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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCB Minutes 1997-12-04DRAFT TOWN OF ITHACA CONSERVATION BOARD MINUTES DRAFT Town Hall, Thursday, 4 December, 1997 Present: Frank Baldwin, Elizabeth DeProsse, Richard Fischer, Kara Hagedorn, Jon Meigs, Geri Tierney, Barney Unsworth, John Yntema, Phil Zarriello Absent: Eva Hoffman, Lois Levitan Staff: No coordinator on staff at present Chair Phil Zarriello called the meeting to order at 7:30pm Persons to be Heard: None Member Concerns: Kara Hagedorn initiated discussion of the Town Open Space Plan, which is being presented by the Planning Board to the Town Board on December 8h. This will be a public hearing, and Hagedorn is concerned about some areas surrounding Upper Buttermilk State Park which, in her view, are not zoned adequately to insure their continued action as buffers for the park lands. Develpment of some of these areas, as they are currently zoned in the Plan, could have a negative effect on the quality of the park in terms of wildlife preservation, invasion by house pets, runoff, etc. Geri Tierney and Phil Zarriello joined, with Jon Meigs, in the consensus that this land should be zoned R-30, ideally. Plans were made for at least Kara and Phil to appear at the hearing in order to make sure that this change is considered. (The Journal article concerning this meeting is attached.) Jon Meigs asked for Board reaction to a question of final authority which he is dealing with in his work: what happens when a change of regulatory thresholds in State SEQR regulations conflicts with pre-existing regulations at the local level? If the local regulations are now non -conforming, does the new state regulation invalidate a local ordinance? The group felt that while existing local decisions would probably be grandfathered, the local municipality would undoubtedly be forced to conform to the new State regulations in all future decisions. Chair Report: The Lansing newspaper of December 3`d described a new de-icing material, a biodegradable gel made from brewery byproducts, which is being tested in the Towns of Ithaca, Danby and Lansing. No one present was familiar with this product or the test program. Barney Unsworth noted that the use of road salt - by whom, where and in what quantities - has been an ongoing concern of the County Environmental Management Council for years. There is a feeling that local municipalities display widely varying attitudes concerning how much is enough, and that little coordination exists between local and state agencies in this regard. Phil Zarriello will contact Fred Noteboom for more information. Brief mention was made of the "Neighbors Around Cayuga Lake " conference held on Nov. 13th at Cayuga Nature Center, which DeProsse, Unsworth, Yntema and Zarriello attended. At that time , some publicity was given to a new lake organization, the Cayuga Lake Watershed Network, which is coming into existence. A Cayuga County farmer named Fessenden is heading the effort, and Jim Skaley of the County Planning Office is working on a by-laws proposal. Also mentioned was an offer made to the Cornell authorities by a Swedish firm, which would fund the installation of a "plasma arc" process to dispose of low-level radioactive wastes at the Vet school. The process apparently needs very large amounts of waste, possibly 5000 lbs/hour, in order to operate effectively. So this is unlikely to solve the dilemma of those trying to settle on a recommendation for the best answer to this problem. Public hearings are scheduled in Syracuse and Binghamton concerning the New York State Open Space report - comments are solicited by December 10th. Phil will send copies of our Open Space Plan for comparison. The Monkmeyer property, according to the followup report by Ostman/Wesley, continues to rank as a "critical ecological area", certainly among the top ten Unique Natural Areas in the County. Jon Kanter mentions the rare sedges and Dick Fischer reminds us of the remarkable variety of bird life on site. Phil expects to be at the next meeting of the Planning Board, and will touch on this. Jon Meigs will arrange to get copies of this material to our members. A decision on the DEC permits for the CU Lake Source Cooling Project is expected soon. (See attached article from the 12/11 Journal.) The Town has hired a replacement for Geri Tierney - a lady from Florida named Susan Ritter who will be coming on staff in January. She will probably serve as Coordinator for the CB. Business: The minutes of the 11/6 CB meeting were approved with minor corrections. 1998 Membership: After an extended discussion concerning the responsibilities of the office, Kara Hagedorn consented to her nomination for CB Chair in 1998. She was immediately elected. The group clearly wanted the experience and commitment of Geri Tierney for Vice -chair, but decided to postpone the nomination until January, when Geri is officially on board as an associate member. Phil Zarriello has decided to continue on the Board for 1998, and it is expected that JoAnn Cornish will be active as well. These developments will add an excellent cadre of people with both experience and professional training to our 1998 ranks. Frank Baldwin is terminating his service for now, and Phil expressed the hope that we have not seen the end of his CB activity. Frank will follow up on the DEC inquiry which he made for us some weeks ago, to determine whether a reply has been received. 1998 Meeting Schedule: The preliminary schedule for our 1998 meetings, as presented in a resolution by Jon Kanter, was approved. Our January meeting will be on the 15th. Then we will return to the present pattern of first Thursdays. Coy Glen Visit: Geri Tierney enlarged on the comments made in November concerning the visit made to the Teeter and Botsford properties at the top of the glen. Lengthy discussion followed as to what sort of buffer to recommend to the Town Planning Board - should the limit of vegetation or the steepness of the stream slope determine the boundaries? What zoning adjustments are needed here? Possibly the slope boundary plus 100 to 200 feet of buffer plus a transition zone is called for. Geri will give more attention to this and Susan Ritter will be brought into the discussion as well. Regulation of Cellular towers: We will try to follow up more actively on this question, particularly with David Klein of the Codes and Ordinances Committee. (The attached Journal article by Donald Sola is pertinent here.) Adjournent: Phil ended the meeting at 9:30 pm. . May the holiday season bring you more than you really deserve of the good things in life. Barney Unsworth OF IT� TOWN OF ITHACA 21 126 EAST SENECA STREET, ITHACA, N.Y. 14850 G TOWN CLERK 273-1721 HIGHWAY 273-1656 PARKS 273-8035 ENGINEERING 273-1747 PLANNING 273-1747 ZONING 273-1783 FAX (607) 273-1704 TO: Conservation Board Members FROM: Jon Kanter, Director of Planning DATE: November 25, 1997 RE: Next Meeting - December 4, 1997 This is to confirm that the next meeting of the Conservation Board is Thursday, December 4, 1997, at 7:30 p.m. Enclosed please find the agenda and materials for that meeting. Please note that this meeting will be back in the Town Hall Board Room in Town Hall, 126 East Seneca Street. Phil Zarriello will have a key to unlock the Board Room door in the back of the building at the ramp off of the bank parking lot. Enclosed are draft minutes from the 11/6 meeting, as well as a preliminary meeting schedule for 1998. Please call me at 273-1747 if you have any questions. Encl. ... ..... .. "N'14 .... .. . ..... .. .•.. .•........... . .. . .. ....•.. . ...... .. . .... TOWN OF ITHACA CONSERVATION BOARD 7:30 pm, Thursday, 4 December 1997 X" NX K. X*.'1A'.%.:::::)::o .4" .. . . ........ . . ... . .... . **TOWN BOARD MEETING ROOM** Town Hall, 126 East Seneca Street Ithaca, New York 14850 (607) 273-1747 AGENDA 7:30 pm 1. Persons to be heard 7:35 pm 2. Member Concerns 7.40 pm 3. Coordinator and Chair Reports 7:50 pm 4. Business: Approval of minutes from 11/6 meeting 8:00 pm 5. 1998 Membership - Reappointment and recruiting; Nominations for Chair & Vice Chair 8:10 pm 6. 1998 Meeting Schedule 8:15 pm 7. Coy Glen Project - Status Report 8-45 pm 8. Regulation of Cellular Towers - Continuation of Discussion 9:30 pm 9. Adjournment CB Members and Associate Members: Phil Zarriello, Chair Frank Baldwin Richard Fischer Lois Levitan Barney Unsworth (File Name: c.N28p1=Ncb\1 2,04-97.agd) Kara Hagedorn, Vice Chair Elizabeth deProsse Eva Hoffmann Jon Meigs John Ynterna TO: CONSERVATION BOARD FROM: JON KANTER, TOWN PLANNER SUBJECT: CONSERVATION BOARD 1998 SCHEDULE DATE: November 24, 1997 BE IT RESOLVED, that the Conservation Board of the Town of Ithaca adopts the following schedule of meetings for the Conservation Board for the year 1998. The Town of Ithaca Conservation Board will meet at 7:30 p.m., on the first Thursday of the month in the Board Room at Town Hall, unless otherwise noted. The third Thursday of the month will be reserved as an optional meeting date on an as needed basis. *INDICATES ADDITIONAL MEETING SCHEDULED ON AN AS NEEDED BASIS. THE 1998 (PRELIMINARY) SCHEDULE IS AS FOLLOWS: January 15 February 5 and February 19* March 5 and March 19* April 2 and April 16* May 7 and May 21* June 4 and June 18* July 2 and July 16* August 6 and August 20* September 3 and September 17* October 1 and October 15* (10/1/98 Town Board Meeting) November 5 and November 19* (11/5/98 Town Board Meeting) December 3 and December 17* MOVED: SECONDED: DATED: CB98SCH 1/17/97/mb r TOWN OF ITHACA CONSERVATION BOARD MINUTES DRAFT Old Jail conference Room, November 6, 1997 Present: Frank Baldwin, Elizabeth deProsse, Richard Fischer, Eva Hoffman, Jon Meigs, Barney Unsworth, John Yntema, Phil Zarriello Absent: Kara Hagedorn, Lois Levitan Staff. No Coordinator on staff at present Chair Phil Zarriello called the meeting to order at 7:40 pm Persons to be Heard: None Member Concerns: Libby deProsse reported on the Oct. 18 "1997 Conference on the Environment" in Port Jefferson which she attended as a representative of the group. She distributed copies of the document, "Environmental Regulations Track: How to Write and Review an EIS" and an outline report on Environmentally Friendly Golf Course Turf Management. Members also discussed the conference entitled "Neighbors Around Cayuga Lake" which is scheduled for November 13th at Cayuga Nature Center. Four members expressed interest in attending. Chair Zarriello will arrange for the registration fees. The ongoing excavation work preparatory to constructing an observatory at Ithaca College was also discussed, particularly the large amount of fill which must be disposed of. Eva Hoffman reported on the Ithaca College presentation to the Planning Board. Coordinator and Chair Reports: Chair Zarriello reported on the most recent meetings concerning the Vet School plans for disposing of medical waste and other materials. Medical waste will no longer be treated by any form of incineration, and the working group is approaching the point of decision as to the method to be recommended. Also, the selection of a consultant to cost out the options chosen should come soon after. The development proposal for Mecklenberg Heights, a 9.2 acre development in a larger 47 acre plan was discussed. Comments have been solicited, and John Meigs will track this. Phil also reported on his recent contacts with Wally Wiggins concerning the Buttermilk Valley Estates subdivision, and the fact that the 18 -acre plot which Wiggins had agreed to turn over to the Park has not yet been transferred. Also, the CB has strong reservations about development of that portion of the subdivision closest to the park and would prefer that State Parks acquire this land as an additional buffer instead. Apparently some progress haas been made, both with Wiggins and with Finger Lakes Parks on this matter. The "key players are interested in a settlement, " in Phil's words. Business: The minutes from the 10/2 meeting were amended and approved. 1998 Membership: Nominations for 1998 Chair and Vice -Chair were postponed until our next meeting. As for membership renewals, it now appears that deProsse, Fischer, Hagedorn, Hoffman, Meigs, Unsworth and Yntema are looking forward to another year of service. Zarriello is undecided, while Baldwin and Levitan do not plan to be active in 1998. Former Coordinator Geri Tierney and former town planner JoAnn Cornish have both expressed a strong interest in continuing their associations with the group, and certainly their experience and professional skills would be important resources. Coy Glen Proiect : Fischer, Unsworth and Yntema all contributed to a report on the recent tour of the Teeter and Botsford properties along Coy Glen which they took in company with Geri Tierney and Mr. Teeter. Geri will be submitting a written report, which essentially recommends that the boundaries of the protected area be expanded somewhat, and that coordination with Enfield officials be undertaken to deal with upstream farm runoff. A more definitive report will be available at our next meeting. CB Meeting - November 6 - page 2 Regulation of Cellular Towers: Katie White(?) of the county planning office passed along a report which she obtained at a recent conference on this topic to Phil Zarriello.. The disturbing fact seems to be that the federal government has left this matter in regulatory turmoil, so that individual municipalities must have specific provisions against towers or they can be installed with impunity ahnost anywhere.The current analog system of transmission is being replaced with a digital system, which along with its advantages has a more limited range, so that more towers will be required . Today's Ithaca Journal carried an editorial decrying the fact that control is not placed more firmly in the hands of the local municipality where the towers will be placed. John Meigs suggested that some "viewshed ordinances" would be helpful in clarifying the question. Eva reminds that the town master plan states the importance of viewsheds to our community, where natural beauty is an economic resource. Phil distributed copies of model regulatory ordinances for towers which CB members will review and then compare notes at the watershed conference of next week. Also, the draft minutes for the October 2 meeting of the CB were amended as follows, and then approved. On page I, the section labeled Business should read as follows... The minutes for the CB meetings of 17 July and 7 August were reviewed and accepted with minor revisions. The minutes for 4 September received a lengthy scrutiny and were accepted as amended. That's it for the Business section.