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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-CAC-1995MINUTES CONSERVATION ADVISORY COUNCIL Meeting of Jan. 9, 1995 Present: Peter McDonald, Paul Salon, Betsy Darlington, Dan Hoffman, Cisela Wildes, Mayor Ben Nichols; CC liaison Rick Gray; Guests: Elizabeth Moran (Stearns and Wheler), Bob Bland and Rob McCabe (Cornell), Maria Coles, Barbara Ebert Cornell's Cayuga Lake Cold Water Cooling project: Liz Moran, Bob Bland, and Rob McCabe gave us an update on the studies done so far. A committee from Cornell's Center for the Environment is reviewing the study (Bob Howarth, Nelson Harston, Gerhard Jirka, Ray Oglesby). The studies done so far indicate that the impacts on the lake would be negligible; however more work is still to be done. No lake -wide thermal impacts would result, for example, but near -field (i.e. near the outfall and intake) still must be studied. The lake is stratified about 6 months of the year (warm months). During winter, the temp is quite even throughout. The number of days of stratification would not be increased by the project. The Bell Station, proposed some years ago, would have increased the stratified season by about 5 days at each end. This project would be much smaller than Milliken Station, which in turn is much smaller than the Bell Station would have been. Intake would be about 200 feet deep, 2 miles north of Stewart Park. One concern is with Mysis relicta, the opossum shrimp (about 3 mm long), the major food of juvenile lake trout. Mostly they're at depth of 225', but they migrate nightly through the water column, to higher levels. They shun light. One concern is with drawing them into the intake pipe, and various ideas have emerged to prevent this (e.g. having a light at the end of the pipe, having water flow be slow, having the pipe entrance raised up off the bottom some distance). The water chemistry in the intake area is only slightly different from the outfall area, and the sediment quality is good (no problems with pollutants), so stirring up the sediment while laying the pipes would not release pollutants. The project would use about 1/10 of the energy used for conventional cooling. In the first year, Cornell would use about 12,000 tons less of coal. By the year 2044, the plant would be adding 108 MBTU's/hour to the lake, compared with Milliken's 1191 and the proposed Bell Station's 5500. By the year 2044, 1 % of the lake's hypolimnion would be withdrawn each year. So far, they haven't studied potential terrestrial impacts. Two possible sites for the heat exchanger plant are the High School and across from the marina that's on east side of lake (south end). Plant would be very large. Dec. minutes were approved unanimously. Cisela, Rob, and Betsy will continue on the environmental review subcommittee for another three months. Betsy passed out copies of the CAC's charge in the City Code for everyone to look at before next meeting. Any changes that might be desirable will be discussed at that time. Peter reported that EMC is working on educational brochure re backyard burning. EMC also is doing an environmental directory for the County. Jill Tripp being absent, Ben Nichols reported on BPW activities. Major changes are coming in the City's water supply system, such as perhaps a new water treatment plant. Water and sewer lines in vicinity of Octopus will be upgraded during the Octopus rebuilding project. Peter: strategy for Wal -Mart comments: everyone should get their concerns to him for incorporation into draft he'll prepare for our Feb. meeting. CAC will finalize statement at that time, for public hearing on Feb. 27. Adjourned about 9:40 PM. Submitted by Betsy Darlington, Chair Note: Env. Rev. committee reviewed an EAF for Sage Hall renovations. We decided not to make any recommendations due to lack of expertise. To save paper, I didn't make copies of this "non- report " for CAC members. - -Betsy MINUTES CONSERVATION ADVISORY COUNCIL Minutes of February 15, 1995 Present: Maria Coles, Peter McDonald, Rob Shapiro, Betsy Darlington, Cisela Wildes, Dan Hoffman; CC Liaison Rick Gray; Guests Michael Lach (new CAC volunteer!), Jill Brantley, Doria Higgins 1. Jan. Minutes were approved unan. Betsy introduced Michael Lach who has offered to volunteer for us. He and Rick Gray agreed to tackle the Unique Natural Areas map -- potentially a big project, with an eye to CC adopting the UNA's as Critical Env. Areas. 2. Wal -Mart: Peter led the discussion, after passing out a draft for CAC consideration. He compiled this from comments submitted to him by various members, each regarding a particular topic. A few minor suggestions were made; Peter will incorporate these and get the document to Betsy to copy for the Planning Board, etc. Peter was thanked for all his work. 3. Festival Lands: Doria Higgins showed the new and old site plans and pointed out the high cost of the project, much of it for taking out old asphalt and putting in new. She urged the CAC, at the proper time in the process, to oppose# sale to the State of the entire Festival Lands parcel; sale of just enough for the State to enlarge the Marina as they propose would be ample. All the desirable features of the plan as it affects the Festival Lands could still be implemented, but the City would retain control and be able to stand in the way of future development to the north. Having a clause saying that title could revert to the City if the State violated the terms of the agreement would be meaningless: Common Council would almost certainly never exercise its right to reclaim title. 4. Betsy announced that Maurice Hinchey would be in town on March 5th, and CAC has been asked to submit questions for him. A question about the Job Creation Bill was proposed, and it was agreed to submit this. [Note: This is how the question was finally posed: "What will be your response to the Job Creation Bill, and what are its prospects for passage, in its current form? Our understanding is that this bill is really a smokescreen for eliminating a number of environmental protections (clean air, clean water, etc.) that the American public has fought hard for."] 5. CAC Charter: a. Betsy proposed CAC send a resolution (via Rick) to Common Council, asking that a new clause be added, stating that one of CAC's responsibilities is to provide recommendations to the lead agency regarding environmental reviews done for projects in the City. This is in the City's Env. Quality Review Ordinance, but never was formally added to the CAC's charter. Approved unan. Betsy will write up the resolution for Rick Gray. [Note: this is how it was worded: "WHEREAS, one of the CAC's primary responsibilities, as stated in the City's Environmental Quality Review Ordinance, is to review environmental assessments and impact statements and make recommendations to the lead agency; and WHEREAS, Chapter 31 of the City Code, concerning the responsibilities of the CAC, was written before SEQRA was enacted and therefore does not include a statement regarding the CAC's responsibilities in this regard; now therefore be it RESOLVED, that a new letter "A" be added under § 31 -5 (Powers and Duties), stating: 'Review environmental assessments and environmental impact statements for proposed actions in the City, and make recommendations to the lead agency.' Subsequent lettering would, of course, need to be changed. "] b. Cisela noted that one of our charges is to implement educational programs in the community, and proposed that we have a regular column on environmental matters in the paper. She said Daryl Anderson (who has asked for appointment to our 9th slot) is an excellent writer and would be ideal for this. Betsy commented that Jim Houghton used to do a weekly "Conserv-a- tips" cartoon for the now - defunct Grapevine and starting up something again was a good idea. Adjourned about 9:20 pm. Submitted by Betsy Darlington MINUTES CONSERVATION ADVISORY COUNCIL Meeting of March 13, 1995 PRESS r. Judy Jones, Betsy Darlington, Rob Shapiro, Cisela Wildes, Dan Hoffman; CC liaison Rick Gray; BPW liaison Jill Tripp; Guests: Daryl Anderson, Barbara Ebert, Pam Mackesey 1. February Minutes: approved unanimously. 2. Jill reported from BPW: a resolution is being prepared for the BPW regarding City watershed lands- -what should be purchased with water fund money and what with money from some other source. Dan asked if the "water fund" money she spoke of was in fact the fund taken out of the water budget and set aside by Common Council for purchases in the watershed area. Jill confirmed this but said that, despite Common Council's action, there was probably not support on the current Board for purchases with that money downstream of the current intake pipe. The BPW resolution will state what criteria should be used when deciding what to purchase with that fund. The work of a special Town -City committee re watershed acquisitions was mentioned, including its work at establishing acquisition criteria and prioritizing certain parcels for purchase with the fund set aside by Common Council. Pam said that Council is committed to making certain purchases, and one in particular will happen as soon as a price is agreed upon with the seller. It was also mentioned that everything upstream of Van Atta's Dam is City watershed land since the Van Atta's pond is an emergency supply, and actually was used a few years ago when the pipe from the reservoir broke. Jill was asked if all Board members knew this, and she thought probably not. Jill also reported that Larry Fabbroni is about to start a large study of the City's entire water supply system, including cost of upgrading vs. cost of switching to Bolton Pt. Jill was asked about the bridge painting schedule. This won't be set until price of paints comes down. She will urge DPW to paint at a time when nesting birds will not be disturbed. 3. Judy reported from SWAC (Solid Waste): committee is way down in numbers and needs more members. Problem has to do with how much authority /influence, if any, the committee has. 4. CAC's Annual Report draft was reviewed and changes made. 5. Betsy reported that Maria Coles had attended the meeting with Maurice Hinchey and had asked our question of him: "What will be your response to the Job Creation Bill, and what are its prospects for passage, in its current form? Our understanding is that this bill is really a smokescreen for eliminating a number of environmental protections (clean air, clean water, etc.) that the American public has fought hard for." Maria being absent, Daryl reported on the meeting: Hinchey said the bill had passed the House last week! Earlier, Teresa Alt had asked a somewhat different question about the same bill. By the second time around, Hinchey seemed to have a better understanding of what the issues were. 6. Rick Gray reported from Common Council that our resolution re a slight change in our charter is on the agenda. Also, the Town and City are looking at the entire City waterfront, in connection with the Canal project. 7. Inlet Valley: it was proposed that the CAC recommend to the City that the City, Town, and County, and maybe the State, purchase the Wal -Mart site for a park. The wetlands could be restored (USFWS will do this for free), and ball fields could be towards the front. Since the City has already purchased land adjacent to the Wal -Mart site, and since the City has already designated all but about 10 acres of the Wal -Mart parcel for acquisition, such a proposal would simply add another roughly 10 acres to the original Council proposal. Council's original proposal, members felt, was a great idea, and this would further enhance it. The total park would be about 60 -70 acres, we think. Wetlands are not only important in their own right but are a significant draw for many people and especially birdwatchers. Such a park would be a real asset to the City and a fine complement to Buttermilk Park. It was agreed that we should first propose this idea to the Parks Commission and the EMC, and see if they would sign onto it. Cisela said that she thought there would be so much support for the idea that raising the necessary funds, or at least some significant portion of them, in the community was quite likely. Everyone agreed that the idea is a positive proposal and would help the landowners who want to sell their land. Betsy will talk to the Parks Commission and the EMC, and will write up a proposal, send it to all CAC members for review, and we will discuss it further at the April meeting. 8. Betsy said she thought we should have a liaison to the Parks Commission again. Although we have one from the Commission, she is not able to get to our meetings. We need a closer connection with them. Everyone thought Maria would make an excellent liaison; Betsy will ask her. Betsy also said we should have a liaison to the MPO, but there were no takers. 9. Environmental review committee for next three months will be Rob, Betsy, and - -if she agrees- -Maria. Cisela is going to Sweden on March 15 for four months and so will not be able to do her final month on the committee. 10. Betsy brought the CAC up to date on the controversy surrounding the location of the FW -1 zone and the problems the City faces in resolving it since some key documents have been lost. 11. Rick Gray has been unable to reach Michael Lach re Unique Nat. Areas work, but will keep trying. Adjourned at 9 :05 pm Submitted by Betsy Darlington CONSERVATION ADVISORY COUNCIL MINUTES for Meeting of April 10, 1995 1. March Minutes were approved unanimously. 2. Our proposal for the new SW park was discussed. Some changes were made in Betsy's draft, most notably excluding the commercial zone from the recommendation until the Planning Board finishes its deliberations on Wal -Mart. After Betsy revises the draft, Dan Hoffman (when available) and she will take the recommendation to the EMC, the Parks Commission, and the Town of Ithaca Conservation Board. 3. Unique Natural Area: Our new volunteer, Michael Lash, took a job in Mass. and so won't be able to help after all. Lacking either a volunteer or a staff person to deal with this project (more carefully delineating the boundaries of the UNA's so the City can designate them Critical Environmental Areas), we decided to put this project on hold, at least for now. The Town of Ithaca has some CEA's; how did they deal with the problem of the boundaries? 4. Peter and Betsy brought people up to date on the Wal -Mart review. 5. Peter McDonald announced that he has decided to resign from the EMC. This lives the City without a representative. 6. As we requested, Common Council changed the City Code so that our "charge" conforms to the City's Environmental Quality Review Ordinance. 7. Adjourned about 9:15 ( ?). - -Betsy Darlington, Chair CONSERVATION ADVISORY COUNCIL MINUTES Meeting of May 8, 1995 Present: Rob Shapiro, Paul Salon, Peter McDonald, Betsy Darlington, Judy Jones; CC liaison Rick Gray, BPW liaison Jill Tripp; Guests Brian Eden, Kara Hagadorn, City Forester Andy Hillman 1. April Minutes were approved unanimously. 2. BPW: Jill had nothing to report. Common Council: Rick told is that the Town of Ithaca will be buying the two tax parcels across the Inlet from the Wal -Mart site. The parcels had been about to be sold at the County tax sale. 3. Brian Eden (Citizens Environmental Coalition) told us his concerns regarding sanding and grinding lead paint from house exteriors without taking any precautions to protect residents or neighbors. One recent example was near the intersection of Court and Cayuga Sts. Lots of kids live in that neighborhood and play on the IACC playground. Nationwide, one in 6 kids have elevated lead levels, and its the number one health hazard among kids. NY State doesn't have a certification program for painters. OSHA has regs., but they aren't enforced, and occupational exposure is a major problem. Various options include education, public or private nuisance actions, enforcement of OSHA regs., and a local law. State law does not prohibit local laws on this from being stricter than the State's. Judy asked if Brian had talked with Nancy Potter at Co -op. Extension; she also is working on the problem. There was consensus that the CAC's booklet, while it may have helped, was not nearly sufficient. Education as been tried by others, too, including the County Health Dept. But unsafe practices still abound. There also was consensus that perhaps it was time to start talking about local legislation. Brian will look into this and come back to the CAC as soon as he has enough information to recommend a course of action. 4. City tree - cutting: Kara and Peter related the recent cutting in their Fall Creek neighborhood of 14 large trees. Kara showed pictures of the stump and various sections of the tree that was cut in front of her house, and said that Nina Bassuk was unable to give her clear criteria on why that tree was cut. As Kara pointed out, all that was visible to our untrained eyes was a very small amount of rot on one side of the tree. Kara and Andy Hillman have been discussing how to deal with "problem" trees in the future, and Andy said that STAC is looking into better notification methods. It was agreed that more thorough notification of the neighborhood before a large tree is cut was important, and that people should have an opportunity to discuss particular cases with Andy. Kara suggested having a written evaluation of each tree, and Andy said he is hoping to do that. Unfortunately, the realities of the bidding process mean that many trees must be cut all at once instead of being spread out over several years. It was suggested that replacement trees be planted a year or more in advance of a tree's being cut, whenever possible. Also that if a large number must be cut in one neighborhood, the cutting be spread out over several years. Concern was expressed by members that a lot of the trees being planted under wires are small species, although many large trees currently have wires running through their branches. Andy explained why that can't continue. Peter agreed to call Nina and ask her to send us a draft of STAC's notification proposal so we can lend our support to it. 5. Betsy reported on two concerns from Dooley Kiefer regarding Cornell's lake source cooling proposal: the effect of changes in the internal wave motions in the lake; and how to deal with the fact that the lake water is a resource of all the citizens of the state -- should any party withdrawing water and returning it at a different temp. be required to pay for this extraction? 6. Peter will work on refining the SW Park proposal draft and rewriting it in the form of a resolution. He will then get it to Betsy for last minute changes, and take it to the EMC meeting for endorsement. Adjourned at 9:05 PM - -Betsy Darlington NEXT MEETING: MONDAY, JUNE 12, 1995, 7:30 PM, CITY HALL C/ 4V111 Uj CONSERVATION ADVISORY COUNCIL City of Ithaca Minutes of Meeting of October 10, 1995 Present: B. Darlington, R. Gray, D. Hoffman, P. Salon, R. Shapiro, M. Violette, C. Wildes, D. Scott (Guest) 1. Donna Scott of the Finger Lakes Ecology Association made a presentation of the Association's activities and position on the question of lake level control by the Canal Authority. The presentation included historical information, potential ecological impacts resulting from changes in the lake level "rule ", and a portrayal of the political context of the issues. 2. Review of September minutes, accepted with no changes. 3. Liaison reports: none. 4. Violette reported on attendance of the citizen's meeting of October 4 at the Dewitt Baptist Church, and the Common Council meeting of that evening. He reported that the Planning Committee of the Council has proposed a change to streamline the Site Development Plan Review process, which will result in some projects being excluded from CAC review. R. Gray commented that this proposal is still being worked out, and that there will be a public meeting on November 1 to review proposed changes. It was noted that the Director of Planning would have discretion for review of projects that fell between described thresholds. It was also noted that this change in review responsibility was developed without the input from the CAC. It was decided that the Chair will send a letter pointing out that this change will result in a loss of checks and balances in the process, and that CAC has not been a source of delay in the past. The letter should also note that the CAC expects to review the LEAF mentioned in one of the proposed resolutions, should that resolution be enacted. 5. Wal -Mart FEIS. Members discussed the recently released FEIS for Wal -Mart. It was voted that the Chair write a letter to the Planning Board stating the CAC's position that the plans presented by Wal -Mart in the FEIS are unacceptable. It was also noted that the Planning Board should not be recommending a plan ( "Sample Mitigation etc.) that Wal -Mart has not proposed, and the FEIS is highly critical of all plans presented. Members were encouraged to attend the October 24th Planning Board meeting. 6. Meeting adjourned. Next Meeting: November 13, 7.30 PM; EAF Committee, 7.00 PM CONSERVATION ADVISORY COUNCIL City of Ithaca Minutes of Meeting of November 13, 1995 Present: B. Darlington, R. Gray, D. Hoffman, J.Jones, P. Salon, R. Shapiro, M. Violette, ) 1. Minutes of October accepted. 2. John Schroeder presented background on the proposed changes to Article 276, and answered questions about these changes. He commented that the purpose of the changes were to actually bring more projects under review, rather than fewer, because the current system excludes certain projects. However, simply lowering the thresholds within the current structure would add too many minor projects. SPR procedures will remain in effect, so that review can be occasioned by interested parties as well as by the formal process itself. In general, projects which would be expedited by the new procedures in 276 are not currently being reviewed. Hoffman commented that the prcedent of excluding CAC from the procedure may have unforeseen negative consequences. Violette will write memo to the Planning Committee to the effect that an acceptable compromise would be if CAC has input on the "controversy" aspect of review. 2. It was noted that the city now owns three parcels, including the Baker parcel, in the SW Access area. 3. Gray noted that the council is considering a zoning change in the area that WalMart had proposed to develop, as part of a discussion about placing upper limits on sizes of development projects. 4. Several suggestions were made about bringing new members into the CAC. These included placing an ad in Green Star, contacting the mayor - elect, using the FLEA newsletter, contacting the Cayuga Bird Club and other local nature organizations. 5. It was decided that Violette should collect copies of each organization's resolution endorsing the SW Access area proposal and forward them to the Planning Board, and commending them for the acquisition of another parcel. 6. Darlingto suggested a question to Maurice Hinchey during his visit on the 21st about ways in which his constituency is being informed about (negative) environmenetal actions in Washington. 7. Darlington noted that new standards for rural roads, in particular width, have been promulgated, which should be placed in the CAC files for future refernce. 8. Gray will check out status of previous resolution of CAC concerning zoning changes 9. 9.30 meeting adjourned. Next Meeting: December 11, 7.30 PM; EAF Committee, 7.00 PM CONSERVATION ADVISORY COUNCIL City of Ithaca December 1995, Minutes Present: Violette, Shapiro, Jones, Cisela W., Maria C., Hoffman, Darlington, Salon, Gray 1. November minutes approved with change: J. Jones was not present at Nov. meeting 2. Discussion of expiring /resigning members and finding new ones: a) leaving - MacDonald, Shapiro, Cisela W. b) possibilities Barbara Ebert - she stopped by and would like to serve Darryl Anderson - Martin will contact Alyssa Wolfson - Martin will contact Elizabeth Dissin Martha Fisher David Klein Kara Hagedorn - Paul will call, if Darryl unavail. Lynn Anderson Jill Brantley - Maria will call Kathy Yoseison - Maria will call? Michael Horigan - Paul will contact 3. New EAF subcommittee will be Betsy, Judy, Martin (Maria will be temporary fill -in for ( ?Judy ?) 4. Annual report: Martin will summarize CAC's activities from the year's minutes. Suggested that this year's and last year's annual report be sent to the new Mayor. 5. Jan. 96 CAC mtg. cancelled 6. Next mtg. to be 2/12/96 7. Suggested Martin invite new Mayor to Feb CAC mtg. 8. Liaison reports - a) CC (Rick Gray) - may be several months before viewshed overlay zoning/ CAA's can be discussed in Planning Committee b) Dan suggests Martin write to new Planning Committee chair that we are concerned about these topics, perhaps invite new chair to come hear our rationale 9. Misc.: a) Judy concerned about existing DOT road projects in the area - are they being conducted in an environmentally responsible way, following the procedures that were specified when approval was granted? i.e. sedimentation control. b) Cisela concerned that salt used on roads may be mined from deep mines, contacted radon, therefore radioactive. Judy says that radioactivity could not result from radon contact but will discuss with a colleague at CU.