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
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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.
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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
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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
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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