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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2.9.2011 Planning Board MinutesMeeting #18 Planning Board February 9, 2011 Page 1 Village of Cayuga Heights Planning Board Meeting #18 Wednesday, February 9, 2011 Marcham Hall – 7:00pm Minutes Present: (Acting Chair) G. Gillespie, F. Cowett, S. Cunningham Absent: Chair M. Harms, H. Richardson, M. Morris Others: VCH Trustee B. Szekely, VCH Clerk M. Mills, VCH Deputy Clerk A. Korbel, VCH Forester Andre’ Bensadoun Guests: Beth Ganem, Bruce Ganem, Baxter Rhodes Item 1 - Called to order by Acting Chair G. Gillespie at 7:03 pm. Only 2 voting members present. The board was unable to conduct any voting as a quorum was not present. Item 2 – On account of the absence of a quorum, the board was unable to add S. Cunningham as a voting Alternate. Item 3- Acting Chair announcements- G. Gillespie announced that VCH Chair M. Harms has been elected a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects. G. Gillespie will offer a resolution for commendation from the Planning Board to M. Harms at a future meeting. Item 4- Approval of minutes from the December 10, 2010 and January 12, 2011 meetings tabled until the March 2011 meeting. Item 5– Public Comment – Bruce Ganem, President of the Pleasant Grove Lane Homeowners Association, gave a PowerPoint presentation on the environmental effects of logging activity in the Pleasant Grove Cemetery. The presentation included pictures of the damage to the vegetated slope as a result of the logging activity. The presentation also included a recommended remediation plan from VCH Forester Andre’ Bensadoun. A printed copy of the Power Point was provided to the board. Discussion- The logging took place January 28th, 2011 and lasted throughout the weekend. Area residents stated they were not properly notified of the logging activity before it took place. The activity has affected the area near the cemetery entrance where the chapel abuts a slope. This area is part of the Palmer Woods Unique Natural Area (UNA) delineated by the Tompkins County Environmental Management Council. The logger was instructed by the cemetery to cut 15 Oak and Black Cherry trees. As a result of the logging, branches on trees that were not logged were damaged, and debris and branches 5-6” in diameter are strewn across a stream. Meeting #18 Planning Board February 9, 2011 Page 2 Residents are concerned the removal of the trees near the slope have caused very soft bank material due to the debris and will result in erosion and runoff into the stream. Jeffrey True, President of the Pleasant Grove Cemetery Association, has indicated the cemetery has plans to remove the debris. Residents would like the environmental effects of projects such as this one to be more fully considered before such projects commenced. Beth Ganem spoke with Brent and was told the cemetery is private property and he did not know exactly what was happening or to what extent. She also spoke with Scott Doyle, Tompkins County Planning Department, who stressed the importance of minimizing erosion and stabilizing stream banks. Village Forester Andre’ Bensadoun presented a copy of his email correspondence with Kate Supron regarding this issue. A question was asked whether the Village would pick up logging debris if the cemetery were to haul the debris to the curb. The answer was, yes, the Village would pick up the debris as long as sufficient notice was given. Residents voiced concern over the need to protect Unique Natural Areas (UNA) and that there had been inadequate communication with the Village about this project. The board stated that, while protection of undeveloped open space and environmentally sensitive areas of the Village are called out in the current draft of the Comprehensive Plan, protection of UNAs within the Village has not been specifically addressed, but would be considered. S. Cunningham- Asked whether it is appropriate to suggest to the Board of Trustees that the Trustees send a letter to the Cemetery Association to comply with the Village Forester’s recommendations. F. Cowett -- Read a recommendation from the current draft of the Comprehensive Plan requiring that property owners obtain a permit from the Village to cut down native tree species larger than 12” in trunk diameter that are on a prioritized tree species list. Some tree species are relatively rare and should be preserved for future generations. The current draft of the Comprehensive Plan calls for establishment of a Village Tree Board with the Village Forester as chair. The Tree Board would identify tree species to be placed on the prioritized tree list. S. Cunningham- Questioned the practicality of the prioritized tree species list given the inability of the average property owner to identify tree species and wondered whether requiring a permit to cut down all tree species larger than 12” in trunk diameter would be more effective. Further discussion of the prioritized tree list was tabled until more board members are present at the next meeting. (Acting Chair) G. Gillespie- Thanked the Pleasant Grove Lane Homeowners Association for appearing before the Planning Board and discussing their concerns, but suggested that many of Meeting #18 Planning Board February 9, 2011 Page 3 the issues raised at this meeting are more within the authority of the Board of Trustees than the Planning Board. Bruce Ganem stated he would present these issues at the next Board of Trustees meeting. Public Comment closed at 7:50 pm. Item 6- Uplands Road Residential Development Status update: Mr. Mecenas will return in March looking for final plat approval. No other news regarding the Uplands Road project has been submitted. Item 7- Comprehensive Plan UNA Discussion – (Acting Chair) G. Gillespie asked S. Cunningham to invite Scott Doyle to the next Planning Board meeting to discuss the UNA issue. Questions to to be discussed could include: (1) How are UNAs delineated? (2) If UNAs have no regulatory force and only offer guidance in terms of land use, can regulations protecting UNAs be written? (3) How might regulations protecting UNAs apply to the Village? (4) Has there ever been a court challenge to any regulations protecting UNAs? PNY Discussion - There are three topics for Preserve New York (PNY) grants: Historic Structure Report, Historic Landscape Report, and Cultural Resource Survey. Applications for a PNY grant must be submitted in one of these topics. A question was asked whether the PNY grant could be integrated with the Comprehensive Plan, or is another component needed such as the renovation of Marcham Hall. B. Szekely- The board can check with historian Carol Kamen who lives in the village and brought the PNY grant to the board’s attention for more information. S. Cunningham- Asked how far along are the plans for Marcham Hall’s renovation?? B. Szekely- Reported that renovation plans are on hold and that several plans have been proposed. Nothing is actively on the table. There was further discussion about the choice of topic for a Village of Cayuga Heights PNY grant application. (Acting Chair) G. Gillespie- Further consideration of a PNY grant application will be given at the next Planning Board meeting. Recommendations to Goals and Objectives- G. Frantz was not present. Tabled until next meeting. Meeting #18 Planning Board February 9, 2011 Page 4 Review revised timeline for Comp. Plan completion- G. Frantz was not present. Tabled until next meeting. Item 8- Alternate meeting date re-consideration. To allow PB members and the public to attend a candidates’ forum on the regularly scheduled date of the next PB meeting, the next Planning Board meeting will be held on Monday March 7th pending approval of absent PB members. Item 9- New Business The upcoming meeting at Cooperative Extension concerning the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) will be attended by B. Szekely and A. Bensadoun. They will report back to the Planning Board with information from the meeting. Item 10- Meeting closed at 8:30pm. Meeting #18 Planning Board February 9, 2011 Page 5