HomeMy WebLinkAboutCB Minutes 2007-07-05 Town of Ithaca Conservation Board
July 5, 2007
Final Minutes
PRESENT: Chris Benedict, Diane Conneman, Lenore Durkee, James Hamilton, Eva
Hoffmann, Brent Katzmann, Jon Meigs, Larry Sallinger
STAFF: Sue Ritter
Persons To Be Heard:
Adrian Williams, Stefan Wagner, Larry Fabbroni (Engineer for Rocco Lucente)
Initial discussion focused on the UNA 106 which overlays the boundaries of the
Briarwood II subdivision proposal. The original Sapsucker Woods Sanctuary UNA did
not include land below the Sanctuary. The 1999 revisions to the UNA document
extended the boundaries for UNA 106 to include the Lucente property to the south.
According to Mr. Fabbroni, a subsequent conversation he had with botanist, Robert
Wesley, indicated that the boundary for UNA 106 would not have been extended below
Sanctuary Dr., had they (the botanists) been aware of the recent housing development
in this location. A number of CB members visited the site with Mr. Lucente and
biologist Bernie Carr in 2005. Mr. Fabbroni added that the current state of the Lucente
land (i.e. fill piles, timber harvesting, general land disturbance) would not seem to
warrant its UNA status. Additionally, development in the area, along with roads such
as Sanctuary Dr., and Sapsucker Woods Rd., dissect the land and impede its ability to
provide a wildlife corridor.
Member Concerns:
None
Chair and Coordinator Reports:
Chair: Diane provided an article that stated that small scale wind energy projects will
be moving ahead in the area. Additionally, agriculture future markets have placed corn
prices higher due to the increase in demand for ethanol.
Coordinator: The upcoming meeting of the Town Board will focus on the drainage
evaluation in the NE, as related to the Briarwood II subdivision proposal, performed by
engineering consultants, Milone and MacBroom. CB members were encouraged to
attend. Additionally, a Town Board committee has been working on issues and
possible zoning language/requirements pertaining to the proposed Carrowmoor
development, off Mecklenburg Road. Some members expressed concern regarding
increased traffic as a result of this sizeable development. Jon asked for a status on the
Manly Mart expansion on South Hill. Sue reported that the Planning Board essentially
asked the consultant to come back with a better site plan, as well as additional details.
Business:
Minutes: June 7, 2007 meeting minutes were approved as corrected.
Consideration of new CB member
The interview committee recommended Mike Goettel for the CB vacant position. Eva
moved, James second. All present members supported the nomination. The Town
Board will consider the nomination, and hopefully appoint Mr. Goettel at their August
meeting.
Stream Setback Law
Diane reported that Sue had presented information concerning "bankfull"
measurements to the COC, and thought it would be useful to CB members too. Sue
distributed information she had obtained from a Vermont state Internet site, concerning
identifying the "bankfull" stage and guidelines for determining how to measure a
stream setback/buffer. Sue explained that Vermont had addressed the problem of how
to measure a stream buffer by providing these useful documents to assist persons in the
field. In the Town of Ithaca, these guidelines may be useful for measuring the setback
only for the larger streams. For smaller streams, the use of the centerline as a starting
point for measuring the setback width may be more useful. Sue supplied some photos
of Coy Glen Creek which outlined the difficulty in determining seasonal stream widths.
Further discussion will follow in an upcoming CB meeting.
Briarwood
The board discussed the documents submitted from Town resident William
Sonnenstuhl, which included a "hydrological perspective" from CU hydrologist, Todd
Walter, and new information concerning the Sapsucker Woods Sanctuary UNA from
Nancy Ostman, Robert Wesley and Mark Whitmore. Lenore outlined some concerns
regarding the geography/hydrology of the site to hold/maintain runoff. The assessment
by Todd Walter, was then discussed. The study by Malone and McBroom (a
presentation of these findings is scheduled for the 7/9/07 TB meeting) was to: 1.)
evaluate current site, 2.) meet with parties involved, and 3.) study the impact that
hydrology has on development in the area. The majority of their work was done via
map reading, and did include some site evaluation. Their work was purely
hydrological, not biologically based. James felt that current Sanctuary Dr. does not
disrupt biological corridor, whereas Jon stated that the area is not currently a corridor.
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Brent followed by asking whether the applicant has provided any information
regarding the impact the development may have on groundwater in the area. After
some further discussion the CB agreed that a board viewpoint cannot be made until
further information is supplied. It was agreed that at the next CB meeting a standpoint
would be generated, but that members needed more information to do so. Members
requested that they be provided with the documents submitted to the Planning Board
for the SEQR consideration of the Briarwood project, in order to compare the new
UNA/hydrologic material, with the original submission. Larry followed by asking
whether the Town has a plan to regulate water regardless of the development. Sue
informed the Board that there is not a current plan.
Adrian Williams provided comments regarding a letter in April which was
written in reaction to PB meeting in 2006. He outlined the confusion that surrounds
designation of UNA 106 and the subsequent impact that the development will have on
the UNA. Larry Fabbroni added that the current state of the land may limit its
ecological importance. He referred to independent reports regarding biological
evaluation and took the viewpoint that development will only benefit the area and local
homeowners.
Regular Reports and Updates:
ERC: Manly's Mighty Mart expansion plan was provided to the ERC, but it did not
warrant any red flags, as the area of expansion is within the current building site.
Another project provided to the ERC included Kingdom's Hall, but no major concerns
were raised with that project. The Cornell Merrill Family Sailing Center plan is a major
change from the previous Remington Inn proposal for the site and results in less
impacts including visual impact on the lake front. Jon expressed a concern regarding
the proposed amendment to the Lakeside Zone and whether it was conceived in
isolation of the Center proposal, during the proposal process, or after the project was
proposed. Sue added that language modification has been in coordination with Cornell
and Town staff as a result of the development proposal. Jon further added that any
future amendment should be more "general" and apply to all of the zone rather than
"spot-zoning".
SCENIC RESOURCES COMMITTEE: Draft report generated and will be finalized soon.
Next step will be to put together a report to the CB, which will be voted upon by the CB
as to whether it is ready to be submitted to the Town Board.
TOMPKINS COUNTY EMC: Next meeting is July 11th. Lakefront residential zone will
be discussed, particularly regarding proposed law for docks.
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SIX MILE CREEK VOLUNTEER MONITORING PROGRAM: Bi-monthly meeting on
June 251h occurred after a sampling. The water sampling occurred after a rain event on
June 201h, which was preceded by a period of little rain. What resulted were high levels
of E. coli in the entire creek. Levels were detected above safe swimming levels. High
levels of silt were also found in the Wildflower Preserve and Plain Street bridge site.
Ten new volunteers were trained in water sampling, but the BMI training fell through.
CITY OF ITHACA NATURAL AREAS COMMISSION: None.
Other Business: Fischer Award portion of website was updated. It was agreed to
cancel the CB August meeting.
Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 9:25PM.
Minutes generated by Chris Benedict
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