Pet Vets. S Buck confirmed that the complaint was filed and is trying to figure out next steps. Old Business: Discussion of Wetlands on Town-Owned Property in the Village of Dryden (Updates) Wetland Delineation G Dodici reported that Ray Burger sent out an email after the Board’s last meeting, informing them that the Town was going to undertake a wetland delineation. G Dodici had suggested they put out an RFP for this, but this didn’t happen. It still hasn’t been determined whether the delineation will occur only on Town-owned lands, which was one of the reasons why G Dodici advocated for an RFP that clearly defined what should be done. They say they’re going to do it, but he doesn’t know if they’re going to do it, who’s going to do it, how they’re going to do it. S Buck stated that the Town Board voted to have the delineation done. It was agreed that it was important to move forward and, given that the DEC could not undertake this in a timely fashion, it was decided to go ahead and hire a vendor to do it. It is understood that the overall goal is to include Town-owned and Village property, but we want to move forward with doing what we have the authority and ability to do. We can keep adding more to this, but we don’t want to wait and have no action taken . Unless there have been additional efforts with the Village, what we voted on is to get the Town property delineated. G Dodici responded with his concern that the majority of wetlands (and probably most of the significant wetlands) are on Village property. J Grace inquired of S Buck whether anyone has talked with the Village about joining the Town’s delineation efforts. S Buck was not present at any of the meetings and so did not want to misspeak but responded that the overall need is well understood and is a common topic. The interest in creating a task force around overall use of those community spaces is central to both Town and Village efforts. J Grace offered that if the Conservation Board could help educate or sway Village leaders in any way, to let them know what they can do to be helpful. CB 2023-10-24 Approved Page 4 of 5 Wetland Regulation G Dodici reported that Board members were sent an email earlier that afternoon from Simon Skolnik (NYSACC President) that basically said that the Town would be taking over the regulation of wetlands in the Town. G Dodici stated firmly that he would not be supportive of such an action. We don’t have the staff, nor do we have the appetite to establish a regulatory oversight board that is going to tell people what they can or can’t do on their land. We’ve seen the issues that have arisen just to identify important ecological areas in the Town, never mind regulating them. The implication that A Clark gleaned is that DEC tends not to ask how to remediate a problem, but simply to fix the wetland. J Grace summarized the gist of the email as such: the Board should support this law because small towns, in theory, can create wetland control commissions that would have more stringent regulations than what DEC is currently doing. G Dodici added that the state legislature passed this law, but Governor Hochul vetoed it last year. Skolnik wants Boards to sign a petition encouraging Hochul NOT to veto this again. J Grace said that a wetland commission would not be able to make laws that are more lax; laws could only become more stringent. It cannot undo what the municipality above you requires. If a wetland commission is in operation, the DEC could just become less involved. G Dodici assumed there would be a process by which the municipality would inform the DEC of issues and have some kind of agreement regarding reporting. S Bissen felt that this was more financial in nature, stating that the DEC is always looking for ways to cut staff and money. N Munkenbeck wondered what advice Gov Hochul was given that informed her veto. C Schutt compared this to stormwater regulation, which started out as a DEC regulatory responsibility; however, the MS4 program was set up to put things back on the municipality. If the municipality cannot enforce the stormwater regulation well, neither will DEC because they expect the municipality to be the lead regulatory authority. So if the municipality cannot do it, regulation and enforcement will not get done. N Munkenbeck addressed the potentiality of intermunicipal issues should toxic algae arise in one municipality that does not allow algicides and serves as the water supply for another. Then you have a problem with your water, and you can’t do a thing about it. A Clark responded that, as Assembly Bill A5949 (prohibiting the application of pesticides to certain local freshwater wetlands) is written, it does not sound as if the state gives blanket approval to municipalities. She read the majority of the Bill: A LOCAL GOVERNMENT THAT HAS IMPLEMENTED A FRESHWATER WETLANDS PROTECTION LAW OR ORDINANCE IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 24-0501 OF THIS TITLE MAY ADOPT A LOCAL LAW OR ORDINANCE TO PROHIBIT THE APPLICATION OF PESTICIDES TO WETLANDS IT REGULATES; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT ANY SUCH LAW OR ORDINANCE SHALL NOT PROHIBIT PESTICIDE APPLICATIONS FOR THE CONTROL OF INVASIVE SPECIES IDENTIFIED PURSUANT TO TITLE 17 OF ARTICLE 9 OF THIS CHAPTER, PESTS OF SIGNIFICANT PUBLIC HEALTH IMPORTANCE, NOXIOUS WEEDS DESIGNATED BY THE DEPARTMENT AS INJURIOUS TO ECOSYSTEM HEALTH, OR FOR THE PROTECTION OF CRITICAL NATIVE PLANT SPECIES. CB 2023-10-24 Approved Page 5 of 5 So DEC has some big headers that municipalities cannot override. Reiterating what J Grace said earlier, it cannot weaken what DEC has already said, but could push for more. G Dodici asked if the Board would like to take action on this as a group or as individuals. He felt uncomfortable drafting a supporting letter now, having received notification of this that afternoon. After some discussion, he suggested that if members wanted to send the Governor a letter, to do so as an individual. Other Information Items C Schutt reported that Rick Young has applied for a Town permit to build a storage building near the salt barn, on the edge of the wetland. G Dodici wondered if this was in the DEC wetland buffer. C Schutt also reported that the Red Mill Bridge will be relocated over Virgil Creek (between Springhouse Rd and George Rd) for the Caroline Snowmobile Club. The old wooden bridge currently there is falling apart. He expressed concern that the bridge still has lead paint on it, which might chip off and wash into the wetland. There being no further business, on motion made by N Munkenbeck and seconded by S Bissen, the meeting was adjourned at 8:18 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Loren Sparling Deputy Town Clerk