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Home My WebLink AboutCAC Minutes - 05_22_18Town of Danby Conservation Advisory Council Minutes Page 1 of 4 Town of Danby Conservation Advisory Council Minutes of monthly meeting on Tuesday, May 22, 2018 Danby Town Hall, 1830 Danby Road, Danby, New York. Council Members present: Matt Ulinski (chair), Joel Gagnon, Clare Fewtrell, Don Schaufler , Ruth Sherman, Mary Woodsen Council Members absent: Bill Evans Others present: Elizabeth Keokosky (secretary), Ronda Roaring (Danby resident), Jack Shawley (Highway Department) Meeting opened at 7:06 pm Agenda Review (Additions or Deletions) - ADDED • Jack Shawley discussing local law to amend zoning ordinance (as it relates to timber harvesting) • Ronda describing upcoming event at Cooper’s house on Updike Rd, and if CAC wants to participate • Matt presenting poster on large trees Public Comments/Privilege of the Floor (later referred to as PoF) • Ronda Roaring complimented CAC on finally getting Agenda up on Calendar. Secretary explained that Jordie van Ham had taken over job (as he does for Pamela Goddard and Town board agenda calendar entry) since town website building program does not work from any Mac browsers for some sections of Calendar. Approve Minutes MOTION • Moved that CAC approves the minutes of April 23, 2018. • Moved by Gagnon, Seconded by Schaufler. The motion passed. • In Favor: Matt Ulinski (chair), Joel Gagnon, Clare Fewtrell, Don Schaufler , Ruth Sherman, • Abstained: Mary Woodsen (not present at that meeting) Action Items 1) Town response to conditions on Deputron Hollow Rd and Logging Highway Department Deputy Superintendent Jack Shawley reported to the committee on the continuing status of the Deputron Hollow Rd logging situation. Santo Oliver, the logger, is reported to have 6-8 more loads. Town of Danby Conservation Advisory Council Minutes Page 2 of 4 Equipment failure keeps pushing the finish date forward, but, weather permitting, he should be out of there in about a week. Highway department has a signed affidavit in writing about what he has committed to fix. NY DEC is making him put in water bars (After-note from Don: I don’t believe the DEC can make people do this on their own land) - which are often put on the skid trail leading into the landing for water diversions. (After-note: this is part of a DEC guide for Best Management Practices for Water Quality - https://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/lands_forests_pdf/dlfbmpguide.pdf ) Shawley also needed feedback from CAC on the “Local Law to Amend the Zoning Ordinance Related to Timber Harvesting in the Town of Danby, New York”, a new document that C.J Randall, the Town Planner, has put together, and copies were handed out to the committee. Concerns centered around 1) the size – too long and complex to guarantee that it would be read – and 2) why a logging law should be in a zoning ordinance. But it was explained that this was just a starting-point draft that C.J. had lifted from logging laws for other local towns. (After-note: In the April 9, 2018 Danby Town Board Minutes, it was recorded that C.J. had said that because of the exemption for timber harvesting in the Clean Air and Water Act the only control available to a municipality is through zoning. She clarified the difference between a Conservation Easement and a Conservation Zone. An Easement may include agricultural activity including timber harvest. A Conservation Zone can have very strong restrictions.) There was some discussion on the common problem of people buying land to flip it over, strip the timber, and resell it. This is possible because the value of the timber is not fully reflected in the sale price that the land can be sold for. The parcel being logged is owned by Aaron St. John and is 30 acres assessed at $48,000. He has offered to sell land which is near (adjacent?) to another parcel Danby owns on Deputron Hollow Rd, but that was not an option the town is financially positioned to pursue at this time. Shawley said that the Highway Department supports the Draft 100%. Currently logger’s contracts can be for up to 2 years. A year with a renewable provision would provide more leverage to protect town. Concern that loggers would just sidestep rules if they are too onerous or become unenforced because of lack of oversight. The town of Ithaca has had only one applicant last year using their form, which could imply that most people ignore it because they no one appears to enforce it or know about it. Under the current norms of private property if an owner wants to destroy his land, he can. Town of Danby Conservation Advisory Council Minutes Page 3 of 4 Schaufler (a former Manager of Arnot Teaching and Research Forest owned by Cornell University) went over document point by point with other members of CAC to give Shawley requested feedback. He questioned the definitions for words like “clear cut” and “qualified forester” and “cleanup”, indicating that they were at odds with standard industry definitions. (After-note from Don: Should use definitions from the Society of American Foresters’ Dictionary of Forestry.) The group decided it was important to make sure such vague terms were added to definitions section since they can be interpreted multiple ways. Outreach is also critical to make people more aware of conservation values of land and to educate them on sustainable logging practices for their land since storm water runoff is the source of significant harm to rivers and lakes. Looking for something comparable to a construction site guide like EPA’s Storm Water Pollution Protection Plan (SWPPP), but designed for loggers to protect logging site from erosion and runoff. Need buffers around wetland but determining what they are and applying necessary expertise and oversight for all logging situations is not possible with current DEC and municipal staff. (After-note from Don: There are DEC guidelines in the Best ManagementPractices for Water Quality that responsible harvesters follow. There are many factors that affect wetland use and so far little harvesting is allowed there.) (Mary Woodsen left at 8:25 for health reasons) Ulinski asked how we move forward with C.J. to make changes in ordinance. There is a subcommittee on logging issue consisting of Scott Davis (Planning Board), Matt Ulinski (Town Board and CAC), Don Schaufler (CAC), and George Adams (Marsh Rd. resident). Send Comments to Don and Matt. POF: Keokosky asked if CAC ever considered recommending changes that could challenge the nature of private property concepts in favor of the common good. 2) August Event at the Coopers on Updike Rd. PoF given to Roaring to explain what was happening with event planned at Shelley and Ron Cooper’s around a garden party that would hopefully include Andy Zepp of Finger Lakes Land Trust, Committee Chairman Matt Ulinski of CAC for Danby Conservation Easements, and perhaps someone from Nature Conservancy and DEC to talk to audience and define respective easements. Setting would be outdoors in extensive garden surrounding a building designed by modernist architect Richard Meier. She had previously sent an invitation via email. Town of Danby Conservation Advisory Council Minutes Page 4 of 4 The sense of the group was that the CAC did not have capacity to do this as of yet. 3) Ulinski displayed poster he is putting together on large trees in Danby. Drew positive responses and some suggestions. Report updates • Town Management Plans – assignments passed out; people still working on them. • Don Schaufler determining a date in September for his “land” talk. This is being expanded to talks by multiple people on alternate ways of making money from the land. • Still trying to decide on a permanent day-of-the-month meeting change to better facilitate working with Planning Board – made September the month for the change to begin. Matt is sending out possible days. • Joel Gagnon talked to Town Lawyer, Guy Krogh, about Mary Wimsatt gift property but lawyer turned the tables and asked him the same questions back in creating a “Memorandum of Understanding”. Questions on municipal ownership and municipal taxes and creating an “arm’s length” entity. • Don talking to owners of Auto Salvage of Ithaca on Hornbrook Rd. about 100 acres of their non-road front property going into a conservation easement. Especially appropriate since it is an aquifer recharge area for Danby’s principal aquifer. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 9:30 pm _____________________________________________ Submitted by Elizabeth Keokosky (Secretary)