HomeMy WebLinkAboutCB Minutes 2001-03-01 Town of Ithaca Conservation Board
March 1, 2001
Final Minutes
Present: Donald Weir -Acting Chairperson, Clifford Blizard, Lenore Durkee, Jon Meigs,
John Yntema, Elizabeth deProsse, Elissa Wolfson
Guest: Joe Francis
Staff: Sue Ritter
There were no persons to be heard.
Chair Report: EcoVillage is preparing a draft General Environmental Impact Statement
(DGEIS) for their building expansion plans and re-zoning request. Site plans for the
second phase of Eco Village, know as SONG, along with the DGEIS are tentatively
scheduled to be submitted to the Town in March.
Cell towers: A cell tower company is exploring the possibility of co-locating a
tower on the WVBR radio tower on Hungerford Hill. The tower would be completely
rebuilt, and the cell tower would possibly be 20 feet higher than the present one. They
are also exploring the possibility of locating an additional tower in the western part of
Town, on Mecklenburg Rd. They have been in contact with the Eddy's concerning this
possibility. Planning Department staff have advised representatives of the cell tower
company to contact the Tompkins County Planning Department, and consider co-locating
with the towers proposed for the new upgraded "911" system.
Cornell is considering a+270 space parking lot in the location of the former
Oxley Polo Barn, and immediately adjacent to Cascadilla Creek. We will wait to see
what they propose.
Chair Report: Don distributed several newpaper articles that Barney had wanted CB
members to have.
Minutes: Meeting minutes for the February 1 meeting, under Chair Report; correct to
read "It was noted that the Town of Danby was having a meeting regarding sensible land
use at the same time as the CB Meeting. "Minutes were accepted as corrected.
Discussion of Water Resource Protection Ordinance:
Various comments were expressed about the ordinance, some of these comments include:
the ordinance is poorly organized and needs a better introduction and more definitions;
incorporating a map into the ordinance would be preferable to trying to define what a
watercourse is, though some sort of flexibility would be needed if we discover new
creeks. [ the GIS coverage developed by Tompkins County, using NYSEG info, appeared
too detailed for this purpose because it also shows road side ditches and the like.]
Discussion and Questions: Is the creek spring fed or a watershed creek? Is it ephemeral?
Are there any other groups doing this in our watershed? Could hydrology students be
sent out to identify or create a parameter?
There should be a better definition for the removal of trees in the buffer- clear cutting/vs
selection tree cutting,perhaps a percentage? Can we protect rights to a view shed?
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Why do we want this ordinance? In a new development we may want to ask for a
Riparian Buffer.
Lenore volunteered to re-organize this material and send it out promptly for our
comments.
Don will ask Professor Rebecca Schneider if she has any students interested in this topic.
Meeting was adjourned at 8:50. Submitted by Elizabeth deProsse, Secretary
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