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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-11-18-STBTown of Ulysses Special Town Board Meeting November 18, 2013 Present: Supervisor Elizabeth Thomas, Councilpersons Lucia Tyler, David Kerness, Environmental Planner Darby Kiley, Deputy Town Clerk Patricia Halloran and Attorney Mariette Geldenhuys. Absent: Nancy Zahler and Kevin Romer Others Present: Nancy Cool, John Coggin, Carl & Barbara West, Jim Dennis, Rich Goldman, Rob Montana/Reporter, Don Smith, Don Schlather, Don Wilson, George Breuhaus, Lawrence McCann, Anne Koreman, John Hertzler, Karen Meador, Greg Reynolds, Tim & Betsy Fallon, Janet & Dick Krezek, Sarah Del Rosso, Mike Kimberly, Heinz & Anna Riederer, Don Ellis & Delores Higareda. Supervisor Thomas called the Special Town Board meeting to order at 7 PM at the Ulysses Historical Society Ms. Thomas would like to make a procedural change to the agenda to add Public Information Meeting. In other words, the PIM will be held within this special meeting of the TB. At our last meeting on 11/12/13, Dave Kerness expressed concern over removing the in -water parts from the proposed zoning law—the parts covering docks, boat hoists, moorings etc. Without restrictions on these in -water structures, he was concerned that the 1 acre minimum lot size and the 150 lake frontage were too small AND RECOMMENDED INCREASING THE LOT AREA TO 2 ACRES AND lakeshore FRONTAGE TO 250 FEET. He has reviewed the entire document and these 2 changes are all that have been made in the document. The entire board is aware of these changes and the current version before the board reflects these changes. The question before the board will be whether to accept this document for the purposes of going to public hearing and to set the Public Hearing date. Ms. Thomas moved, seconded by Mr. Kerness the modified agenda as follows: 1. 7:00 CALL TO ORDER 2. CONSIDER ACCEPTANCE OF PROPOSED TOWN OF ULYSSES ZONING LAW REVISIONS FOR PURPOSES OF PUBLIC HEARING. 3. CONSIDER SETTING A PUBLIC HEARING DATE REGARDING THE PROPOSED TOWN OF ULSYSSES ZONING LAW REVISIONS FOR DECEMBER 2, 2013. 4. ADD PUBLIC INFORMATIONAL MEETING Ms. Thomas aye Special Town Board Meeting 2 11/18/2013 Ms. Tyler aye Mr. Kerness aye Adopted Ms. Thomas moved, seconded by Mr. Kerness the following: CONSIDER ACCEPTANCE OF THE PROPOSED TOWN OF ULYSSES ZONING LAW REVISIONS FOR THE PURPOSES OF PUBLIC HEARING AND SETTING A PUBLIC HEARING DATE OF DECEMBER 2, 2013. RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Ulysses accepts the proposed Town of Ulysses Zoning Law Revisions dated 11/8/2013 and amended on November 14, 2013 for purposes of the public hearing and RESOLVED that the Town Board hold a Public Hearing on Monday, December 2, 2013 at 7:00 p.m. at the Ulysses Historical Society, at 39 Main St. Trumansburg, for the purpose of hearing public comment on the proposed Zoning Law Revisions, and RESOLVED that the Town Clerk shall arrange for publication of notice of the public hearing in the Ithaca Journal at least ten days prior to the public hearing, and RESOLVED that the Town Clerk shall serve written notice of the proposed Zoning Law Revision as required by Town Law §264(3) at least ten days prior to the date of the Public Hearing to the neighboring municipalities, specifically the Village of Trumansburg, Town of Ithaca, Town of Enfield, Town of Lansing, Town of Covert, Town of Hector, Schuyler County, Seneca County, Tompkins County and NYS Parks. Ms. Thomas aye Ms. Tyler aye Mr. Kerness aye Adopted Supervisor Thomas opened the Public Informational meeting and made the following statement: Welcome to this Town of Ulysses public information meeting. We will be explaining the proposed zoning changes made by the Ulysses Town Board. My name is Elizabeth Thomas and I am the Supervisor for the Town of Ulysses. I would like to introduce other Town Board members here tonight. Dave Kerness, Lucia Tyler. Unfortunately Kevin Romer and Nancy Zahler cannot be present. I would also like to introduce our Town Planner, Darby Kiley who will be presenting tonight, the Attorney for our town, Mariette Geldenhuys, and our Deputy Town Clerk, Patty Halloran. Special Town Board Meeting 3 11/18/2013 Tonight we are having a public information meeting covering the changes the town is proposing to its zoning law. New districts are proposed along Cayuga Lake, parallel to Route 89, as you will see in the presentation. These areas have been described as the Lakeshore and Conservation Districts and have been discussed by the Town Board and several committees over the past 4 years. Other changes in the zoning include: 1. A Marina District where the Yacht Club currently operates (which is now zoned residential). 2. Addition of the revised non-conformance language (aka grandfathering) Revision of Article III – Administration 4. Addition of several definitions 5. Correction of inconsistencies throughout the document. All of the above pieces have been reviewed and discussed as individual parts. This proposed zoning law takes all these individually accepted drafts and rolls them into one document—the new zoning law. The main change in the LZ draft document released on 10/9/13 is the change that requires newly formed lots to be 2 acres rather than 1 (2 acres is the current zoning) and the waterfront minimum footage for newly formed lots would increase from 150' to 250' (also what is the current zoning). What is NOT being presented tonight are any regulations governing docks, boathouses, boat hoists, moorings or riparian rights. All the in -water sections of previous zoning drafts have been removed. If the TB chooses to take up these in -water regulations, it will do so in a future zoning change. It will be up to the discretion of the new TB to ask for navigational authority over the in - water structures and riparian rights if it so chooses. This has been a long process with the Town Board initiating work of the CZ in 2008 and the LZ in 2009. The Planning Board presented a draft of the CZ in September 2010 and a committee formed by the TB presented their version of the LZ in Sept 2011. After the public information meeting on October 24, 2012, the TB formed an ad hoc committee to review comments that were submitted and to create a revised version of the LZ. This happened from January to June 2013 with the ad hoc committee formally presenting their recommendations to the TB on June 25, 2013. The TB then reviewed both the LZ, CZ and marina district beginning July 9, 2013 and finishing on 10/8/2013. The public has had opportunity to comment on these documents throughout this process and has had opportunity to comment specifically on LZ and CZ since the last draft was available on 10/9/13. The Board completed their review of the Marina district on 9/24/13 and on the non-conformance language on 9/10/13. Copies of the Lakeshore, Conservation and Marina districts are available at the door. The Town Clerk can provide a printed copy of the new sections upon request. For those who want to see the Special Town Board Meeting 4 11/18/2013 entire zoning law (189 pages), it is available on the town website for download, or the Town Clerk can provide a printed copy for a fee. Tonight's meeting is a Public Information meeting, not a Public Hearing and there will be no vote tonight on the proposed legislation. The TB MAY vote on this AFTER the PH and after considering comments we have received. While a public information meeting is not required in order to make zoning changes, we feel it is important for our residents to hear a presentation on the law and note some of the changes made since the last public information meeting held on October 24, 2012. I will explain how comments can be submitted at the end of the presentation and how to get answers to any questions you may have. Before this presentation, the TB accepted the proposed zoning law as the version that will go to public hearing. NO changes will be made to the version that is currently on the web. The Town Board also set a public hearing date for December 2, 2013. This public hearing will be held at the Ulysses Historical Society at 39 South St in Trumansburg. The Public Hearing is the format used to hear comments orally from the public. While we are not taking comments tonight, comments may be submitted at any time up until the end of the Public Hearing on 12/2/13. Comments can be submitted in writing and sent by mail to Darby Kiley at 10 Elm St. Trumansburg, NY 14886 or via email to ulysses.plannerkgmail.com. They can also be submitted orally or in writing at the Public Hearing. Information on how to submit comments is at the door. If you have QUESTIONS or need clarifications, please contact Darby Kiley, any of the Town Board members, or myself. Our contact information is on the Town's website and at the back of the room. I appreciate you having come to this meeting and hope it was helpful to better understand the proposed Zoning Law. This brings the Public Information Meeting to a close. Thank you for your time and interest. Ms. Kiley made a presentation on the proposed zoning law. Revisions to Article III — Administration, adds the option for Alternate Board of Zoning Appeals and Planning Board members, adds criteria for Special Permit review and delegates the approval to the Planning Board, and streamlines the Site Plan Approval process; Revisions to Article IV — Definitions, with changes to existing definitions or adds new definitions based on new terminology in other parts of the zoning law; Addition of new districts in Article IX — Lakeshore and Article X — Conservation, which are recommendations of the 2009 Comprehensive Plan. Site plan review will be required in Unique Natural Areas and Slope Overlay Areas, and design standards are included. The uses and lot dimensions in the Lakeshore District are similar to the existing RI -Rural Residence District; the Special Town Board Meeting S 11/18/2013 uses in the Conservation District are similar to the existing R1 but the lot area requirement increases from 2 acres to 5 acres; Addition of new district in Article XVI — Marina, in which the yacht club is an allowed use and provides for other future uses; and Revisions to Article XXIII — Nonconformance, provides improved descriptions of nonconforming uses, nonconforming buildings, and procedures. Hearing no further business the Ms. Thomas moved, seconded by Ms. Tyler to adjourn the Public Informational meeting and the Special Town Board meeting. Unanimously approved. Meetings adjourned at 8 PM. Respectfully submitted, Marsha L. Georgia Ulysses Town Clerk