HomeMy WebLinkAboutCB Minutes 2010-12-02 Town of Ithaca Conservation Board Minutes
December 2, 2010
Final Minutes
Present: Diane Conneman, Chair; James Hamilton, Jon Meigs, Tony Ingraham, Eva
Hoffmann, Kristine Shaw, Larissa Smith, Aaron Donato.
Staff: Susan Ritter
1. Chair Conneman summarized an e-mail received from Elizabeth Sanders, a resident of
Forest Home, about the street lights installed with the recent traffic-calming bumps in
roads entering Forest Home.
Ms.Sanders' concern was that the added lighting would have negative effects on birds and
other fauna, disrupting their normal nocturnal activity patterns, possibly to their harm.
She also felt the added lights were superfluous and excessive, given current lighting
throughout the hamlet, and asked for the CB's consideration of possible
action/intervention with the Town to ameliorate or mitigate the impacts she referred to.
After brief discussion, Ms. Conneman asked CB members to give the matter further
consideration, and to let her know if they feel it warrants CB action; she will defer
response to Ms. Sanders, pending member response.
2. Mr. Ingraham stated that the Town of Ulysses is drafting a ban on fracking, and asked
if anyone had information on it. Ms. Ritter replied that Ulysses residents were doing this,
not the Town; there are issues of local vs. State authority on control of fracking;
localities can do relatively little, such as control of usage of municipal roads, which
involve municipal maintenance and funding.
Mr. Hamilton noted that the Toxics Targeting website currently had a petition on
fracking.
3. Chair Conneman reported that she and Mr. Ingraham were scheduled to meet with
Town Director of Public Works to talk about the CB proposal for Scenic Resource
viewpoint signs, and get his feedback.
Ms. Ritter reviewed the status of current developments and projects of interest. Holly
Creek will be coming in for Final Site Plan ok. The Holochuck draft FEIS is expected for
Planning Board decision; the document may be put on the Town website; it may be open
to further CB input. The Goldenrod development plan has been revised, and neighbors
are anxious to have opportunity for timely input to the process.
4. Mr. Hamilton wanted the November Minutes to reflect that he had urged CB members
to be on the lookout for possible nominees for the Fischer Award. Approval of the
minutes was deferred to January in order to check on corrections to the Scenic Resources
Committee report to the Conservation Board.
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5. Katie Stoner, Sustainability Planner for the Town and the Town of Dryden, described
the Sustainability Planning Framework she has been developing. The project is aimed at
goals of reducing energy consumption and increasing energy efficiency among the
Town's operations and facilities, and integration of sustainability considerations and
measures into the Town's planning and decision making. This is part of a statewide effort,
in which many local governments are participating. She noted that the Town's focus in
this is energy use and greenhouse gas emissions; Dryden's focus is somewhat different.
Because some of the Town's energy-using infrastructure is integrated with County and
City facilities, all these entities are cooperating in the effort. She stated that the Town
wants to use the proj ect's results, ultimately, to set the example for initiatives that the
entire community could follow.
Mr. Ingraham urged that some actions be identified that could be subject to short-term
implementation; the issues involved need attention and action now, not sometime later.
Ms. Stoner replied that this is essentially the planning effort for sustainability;
implementation strategy and schedule will be determined following this stage.
6. Ms. Conneman stated that she feels the forestry regulation language amendments to the
Conservation Zoning section of the Town's zoning ordinance as currently proposed aren't
too loose. Discussion followed about sections of the Town of Gardiner's ordinance,
which might present worthwhile alternative language and provisions. Ms. Shaw said
Gardiner's permitting process looks rigorous, and might be worth copying.
Mr. Ingraham suggested that our Code Enforcement Officer contact Gardiner's to discuss
their procedures and experience, and get a sense of their effectiveness. Ms. Conneman
said that ours would be a blend of this current draft and Gardiner's good points.
7. ERC committee report-none.
SRC - comments on the Scenic Resource Inventory/Analysis need to be consolidated so
that they can be forwarded for consideration by the Planning Bd. and Town Bd. Chair
Conneman and Mr. Ingraham will be meeting with Jim Weber, the new Director of
Public Works, and Rich Schoch, Town Parks Supervisor, to familiarize them with our
proposal for the Lakeshore Park sign, and get their input.
Fischer Award - Mr. Hamilton called for nominations from CB members. Mr. Donato
suggested that TCAT might be considered, for the beneficial effects of public
transportation on reducing pollution and GHGs.
EMC - Ms. Shaw reported that the EMC has drafted a resolution 'Recommending that
Tompkins County and Municipalities sign a Letter of Intent to purchase Wind Power
from the Enfield Energy Wind Project' which this Board might want to support.
Six Mile Creek VMP - Mr. Hamilton reported that the monitoring results show that
roughly half of the silt/suspended solids load carried by the creek above the 60-ft. dam is
deposited upstream of the dam, which indicates that the load on the lake isn't as great as it
might be.
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NAC - It has been discovered that a person (dubbed the 'Invasives Vigilante') has been
clandestinely cutting undesirable invasive plants - including honeysuckle, barberry and
others -within the Six Mile Creek Natural Area. This unauthorized activity has extended
to girdling Norway Maples along the South Hill RecWay; the Town should remove
girdled trees before they die and pose hazards to RecWay users by falling across the path.
Comprehensive Plan - Ms. Conneman reported that the effort is getting closer to focusing
on land use and land use control; discussion continues on setting goals.
8. Membership and Officers: Ms. Conneman has agreed to continue as Chair; Mr.
Hamilton will continue as Vice Chair for 2011. Members are urged to recruit potential
new members.
Minutes submitted by Jon Meigs
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