HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019.11.12 PAB Final Minutes1
PLANNING ADVISORY BOARD
Tuesday, November 12, 2019
Beverly Livesay Conference Room, Human Services Building
320 W. State/MLK Jr. Street, Ithaca, NY 14850
FINAL MEETING MINUTES
Members Attending:
Guests: None
Call to Order: Dave Herrick called the meeting to order at 4:03 pm.
Agenda Review/Changes: None
Approval of Draft Minutes for October 8
Action: Fernando de Aragón made a motion to accept the October 2019 PAB meeting minutes. Andy
Zepp seconded the motion, which was approved by the members present.
Report: Comprehensive Plan Measures – Joan Jurkowich
Joan Jurkowich invited members to share questions and thoughts on the list of Comprehensive Plan
Measures included in the November agenda packet. Discussion covered such topics as issues with
accuracy of methodology used to track housing units, data on gasoline sold in Tompkins County, tracking
off-campus student housing, job losses recorded in the County, and adjusting language for the proposed
and in-progress priority trails section.
Discussion: Natural Infrastructure Program Revised Guidelines – Scott Doyle
Members offered feedback to Scott Doyle on the one-page revised guidelines for the Natural
Infrastructure Program. He will meet with the Natural Infrastructure Program Subcommittee of the PAB
later this week before sending the document to the legislative Planning, Energy, and Environmental
Quality Committee. Comments included the need to clarify in the document language that this is a land
acquisition program with a focus on habitat connectivity as well as downstream flooding and
sedimentation prevention and mitigation. New guidelines seek to build in more flexibility in the use of
funds and reiterate that program is open to nonprofits, higher education institutions, municipalities, and
other partners.
Presentation: Draft Strategic Tourism Plan, 2021-2027 – Nick Helmholdt
After giving some background on the history of the County Tourism Program, Nick Helmholdt went over
the process for developing the plan, using the highlights document he distributed as a guide. He also
Representation Name Representation
Martha Armstrong E Economic Development Monika Roth P Agriculture
Joe Bowes P Housing Leslie Schill P Education #2
Tim Carey P Education #1 Kathy Schlather P Human Services
John Czamanske E At-Large Andy Zepp P Land Preserv./Public Land Mgmt.
Fernando de
Aragón
P Transportation Deborah Dawson P Associate Member
Yamila Fournier P Built Environment Dooley Kiefer A Associate Member
David Herrick P Facilities/Infrastructure Others Present
Rod Howe
P
Historical/Cultural
Resources
Katie Borgella P Commissioner
David Kay E Local Planning (urban) Scott Doyle P Associate Planner
Anna Kelles HED/PEEQ Nick Helmholdt P Tourism Program Director
G. Lincoln Morse P Business Joan Jurkowich P Planning Administrator
Gay Nicholson P At-Large Kristin McCarthy P Administrative Assistant
C.J. Randall P Local Planning (non-urban) Megan McDonald P Deputy Commissioner
Marcus Riehl P Natural Environment
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focused on the importance of the Visitor Profile Study, which is included as an appendix in the plan, and
detailed the Next Steps section. Discussion touched on such points as combining the 15 focus areas to
create intersectionality; using data from Visitor Profile Study to re-evaluate spending patterns; multi-year
funding; public perception of funding decisions such as those tied to the Arts and Culture Organizational
Development program; and diversity and inclusion initiatives.
Commissioner’s Report – Katie Borgella
• Tompkins County was awarded $900,000 in the second round of funding for the Enterprise
Foundation’s Community Land Trust Capacity Building Initiative. The grant will further the work of
Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services (INHS) to provide affordable for-sale housing in our
community. INHS recently hired someone to focus on Community Housing Trust projects.
• Latest round of Community Housing Development Fund (CHDF) included three applications with a
total of 163 affordable housing units. All were approved. County Legislature approved contributing an
additional $100,000 to the CHDF for the last two years of the Memorandum of Understanding. City of
Ithaca is also contributing an additional $100,000 in 2020, and Cornell University has pledged an
additional $200,000 to be split between 2020 and 2021. The County Legislature also approved a
$300,000 contingency fund for this program to support 9% low-income housing tax credit projects.
• Incremental Development Alliance is wrapping up its work with the County. IncDev representatives
presented a day-long workshop for local officials and planners where they focused on specific zones
in Village of Trumansburg and the hamlet of Varna in the Town of Dryden, highlighting the challenges
local zoning and approval processes pose to development there.
• County Legislature adopted the amended Tompkins County Comprehensive Plan and adopted the
2020 County Budget, along with accepting $70,000 from the Park Foundation to fund the Business
Energy Advisors Program.
• Katie updated the group on membership recruitment and renewal. Ben Sandberg, executive director
of The History Center, will be recommended for the Cultural/Historic Preservation seat vacated by
Rod Howe. All other current members up for renewal (Fournier, Herrick, Kay, Riehl) will be
recommended for reappointment. Recruitment for the Energy seat is on hold until plans are finalized
for the new iteration of the County’s Energy Task Force. Martha Armstrong is retiring from TCAD and
announced her resignation from PAB and other County advisory boards.
Member Reports
• Ag District 1 is under review. Monika Roth will report to PAB at a future meeting.
• LawNY will talk about new Fair Housing Law at BorgWarner tomorrow (Nov. 13).
• Gay Nicholson updated the group on HeatSmart Tompkins activities.
• Andy distributed the Autumn 2019 issue of the Finger Lakes Land Trust’s newsletter (“The Land
Steward”). The cover story features the recently launched New Five Point Initiative to Protect Water.
• Tompkins County Water Resources Council is co-hosting a stream buffer protection training workshop
on November 21.
Adjournment: Chair Dave Herrick adjourned the meeting at 5:07 pm.