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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-06-14 Common Council Meeting Agenda1 - CopyOFFICIAL NOTICE OF MEETING A Regular meeting of the Common Council will be held on Wednesday, August 6, 2014, at 6:00 p.m. in the Common Council Chambers at City Hall, 108 East Green Street, Ithaca, New York. Your attendance is requested. AGENDA 1. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: 2. ADDITIONS TO OR DELETIONS FROM THE AGENDA: 3. PROCLAMATIONS/AWARDS: 4. SPECIAL ORDER OF BUSINESS: 5. SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS BEFORE COUNCIL: 6. PETITIONS AND HEARINGS OF PERSONS BEFORE COUNCIL: 7. PRIVILEGE OF THE FLOOR – COMMON COUNCIL AND THE MAYOR: 8. CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS: City Administration: 8.1 DPW - Request Funding for Engineering Services Agreement for Amendment No. 1 for Design of Bar Screen and Bio-Solids Dewatering Equipment and other Miscellaneous Improvements to the Influent Building at the Wastewater Treatment Facility - Resolution 8.2 DPW – Request to Amend the 2014 DPW Budget for NYSEG Court Street Project Work - Resolution 9. CITY ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE: 9.1 A Local Law Entitled the “City of Ithaca Local Law Authorizing the Creation of a Stormwater Utility and the Establishment of a Stormwater User Fee” 9.2 IPD – Request to Amend 2014 the Ithaca Police Department Authorized Budget for Tactical Grant – Resolution 9.3 City Controller’s Report 10. PLANNING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE: 10.1 Resolution to Select Artwork for a Mural Installation on the Entry Wall of the Seneca Street Parking Garage 10.2 Resolution to Select Artwork for a Mural Installation within the Stairwell Near the Intersection of South Cayuga Street and West Spencer Street 10.3 City of Ithaca 2014-2018 Consolidated Plan – HUD Entitlement Grant Program – Resolution 11. REPORTS OF SPECIAL COMMITTEES: 12. NEW BUSINESS: Common Council Meeting Agenda August 6, 2014 Page 2 13. INDIVIDUAL MEMBER – FILED RESOLUTIONS: 13.1 Alderperson Clairborne – Call for Increasing Look-Back Period Under The New York State Property Tax Freeze Legislation - Resolution 14. MAYOR’S APPOINTMENTS: 14.1 Appointment/Reappointment to Various City Boards and Committees – Resolution 15. REPORTS OF COMMON COUNCIL LIAISONS: 16. REPORT OF CITY CLERK: 17. REPORT OF CITY ATTORNEY: 18. MINUTES FROM PREVIOUS MEETINGS: 18.1 Approval of the June 25, 2014 Common Council Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes - Resolution 18.2 Approval of the July 2, 2014 Common Council Meeting Minutes - Resolution 18.3 Approval of the July 30, 2014 Common Council Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes - Resolution 19. ADJOURNMENT: If you have a disability that will require special arrangements to be made in order for you to fully participate in the meeting, please contact the City Clerk at 274-6570 at least 48 hours before the meeting. ______________________________ Julie Conley Holcomb, CMC City Clerk Date: July 31, 2014 8. CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS: City Administration: 8.1 DPW - Request Funding for Engineering Services Agreement for Amendment No. 1 for Design of Bar Screen and Bio-Solids Dewatering Equipment and other Miscellaneous Improvements to the Influent Building at the Wastewater Treatment Facility - Resolution WHEREAS, the Ithaca Area Wastewater Treatment Facility (WTTF) is in need of certain Capital Improvements, and WHEREAS, GHD Engineers completed an Engineering Report entitled “Ithaca Area WWTF Influent Building and Dewatering System Improvements Study” as the final project funded by Capital Project #416J, and WHEREAS, in order for the staff to maintain its goals as embodied in its five-year capital plan, this agreement provides engineering services for the next set of proposed capital improvements, and WHEREAS, the authorization for an amount not to exceed $274,000 for GHD Engineers to design the improvements to the Influent Building, including replacement of the bar screen equipment and the addition of a new bio-solids dewatering system as identified in the aforementioned engineering study, and WHEREAS, the Special Joint Sewer Committee (SJSC) approved said professional services contract with GHD Engineers at its meeting of October 9, 2013, contingent on fund availability and attorney approval of the agreement, and WHEREAS, the funding supplied by this resolution will be placed in the account for Capital Project #419J, and WHEREAS, GHD Engineers has submitted a proposal entitled “Amendment No. 1 for services to complete the design including additional design work associated with HVAC in the influent building, provide bid review services and provide construction services totaling $137,500”; now, therefore be it RESOLVED, That Common Council hereby amends Capital Project #419J by an amount not to exceed $137,500 for a total Project Authorization of $411,500 to fund the proposed agreement with GHD Engineers, and be it further RESOLVED, That funds necessary for said amendment shall be derived from either the issuance of Bonds or from Capital Reserve J-1 as determined by the City Controller, and be it further RESOLVED, That Common Council hereby recommends the project contingent upon action by all wastewater partners committing their percentage of reimbursement shares to the Joint Activity Fund allocated per the Joint Sewer Agreement as follows: Municipality Percentage Project Cost City of Ithaca 57.14 $78,567.50 Town of Ithaca 40.88 56,210.00 Town of Dryden 1.98 2,722.50 $ 137,500.00 8.2 DPW – Request to Amend the 2014 DPW Budget for New York State Electric and Gas (NYSEG) Court Street Project Work - Resolution WHEREAS, New York State Electric and Gas (NYSEG) has reimbursed the City for street work on North Plain, Esty, and Court Streets and in the amount of $186,440, and WHEREAS, the City needs to account for this reimbursement by amending the 2014 DPW Budget for Maintenance of Roads, and WHEREAS, the project included street, sidewalk, curb and tree lawn improvements on North Plain, Esty, and Court Streets; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That Common Council hereby amends the 2014 DPW Authorized Budget for the purposes of accounting for the NYSEG reimbursement of $186,440 for work on North Plain, Esty, and Court Streets as follows: Increase Revenue Account: A5111-1710 Maintenance $186,440 Increase Appropriation Accounts: A5111-5483 Maintenance of Roads Construction Services$167,140 A7111-5485 Parks & Forestry Trees 19,300 9. CITY ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE: 9.1 A Local Law Entitled the “City of Ithaca Local Law Authorizing the Creation of a Stormwater Utility and the Establishment of a Stormwater User Fee” 9.1 A Local Law Entitled the “City of Ithaca Local Law Authorizing the Creation of a Stormwater Utility and the Establishment of a Stormwater User Fee” WHEREAS, the City’s underlying geography, including the presence of Cayuga Lake, streams, and inlets, and its location at the base of many hills that send runoff into the City, makes stormwater management both especially important and difficult, and WHEREAS, flood control, including issues such as the ice jams of last winter and the Flood Control Channel dredging that the City has been pursuing for years, is a question of stormwater management, and WHEREAS, in the 2014 National Climate Assessment, the United States Global Change Research Program stated that the Northeast region of the United States is experiencing increased precipitation as a result of climate change, including “more than a 70% increase in the amount of precipitation falling in very heavy events” over the last fifty years, “a greater recent increase in extreme precipitation than any other region in the United States,” and WHEREAS, each year, the City spends the better part of a million dollars on stormwater-related expenses, such as construction and maintenance of storm sewers and channeled streams, environmental management, and regulatory compliance, and WHEREAS, the City is subject to federal and state stormwater regulations as a small municipal separate stormwater sewer system, and enacted a Local Law in 2007 “to establish minimum stormwater management requirements and controls to protect, maintain, and enhance the health, safety and general welfare of the citizens of the City and its natural environment” as required by such regulations, constituting an unfunded mandate, but did not address program funding in such law; and WHEREAS, the funding for the City’s stormwater program is derived primarily from taxes, which do not account for the amount of stormwater generated by impervious surfaces located on any given parcel and do not provide any incentive for property owners to reduce the amount of runoff generated by their properties, and WHEREAS, the funding for the City’s stormwater program is derived primarily from taxes, thus omitting tax-exempt properties from participation in the funding of the stormwater programming and infrastructure needed to handle runoff generated by such properties, and WHEREAS, a funding mechanism for the stormwater program that is not derived from real property taxes is necessary for the City to maintain and improve stormwater infrastructure, meet current and future regulatory requirements, and prepare for the expected continuing impacts of climate change, and WHEREAS, Municipal Home Rule Law Section 10(1)(ii)(a)(9-a) authorizes the City to provide for the “fixing, levy, collection and administration of rentals, charges, rates or fees, penalties and rates of interest thereon, liens on local property in connection therewith and charges thereon,” now, therefore, Local Law No. 2014-___ BE IT ENACTED by the Common Council of the City of Ithaca as follows: Section 1. Legislative Findings, Intent, and Purpose. The Common Council makes the following findings of fact: A. Every parcel of real property that contains impervious surface areas, both public and private, uses and benefits from the maintenance of the stormwater system. B. As recognized in the Department of Environmental Conservation’s 2010 Stormwater Management Design Manual, “Rooftops, roads, parking lots, driveways and other impervious surfaces no longer allow rainfall to soak into the ground. Consequently, most rainfall is directly converted into stormwater runoff . . . [T]he volume of stormwater runoff increases sharply with impervious cover,” including the peak flow rate of runoff from a property. Thus, the presence of impervious surfaces contributes to flash flooding and negatively affects water quality in the City’s waterways. Accordingly, a property owner who chooses to construct or maintain an impervious surface is choosing to use the City’s stormwater infrastructure to handle the runoff (and any sediment, chemicals, or other pollutants contained in the runoff) from the property. C. Changed incentives are required in order to motivate individual property owners to reduce the rate and volume of runoff from their respective properties and to increase its water quality. Properties with large, impervious surfaces, such as parking lots, are often assessed at a lower value for property tax purposes than smaller properties with a residential building surrounded largely by pervious surfaces, even though the former properties have a much larger effect on the City’s stormwater infrastructure. As a result, the costs of stormwater services required to meet the City’s regulatory obligations, increase waterway quality, and protect City residents and businesses from flooding are not currently shared by each property in proportion to the demands it places on such services. D. Impervious surfaces that tax-exempt property owners have chosen to construct or maintain on their properties substantially increase the need for, and cost of providing, stormwater services. When such costs are paid out of the City’s tax revenues, however, the owners of those properties do not participate in funding the infrastructure and services required by the runoff generated due to their decisions. Pursuant to Municipal Home Rule Law Section 10(1)(ii)(a)(9-a) the City of Ithaca is authorized to adopt a local law relating to the adoption of user fees. The user fee enacted by this Local Law will be used to pay the costs incurred by the City in offering services and infrastructure to handle runoff caused by a property owner’s choice to construct or maintain impervious surfaces on a given property. Further, this dedicated source of funds for stormwater programming is needed for the City to address its aging infrastructure, the increasing number of federal and state regulations regarding the handling of stormwater with which the City must comply, and the increases in overall precipitation and heavy precipitation events that have already occurred, and are anticipated to continue, due to climate change. Section 2. Creation of Stormwater Utility. A new Chapter 283 of the City Code, entitled “Stormwater Utility,” is created as follows: Section 283-1. Definitions. BOARD. The Board of Public Works. CREDIT RATE. The scaling factor that shall be applied in the calculation of Stormwater User Fee credits. For structures or practices that, as determined by the Superintendent, are anticipated to provide: (i) both treatment quality and quantity attenuation, the Credit Rate shall be twenty percent (20%); (ii) either treatment quality or quantity attenuation, the Credit Rate shall be ten percent (10%). DEVELOPED LOT. A Lot which has an Impervious Surface Area greater than or equal to twenty-five percent (25%) of an Equivalent Residential Unit. EQUIVALENT RESIDENTIAL UNIT (“ERU”). The average amount of Impervious Surface Area on a Residential Property in the City, as determined by the Common Council. IMPERVIOUS SURFACE. Any surface on a Lot that, because of the surface’s composition or compacted nature, impedes or prevents natural infiltration of water into the soil, including, but not limited to, roofs, solid decks, driveways, patios, sidewalks (other than public walks located in the City’s right-of-way), parking areas, tennis courts, concrete, asphalt, or crusher/run streets or paths, or compacted gravel or dirt surfaces, as determined by the Department of Public Works. IMPERVIOUS SURFACE AREA. As recorded or calculated by the Department of Public Works, the number of square feet of horizontal surface on a Lot covered by an Impervious Surface. LOT Lot or parcel of land, as set forth by the current City of Ithaca Tax Maps on file with the Tompkins County Department of Assessment. NON-RESIDENTIAL LOT. All Developed Lots other than Residential Lots. PROPERTY CLASS CODE. The property type classification code, as defined by the New York State Office of Real Property Services in the Assessors’ Manual, assigned to a Lot by the Tompkins County Department of Assessment, as may be updated by that Department from time to time. PROPERTY OWNER or OWNER. The owner of a Lot as shown on the Tompkins County tax records. RESIDENTIAL LOT. A Developed Lot with a Property Class Code of 210, 215, 220, 230, 240, 250, or 270, or substantially identical successor designations. STORMWATER. The runoff from all forms of precipitation that travels over natural or developed surfaces to the nearest stream, other conduit, or impoundment and appears in lakes, rivers, ponds, or other bodies of water. STORMWATER SERVICES. The City program for protection of Stormwater quality and for the partial control and conveyance of Stormwater, including, but not limited to: public education; monitoring, removing, and regulating Stormwater pollutants; other activities described in the City’s New York SPDES permit; mapping; planning; regulating, reviewing and inspecting private Stormwater infrastructure; operating, constructing, improving, cleaning, and maintaining the City's Stormwater System; and any and all expenses deemed reasonably necessary to the management of Stormwater within the City in the judgment of the Superintendent of Public Works, as instructed from time to time by the Board of Public Works, including but not limited to the payment of debt principal and debt service, and the establishment of a reserve fund, to pay for these services. STORMWATER SYSTEM The system of natural and constructed conveyances for collecting and transporting stormwater, including but not limited to lakes, ponds, rivers, perennial, intermittent, and/or channeled streams, connected wetlands, open ditches, catch basins and other inlets, pipes, sewers, drains, culverts, and created stormwater management facilities that provide partial treatment by passive means such as wet detention ponds, detention basins, and stormwater wetlands. STORMWATER USER FEE. The fee charged for costs incurred by the City in providing Stormwater Services. SUPERINTENDENT. The Superintendent of Public Works, or his or her designee. TREATMENT EFFICIENCY. As determined by the Superintendent, the calculated effectiveness, expressed as a percentage of total possible effectiveness of an ideal stormwater management practice or structure, of a stormwater management practice or structure designed to remove a desired component through quality treatment, quantity attenuation, or both, as applicable. Section 283-2. Stormwater User Fees. A. Each Developed Lot in the City shall be subject to a monthly Stormwater User Fee equal to the product of four dollars ($4.00) and the number of ERUs of Impervious Surface Area on the Lot as calculated below, less any credits for the Lot approved by the Superintendent pursuant to Section 283-3. (1) Every Residential Lot, and each Non-Residential Lot with an Impervious Surface Area less than or equal to one (1) ERU, shall be deemed to have an Impervious Surface Area equal to one (1) ERU. (2) The number of ERUs of Impervious Surface Area on a Non- Residential Lot with an Impervious Surface Area greater than one (1) ERU shall be calculated by dividing the Lot’s Impervious Surface Area by the value of one (1) ERU, and rounding the result up to the nearest one-quarter (1/4) of an ERU. B. Equivalent Residential Unit. (1) An Equivalent Residential Unit is equal to two thousand, three hundred (2,300) square feet. (2) At least once every five (5) years, the Superintendent shall report to the Board and Common Council regarding changes in the average Impervious Surface Areas of Residential Lots. C. Measurement of Impervious Surfaces. (1) Any Owner may file an application with the Superintendent contesting the calculation of Impervious Surface Area on the Lot as of the date of the application. The applicant must submit satisfactory evidence as required by the Superintendent, such as square footage measurements and descriptions of the relevant buildings or materials. For applications submitted prior to July 1, 2015, any approved changes in calculations will take effect retroactive to January 1, 2015. For all other applications, any approved changes in calculations will take effect on the first day of the billing period beginning after the application was submitted, even if retroactive as of date of approval; no refunds or credits shall be granted for amounts billed prior to submission of the application. The applicant may appeal the determination of the Superintendent as set forth in Section 283-5(A). (2) The Superintendent shall endeavor to update the Impervious Surface data in the City’s geographic information systems at least once every five (5) years. (3) Upon close-out of any building permit under which the associated documentation or other data indicates that at least one-quarter (1/4) of an ERU of Impervious Surface has been constructed upon a Lot, the Director of Planning and Development or authorized code enforcement personnel shall provide to the Superintendent notice of the number of square feet of Impervious Surface added, in net, to the Lot, as indicated on documentation associated with said permit, together with the applicable tax lot number. The Superintendent shall thereafter update the data in the City’s geographic information systems to reflect the adjusted Impervious Surface Area on the Lot. Section 283-3. Stormwater User Fee Credits. A. The Stormwater User Fee for a Non-Residential Lot shall be reduced as provided herein if the Superintendent certifies that the Lot is eligible for one or more credits in accord with this section. B. Calculation of Credits. The credit for a practice or structure shall be the product of: the Lot’s Stormwater User Fee, the percentage of the total Impervious Surface Area on a Lot mitigated by the practice or structure, the practice or structure’s Credit Rate, and the practice or structure’s Treatment Efficiency. C. Eligible Practices. Credits are available for those Stormwater management practices or structures enumerated in a detailed list entitled “Approved Stormwater User Fee Credits”, maintained by the Superintendent, established by resolution of the Board, and updated from time to time by additional resolution of the Board on consultation with the Superintendent. Such updates shall only be effective in conjunction with this Chapter if, at least 14 days before the Board finally votes on any such update, the Superintendent provides to the Board and to the City Controller an estimate of the probable annualized budget impact of such updates upon the stormwater account maintained by the City Controller. D. Review Criteria. An engineered structure or practice that provides quality treatment and/or quantity attenuation shall be considered by the Superintendent using the criteria set forth herein. (1) The proposal must demonstrate that the practice will provide a quantifiable treatment and/or runoff control benefit to the site through engineered design principles. (2) The watershed subcatchment leading to the practice must be clearly defined including the area, amount of impervious cover, flowpath, and existing and proposed land use. (3) The credit for a structure will be prorated based on that structure’s Treatment Efficiency. For example, the credit for an otherwise- qualifying structure that is designed for ten percent (10%) water quality volume treatment efficiency will be reduced by ninety percent (90%), as compared with a structure designed for 100% efficiency. (4) Designs must follow the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Stormwater Management Design Manual guidelines, as amended or replaced by substantially identical guidelines. (5) The Owner must assume all responsibility for practice operation and maintenance. Failure to maintain the structure shall result in cancellation of the credit pursuant to Section 283-3(E). E. Administration of Credits. (1) In order to obtain a credit, an Owner must apply in a form satisfactory to the Superintendent. (2) If an application is approved by the Superintendent, the resulting reduction in the Stormwater User Fee shall take effect with the beginning of the next billing period that begins at least thirty (30) days after the application was approved. The Superintendent shall have the discretion to make the credit retroactive to the next billing period beginning after the application was submitted if the interests of justice so require. Unless otherwise specified, an approved credit shall continue to be applied on each future bill so long as the Lot continues to be eligible for the credit; provided, however, that the Superintendent shall cancel any credit for failure to provide the City with access to inspect and confirm the Lot’s continuing eligibility for a particular recurring credit. (3) The applicant may appeal the Superintendent’s denial of an application or cancellation of a previously-approved credit as set forth in Section 283-5(A). Section 283-4. Stormwater Account and Billing. A. The City Controller shall create and maintain a dedicated stormwater account separate from all other City accounts or funds. All Stormwater User Fees, and any penalties or interest on such user fees, shall be deposited into that account, and shall be used by the City solely to provide Stormwater Services. B. Billing. (1) The City Chamberlain shall issue bills for Stormwater User Fees on a quarterly basis, or another regular, periodic basis, not less regularly than annually. The Stormwater User Fees may be billed on a combined utility bill that contains other charges, including for water and/or sewer service. Stormwater User Fees that are shown on a combined bill may be for a different service period than that used for other utility services. (2) Bill Recipient. (a) Single Water and/or Sewer Account. For a Lot associated with only one (1) water and/or sewer account, the City will bill the Stormwater User Fee to the individual or entity receiving the utility bill for such account. The Owner may elect to receive the bill or redirect the bill to a third-party, with the third-party’s consent, by executing and submitting a form provided by the City Chamberlain. (b) All Other Lots. For all other Lots, the City will bill the Stormwater User Fee to the Owner on a separate utility bill. The Owner may elect to redirect the bill to a third-party, with the third-party’s consent, by executing and submitting a form provided by the City. (c) In all cases, the Owner is finally responsible for any unpaid Stormwater User Fees, including penalties and/or interest. (3) If a Lot is incorrectly billed, or not billed, or a bill is sent to the wrong party, the City may backbill a property for a period not to exceed two (2) years. (4) The Superintendent, the City Controller, and the City Chamberlain are authorized to develop billing forms, guidelines, and practices not inconsistent with this Section. C. Effect of Nonpayment. (1) No Certificate of Occupancy or Certificate of Compliance shall be issued by the Director of Planning and Development or authorized code enforcement personnel for any building or structure located on a Lot if the Stormwater User Fee for such portion of the Lot is in arrears. (2) The Stormwater User Fee shall be payable without penalty for thirty (30) days following the billing date. On all amounts unpaid at the expiration of such period, five percent (5%) of the amounts unpaid shall be added and collected. On all amounts remaining unpaid after thirty days following the expiration of such period, and after each period of thirty days or portion thereof thereafter, one percent (1%) of the amounts unpaid shall be added and collected, up through and including October of each year. (3) Any uncontested portion of the Stormwater User Fee, with any added penalty or interest, remaining unpaid on or before November 1 of any year shall be listed as a separate item on the subsequent year’s City property tax bill. Fees which have been contested in a timely manner and which have been determined by the Board to be due and payable before November 1 of any year shall be similarly listed. D. The Board shall prescribe, in its discretion, a schedule of application and/or inspection fees to be charged in connection with this Chapter. Such fees shall be deposited in the stormwater account. Section 283-5. Appeals and Reissuance of Fees. A. Any applicant aggrieved by the Superintendent’s determination pursuant to Sections 283-2(C)(1) or 283-3(E) may appeal such decision to the Board at an open meeting thereafter. Such appeal must be in writing and explain why the Superintendent’s decision should be reversed. The applicant may present evidence to the Board at the open meeting at which the appeal is considered, but such evidence must be limited to the matters stated in the written appeal. B. Whenever any Stormwater User Fee charged under the provisions of this Section shall be set aside or shall be decided by any court having jurisdiction thereof to have been improperly or illegally charged or whenever it shall be ascertained that the proceedings under which said fee has been issued shall have been so far irregular and erroneous as to make the collection of such fee illegal, then the City Chamberlain is authorized to issue a new fee with the same force and effect as if it had been the original fee. Section 283-6. Retention of Existing Powers. Nothing herein shall be construed to modify or alter any power of the Common Council, Board of Public Works, Superintendent of Public Works, Planning and Development Board, or Director of Code Enforcement to require the construction, maintenance, or repair of privately-maintained stormwater infrastructure at the cost of the Property Owner as part of site plan review or other applicable regulation. Section 3. Severability Clause. Severability is intended throughout and within the provisions of this Local Law. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or portion of this Local Law is held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, then that decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Local Law. Section 4. Effective and Operative Date. This Local Law shall take effect January 1, 2015, provided it is first filed in the office of the Secretary of State, or upon filing in the office of the Secretary of State thereafter. 1 To: Common Council From: Ari Lavine, City Attorney Subject: Proposed Stormwater Legislation Date: June 19, 2014 The previously-circulated Stormwater Fact Sheet—also included in this packet—remains the primary summary document to assist in your review of this proposed legislation. I am providing in this memorandum some supplemental highlights that may be of use in your consideration of this proposed legislation. 1. Long-term Stormwater Programmatic Planning. The proposed stormwater utility and associated user fee presents exciting long-term planning opportunities for the City's stormwater program, streetscape, and green spaces. A long-term collaboration between the City's DPW and its Planning and Zoning staff may, in the coming years, succeed in building upon the financial foundation and pro- permeability incentives reflected in the current proposal in order to (i) improve the look and feel of the City in accord with planning and zoning priorities while (ii) reducing strains on the City's stormwater infrastructure and associated costs, and (iii) reducing environmental impact of stormwater runoff. These initiatives could take many forms. A few examples might include: (a) providing rain barrels, rain gardens, or financial support for the same to residences throughout the City, perhaps leveraging funding provided by the proposed stormwater utility as a local match for outside grant funding that might be obtained, (b) planning and zoning for public and private green space, and (c) enabling the DPW to adhere to a long-term work plan--in which interest has already been expressed--for stormwater infrastructure and management. 2. Credits for Stormwater Mitigations. The stormwater user fee credits proposed for section 283–3 of the code are of necessity somewhat technical in nature. I want to take this opportunity to provide a plain-English CITY OF ITHACA 108 East Green Street Ithaca, New York 14850-5690 OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY Aaron O. Lavine, City Attorney Telephone: 607/274-6504 Robert A. Sarachan, Assistant City Attorney Fax: 607/274-6507 Krin Flaherty, Assistant City Attorney Jared Pittman, Assistant City Attorney Jody Andrew, Executive Assistant 2 primer. Non-Residential Lots are proposed to be eligible for credits; the administrative costs of providing credit opportunities to Residential Lots--which are proposed to pay a flat fee of $12 per quarter--render such credits inadvisable in the view of the Task Force. Non-Residential credits could include everything from bio-swales to holding tanks, and much else, as enumerated by the BPW from time to time. (See the included, proposed BPW resolution for this purpose.) The calculation of a credit is proposed to involve calculating a percentage discount off of the otherwise-applicable user fee for a particular lot. That discount is based upon scope (i.e. percentage of generated-runoff that is treated), type (quality treatment, i.e., removing pollutants; quantity attenuation, i.e., reducing volume; or both), and effectiveness of the mitigation generating the credit. So, for example, a mitigation that treats all stormwater generated by impermeable surfaces on a lot (scope), does so both for purposes of eliminating peak flow volumes and eliminating silt and pollutants in the water (type) and with full effectiveness, is an ideal mitigation generating the maximum credit for that lot. The actual size of that maximum credit is then determined by one last constant: the Credit Rate, as discussed immediately below. 3. Setting the Credit Rate. One of the determinations that Council will need to make in considering this proposed law is the level at which to set the Credit Rate. The Credit Rate is a scaling factor, probably best demonstrated by example: If a property fully and effectively mitigates for both quality and quantity all of its generated stormwater (albeit ultimately still discharging to the City's stormwater system) then a 20% Credit Rate will give that property a 20% discount on its User Fee; or for either quantity or quality but not both, a 10% discount. The level at which the Credit Rate is set is a policy decision for Council. On the one hand, a high Credit Rate incentivizes and rewards stormwater mitigations. On the other hand, it provides credit for mitigations that in the vast majority of instances were already required by state regulatory requirements, while reducing revenues available to the City's Stormwater program. Current staff estimates suggest that, roughly speaking, the reduction in citywide annual user fee revenues associated with a maximum Credit Rate of 20% would be something under $10,000; associated with a maximum Credit Rate of 100%, something under $50,000. 4. Billing Mechanism. As described in the Fact Sheet, the Task Force has recommended, and the City Chamberlain supports, a billing mechanism for the stormwater user fee of including this fee as a separate line on quarterly water and sewer bills, where applicable. After further discussion with the City Chamberlain, the proposed legislation: (a) bills the stormwater user fee onto the water and sewer bill for any property receiving only one water and sewer bill each quarter (i.e, for only one water meter). For these properties, this means that a non-owner (such as a tenant) may receive the bill containing the user fee, though the arrangement between owner and tenant for responsibility to pay the user fee would be up to them to work out, and if unpaid, final legal responsibility would always rest with the owner. 3 (b) bills the stormwater user fee onto a separate bill directed to the owner for any property receiving more than one water and sewer bill each quarter, or receiving no water and sewer bill at all. 5. Implementation Impact and Cost in Chamberlain's Office. Because of the significant first-year workload that this law will generate in the Chamberlain's Office (in order to set up user fee billing to each property in the city), discussions with the City Chamberlain suggest that a January 2015 effective date for this law can likely only be achieved with a temporary staff addition to assist with data inputting. Staff estimate that this requirement will very roughly cost $5,000 this fall in order to implement this law. 1 Stormwater Task Force Fact Sheet Proposed Legislation Concerning Stormwater Infrastructure Management and Financing • Summary of Current Context and Policy. o Stormwater management is a major expense for the City. We are situated on a lake, traversed by streams and inlets, at the base of many hills whose runoff comes our way. Stormwater consumes the better part of a million dollars of the budget each year on everything from storm sewers and channeled streams to environmental management and regulatory compliance. Flood control—including pressing issues like ice-jams and dredging—is ultimately a question of stormwater management too. Stormwater runoff also has major environmental impact. o Currently, the City’s stormwater program is funded primarily by tax dollars, not by the City’s major tax-exempt owners, and not in a manner that accounts for the expected runoff generated by each property. Beyond regulation of construction sites and new development, the City Code provides few meaningful incentives for reducing runoff from existing properties. o For these reasons, in September 2013 the Mayor convened a Stormwater Task Force, chaired by the City Attorney, to address these problems and report recommendations to the BPW, and ultimately to Council. • Task Force Objectives for a New System of Stormwater Management Financing. o Improved incentives for reducing stormwater runoff from each property: Incentivize permeable surfaces: gardens, lawns, green roofs, etc. Disincentivize impermeable surfaces: extensive paving, expansive roofs. o Shared cost burden of program in proportion to each property’s expected runoff Large parking lots contribute more than small gardens. o Inclusion of tax-exempt owners in a new system of financing. o Dedicated funding for current and future maintenance and regulatory obligations. • Creation of Stormwater Management User Fees. o The Task Force recommends the creation of a citywide Stormwater Management User Fee (“the Fee”), based on the square footage of impervious surface per lot, a metric that is already recorded in the City’s GIS database for each lot in the City. o The Fee will be billed to each property—whether tax-exempt or not—in quarterly increments, in conjunction with water and sewer bills where applicable. CITY OF ITHACA 108 East Green Street Ithaca, New York 14850-5690 OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY Aaron O. Lavine, City Attorney Telephone: 607/274-6504 Robert A. Sarachan, Assistant City Attorney Fax: 607/274-6507 Krin Flaherty, Assistant City Attorney Jared Pittman, Assistant City Attorney Jody Andrew, Executive Assistant 2 • Proposed Stormwater Management User Fee Formula. o The proposed formula uses as its starting point the concept of an Equivalent Residential Unit (“ERU”), calculated as the average square footage of impermeable surface on a residential lot. As calculated, 1 ERU = 2,300 sq. ft. o The proposed formula entails three categories of properties: Stormwater-Exempt Lots: those lots containing less than 0.25 ERU’s of impermeable surface. Proposed Annualized Fee: $0. Low Runoff Residential Lots: one-, two-, and three-family residences, all assumed to contain 1 ERU. A lot’s eligibility will be determined by the Property Type Classification Code assigned to it by the Tompkins County Department of Assessment. These codes are established by the New York State Office of Real Property Services. Proposed Annualized Fee: $48. All Other Lots: this category is proposed for treatment in two sub-groups: • Lots containing 0.25 – 1 ERU. Proposed Annualized Fee: $48. • Lots containing in excess of 1 ERU. Proposed Annualized Fee: $48 per ERU, assessed in 0.25 ERU increments (i.e., $12 for each 0.25 ERU or portion thereof). Credits: The “Other Lots” formula could also reflect credits against Fees. The Task Force expressed interest in #1, 4, 5, 8, and 9 on the attached list. • Determination of Budget and Expenditure Eligibility. o The proposed assessment formula is estimated to raise a total of approximately $800,000 (+/- $50,000) per year, roughly equivalent to the existing budget. o Tax-Exempt entities—not currently participating in the predominant funding source for the City’s stormwater program— are anticipated to account for a sizable chunk of the program budget, including an estimated $130,000 Fee from Cornell. The City itself is estimated to be responsible for a $46,000 Fee. Large commercial spaces would substantially contribute as well; current estimates indicate a $12,000 Fee from Wegmans and a $15,500 Fee from Wal-Mart. o Expenditure Eligibility: The Fees collected will only be eligible for expenditure on any and all expenses deemed reasonably necessary to stormwater infrastructure and management in the judgment of the Superintendent of Public Works, as instructed from time to time by the Board of Public Works. A portion of the Fees may be maintained in an emergency reserve for stormwater-related expenses. o The anticipated legislation would preserve the right of the City (via Council, BPW, or Planning & Development Board) to require construction, maintenance, and repair of privately-maintained stormwater infrastructure at the cost of the property owner as part of site plan review or other applicable regulation. 9.2 IPD – Request to Amend 2014 the Ithaca Police Department Authorized Budget for Tactical Grant - Resolution WHEREAS the City of Ithaca Police Department received a federal grant with pass through to the NYS Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services in the amount of $100,000 for the purpose of providing Tactical and SWAT training and equipment, and WHEREAS, the $100,000 grant will include the following: Tactical Training, Tactical Robot, Thermal Imaging, Chemical Suits, Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus and a Thermal Breaching Unit; now, therefore be it RESOLVED, That Common Council hereby accepts the Tactical Swat Grant from the NYS Division of Homeland Security in the amount of $100,000 and amends the 2014 City of Ithaca Police Department authorized budget as follows: Increase Revenue Account: A3120-4389-5022 Federal Aid SWAT $100,000 Increase Appropriation Accounts: A3120-5125-5022 OT SWAT $20,500 A3120-5225-5022 Other Equipment SWAT $79,500 $100,000 BACK-UP ITEM 9.2 10. PLANNING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE: 10.1 Resolution to Select Artwork for a Mural Installation on the Entry Wall of the Seneca Street Parking Garage WHEREAS, the City of Ithaca Public Art Commission (PAC) has been established to, among other duties, review and advise the Common Council on proposals for the exhibition and display of public art in the City’s public spaces, and WHEREAS, in 2010, the PAC created a mural and street art program to beautify blank walls within the city, while providing local artists from all sections of the community an opportunity to showcase their work, and WHEREAS, the Board of Public Works approved several locations for future murals and street art, including walls in the City garages on Green Street and Seneca Street, by resolution on May 19, 2010, and WHEREAS, local artist Nicholas Gilbert has submitted his proposal for a mural featuring a Latina woman holding a child as part of the PAC’s Mural and Street Art Program, and WHEREAS, Mr. Gilbert was selected by ¡Cultura! Ithaca and several other community organizations to paint a mural that celebrates the community’s Latina culture, and WHEREAS, at its meeting on February 26, 2014, the PAC identified the entry wall to the Seneca Street Parking Garage (near the N. Tioga Street entrance) as an appropriate location for this project, and WHEREAS, the PAC held a public comment period on the mural design and location at its meeting on June 25, 2014 to gather input on the proposed installation, and the majority of the responses to the proposal have been positive, and WHEREAS, the artist will receive funding from ¡Cultura! Ithaca and several other community organizations to install the mural, and the installation will be budget-neutral to the City, and WHEREAS, at its meeting on June 25, 2014, the Public Art Commission unanimously voted to recommend that the Common Council select Nicholas Gilbert’s mural to be installed on the entry wall of the Seneca Street Parking Garage; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the City of Ithaca Common Council selects Nicholas Gilbert’s mural featuring a Latina woman holding a child, as recommended by the Public Art Commission, to be installed on the entry wall of the Seneca Street Parking Garage (near the N. Tioga Street entrance) and to be added to the City of Ithaca’s public art collection; and be it further RESOLVED, That the selected artist may proceed with the installation of his mural upon the execution of an agreement with the City as reviewed by the City Attorney. 10.2 Resolution to Select Artwork for a Mural Installation within the Stairwell Near the Intersection of South Cayuga Street and West Spencer Street WHEREAS, the City of Ithaca Public Art Commission (PAC) has been established to, among other duties, review and advise the Common Council on proposals for the exhibition and display of public art in the City’s public spaces, and WHEREAS, in 2010, the PAC created a mural and street art program to beautify blank walls within the city, while providing local artists from all sections of the community an opportunity to showcase their work, and WHEREAS, local artist Caleb Thomas has submitted his proposal for a mural titled “Astronauts and Flowers” as part of the PAC’s Mural and Street Art Program, and WHEREAS, the PAC discussed Mr. Thomas’s mural proposal at its meeting on April 9, 2014 and agreed that the stairwell near the intersection of South Cayuga Street and West Spencer Street would be an appropriate location for the proposed mural, and WHEREAS, the Board of Public Works approved the stairwell near the intersection of South Cayuga Street and West Spencer Street for future murals and street art by resolution on June 9, 2014, and WHEREAS, the PAC held a public comment period on the mural design and location at its meeting on June 25, 2014 to gather input on the proposed installation, and the majority of the responses to the proposal have been positive, and WHEREAS, the artist will provide funding for the mural, and the installation will be budget-neutral to the City, and WHEREAS, at its meeting on June 25, 2014, the Public Art Commission unanimously voted to recommend that the Common Council select Caleb Thomas’s mural to be installed within the stairwell near the intersection of South Cayuga Street and West Spencer Street; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the City of Ithaca Common Council selects “Astronauts and Flowers” by Caleb Thomas, as recommended by the Public Art Commission, to be installed within the stairwell near the intersection of South Cayuga Street and West Spencer Street and to be added to the City of Ithaca’s public art collection; and be it further RESOLVED, That the selected artist may proceed with the installation of his mural upon the execution of an agreement with the City as reviewed by the City Attorney. Attached is my mural submission called "Astronauts and Flowers." I am a local printmaker, painter, designer, and mixed media artist. My mural design here is inspired mainly by a series of mixed media woodblock prints of astronauts that I did in 2010 - 2013. For this image, I will be layering with stencils using acrylic and spray paint. I will pay all costs myself. My first choice is to paint this proposal on the stairwell at the corner of South Cayuga St. and West Spencer Rd. Thank you for your consideration. Caleb R Thomas LEGEND City Owned Property Block Numbers Impervious Paved Walk Paved Unpaved Buildings Railroad Curb Line Parcel Border Waterway Park City of Ithaca, NY Area 2013 6483/20/2014Printed: Data contained on this map was provided or derived from data developed or compiled by the City of Ithaca, and is the best available to date. The originators do not warrant the accuracy or completeness of the information portrayed by the data. The originators do not accept any responsibility for any errors, omissions, or positional accuracy. 1: This map was printed by a member of the public using the City of Ithaca Interactive Web Viewer on Tompkins-Ithaca Geoportal at http://geo.tompkins-co.org/SL/Viewer.html?Viewer=cityofithaca 10.3 City of Ithaca 2014-2018 Consolidated Plan – HUD Entitlement Grant Program – Resolution WHEREAS, in the Fall of 2003, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) notified the City that it qualified as an ‘Entitlement Community’ and that it would be receiving an annual allocation of HUD funds through the Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG) and the HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) Program, and WHEREAS, in order to access these funds, the City is required to undertake a public input process and prepare a Consolidated Plan which identifies priority community development needs for the City of Ithaca every 5 years, and WHEREAS, it is now time to prepare an updated Consolidated Plan, and WHEREAS, under the terms of the February 14, 2013, agreement between the City of Ithaca and the Ithaca Urban Renewal Agency (IURA), the City has designated the IURA as the Lead Agency to develop and administer the Consolidated Plan on behalf of the City, and WHEREAS, the Consolidated Plan may only be adopted by the Common Council after it has undergone a 30-day public comment period and been the subject of two public hearings, and WHEREAS, the first public hearing was held before the IURA on June 26, 2014, and the second public hearing was held at the Planning and Economic Development Committee of the Common Council on July 9, 2014, and WHEREAS, following a citizen participation process to gain public input in identifying priority community development needs, the IURA issued a draft 2014-2018 Consolidated Plan for a 30-day public comment period that ended on August 5, 2014, and WHEREAS, the IURA reviewed and adopted the draft Consolidated Plan at their meeting on July 24, 2014, and further recommended its adoption by the Common Council, and WHEREAS, the adopted Consolidated Plan must be received by HUD by August 16, 2014, and WHEREAS, at their July 9, 2014, meeting the Planning and Economic Development Committee forwarded the Consolidated Plan to the Common Council for action following consideration of public comment received, now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the City of Ithaca Common Council hereby adopts the 2014-2018 Consolidated Plan, dated August 6, 2014, and be it further RESOLVED, That the Common Council authorizes the Mayor, subject to review by the City Attorney, to execute certifications and any other documents necessary to submit the Consolidated Plan to HUD. 108 East Green Street BACK-UP ITEM 10.3 Ithaca, New York 14850 (607) 274-6559 To: Common Council From: Lynn Truame, Community Development Planner Date: July 28, 2014 Re: 2014-2018 Consolidated Plan Enclosed please find the Executive Summary section of the draft Consolidated Plan for the City of Ithaca. The full draft plan has been posted to the IURA website for public comment and is available for your review at: www.ithacaura.org This document is the culmination of a public outreach and information gathering process undertaken by the Ithaca Urban Renewal Agency. The Consolidated Plan guides the use of the City’s Entitlement Funds for the next 5 years. Changes at U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) since the last planning period have resulted in a very different Consolidated Plan in both format and content. HUD now requires the use on an online template for the preparation of these plans. The structure of this template drives the content of the plan and reflects the emphasis that HUD places on housing as a priority for the use of Entitlement Funds. Certainly, Ithaca has an extraordinary housing affordability problem; however, given the limited amount and high cost of developable land within the city, we have historically approached this problem not only through the development of new units, but by supporting economic development projects that will increase the number of living wage jobs in the community, and programs that will increase the ability of low- and moderate-income persons to access those jobs. It remains the intent of the IURA to continue this approach, though the Consolidated Plan appears to emphasize the development of new units as our highest priority. For your reference, the annual award of funds to the City has fallen over the last five years and is expected to continue to fall during the current five-year plan period. This year we are expecting $841,820 in Community Development Block Grant funds and $441,994 from the HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) Program. All of the money must benefit low-and moderate-income residents and be used to meet national objectives established by the HUD. This draft Consolidated Plan was reviewed and recommended for adoption at the July 9, 2014, meeting of the Planning & Economic Development Committee. There is a mandatory 30-day public comment period, concluding at noon August 5, 2014, which must be completed prior to adoption of the Consolidated Plan by Common Council. As of the date of this memo no public comment has been received, however, the comment period has not yet ended. Any comments that are received by the deadline will be reviewed and transmitted to Common Council prior to the August 6, 2014, meeting. The draft Plan is due to HUD by August 16 and will not be considered final until it is approved by HUD. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at 274-6553 or lynnt@cityofithaca.org. Thank you. Ithaca Urban Renewal Agency Executive Summary ES-05 Executive Summary - 24 CFR 91.200(c), 91.220(b) 1. Introduction This document represents the third generation of Consolidated Plans for the City of Ithaca. The second five-year Consolidated Plan, which describes program goals for federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME investment Partnership Programs (HOME) funds, expires this year and now is a time of looking back, evaluating changing community needs, reviewing past successes and identifying new opportunities. This document is prepared as an update to the 2009-2013 Consolidated Plan. Our aim is to review existing conditions in the areas of housing, economic development, public facilities and public services, to consider trends and factors impacting these areas of community development, to assess the impact of past CDBG and HOME activities funded through the HUD entitlement program, and to identify new programmatic goals. CDBG funds and, more recently, HOME funds, have been awarded to the City for many years. From 1975 until 2004 the City of Ithaca received Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) through an annual competitive process. The City was highly successful in these competitive grant rounds, securing over $22.6 million. Awarded funds have been used to support a variety of programs benefiting low- and moderate- income (LMI) persons, and have ranged from housing programs to job creation. The investment of the CDBG funds has multiplied many times in the community as programs expand and loan funds are repaid and reinvested. An administrative rule change qualified the City for a new level of HUD programming. Designation as an ‘Entitlement Community’ allowed the City to become eligible for annual funding through a formula grant for the first time in the fall of 2003. Since then, the City has received an annual grant from HUD through the Community Development Block Grant Program and the HOME program. In 2004 this funding totaled nearly $1.6 million. That total has slowly declined to the 2013 award of just under $1.2 million. This annual funding comes with new opportunities as well as new responsibilities. A distinct and valuable implication of these ‘entitlement’ funds is that they provide both the City and agencies seeking funding the chance to do some long-term planning. The City can now set local goals and priorities instead of responding to periodic notices of funding availability. In order to formalize this long-term planning, HUD requires that local jurisdictions prepare and adopt a Consolidated Plan before funds are disbursed. The Plan is expected to assess the community development needs and priorities of the City and to provide a strategy for addressing those needs. This current Consolidated Plan will guide the funding decisions and action strategies of the community, as they relate to the CDBG and HOME Programs, for the next five years. 2. Summary of the objectives and outcomes identified in the Plan Needs Assessment Overview The Consolidated Plan outlines goals that will be pursued over the next five years to address identified community needs. The purpose of the CDBG and HOME programs is to advance the following statutory objectives, for the principal benefit of low- and moderate-income households:  Provide decent, safe, and affordable housing (CDBG)  Create suitable living environments (CDBG)  Expand economic opportunities (CDBG)  Expand the supply of decent, safe, sanitary, and affordable housing (HOME) In support of these program purposes and in light of identified needs in the local community, the City has established the following goals for this Consolidated Plan period: Improve and Expand Affordable Housing Options There is an acute shortage of affordable housing in the City of Ithaca. In 2010, 56% of all renter households were cost burdened, with 35% severely cost burdened, while 21% of Ithaca’s homeowners were cost burdened, and 10% severely so. To address this need, the City will support projects that increase the total supply of affordable units of all types and the affordability of existing units, and that improve the condition of existing affordable units. Expand Economic and Employment Opportunities Ithaca is a highly educated community with a low unemployment rate. This creates a very difficult dynamic for low- and moderate-income community members who do not have specialized skills or a high educational attainment. To address this need, the City will provide direct loans and support technical assistance to businesses to create jobs; support entrepreneurship training and technical assistance; and support initiatives that provide career readiness training, job placement, skill development, and on-going post- placement support. Strengthen Neighborhoods Ithaca is a community of neighborhoods, each with their own strong identity. For our City to thrive as a whole, each of these constituent parts must have the adequate physical resources and infrastructure to meet the needs of its residents and support their aspirations. To address this need, the City will support physical improvements to streets, parks, recreational facilities, public buildings, and transportation systems, for the benefit of low- and moderate-income neighborhoods; the redevelopment of vacant and abandoned properties; and programs that facilitate and support homeownership. Increase Access to Resources Leading to Physical and Economic Mobility Our community should be accessible to all its residents, regardless of their particular physical, or socio-economic, characteristics. Where barriers to that access exist, they should be removed. To address this need, the City will undertake a Fair Housing Choice Survey resulting in an Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing, and will support residential and public physical accessibility improvements, job creation and micro- enterprise, job readiness and support, internships and other employment skill development opportunities, early childhood programming, and services to immigrants. Meet Essential Needs for Food, Shelter, and Safety Ithaca’s most fragile, at-risk populations require the provision of public services that will meet the most basic human needs for food, shelter, and safety. To address this need, the City will support programs that prevent homelessness, assist immigrants and youth, improve access to affordable health care, increase food security, and/or increase awareness and utilization of existing community resources in these areas. 3. Evaluation of past performance The 2009-2013 Consolidated Plan included fifteen specific objectives intended to address community needs that had been identified during the planning process. These objectives and their associated anticipated outcomes appear in the Table 1 below. The final column in this table shows actual outcomes for each objective. Five years later, it is evident that some of the projects that were anticipated in the last Plan did not materialize, and that areas of emphasis that emerged within some of the broader objective areas differed from projections. For the most part, however, the number of units produced or persons assisted equaled or exceeded anticipated outcomes, indicating high levels of continued need in these areas. Only in the area of Public Facilities and Infrastructure were actual outcomes uniformly equal to, lower than, anticipated. This was due in part to the failure of anticipated municipal street and sidewalk projects to move forward and reflects the sporadic nature of need in this particular area. Specific Objectives Performance Measure Expected Units Actual Units Affordable Housing Objectives Owner occupied housing Assisted households 92 318 First-time homebuyers Assisted households 5 12 Rental housing Assisted units 100 430 Supportive housing Assisted units 6 0 Homeless housing Assisted beds 12 34 Economic Development Objectives Job Creation New jobs 30 93.5 Job training & placement Persons assisted 36 83 Public Facilities & Infrastructure Objectives Enhance existing community centers Projects 3 3 Ensure availability and desirability of LMI neighborhood facilities; enhance pedestrian safety Projects 4 1 Mitigate impact of public improvement projects on LMI residents Projects 2 0 Remove or rehabilitate infrastructure or public facilities that create a blighting influence on LMI neighborhoods As needed - 0 Public Services Objectives Improve marketing, outreach and utilization of existing public services Persons assisted 300 8,584 Expand existing public services or create new programs for focus populations Programs assisted 15 6 programs Retain existing public service programs addressing a documented need of LMI people Programs assisted 5 5 Table 1 - Past Performance 4. Summary of citizen participation process and consultation process The IURA conducted significant outreach and consultation with citizens, neighborhood groups, non-profits, and governmental agencies to determine community needs and establish Plan priorities. In accordance with the City’s approved Citizen Participation Plan, outreach consisted of both meetings with neighborhood residents and consultations with professionals and practitioners in fields related to community development. The list of agencies and organizations consulted appears in Section PR-10 of this Plan. Neighborhood Public Input meetings were held as follows: 12/18/13, 5:00 pm, Common Council Chambers, City Hall, 108 E. Green Street 1/2/14, 5:00 pm, Greater Ithaca Activities Center, 301 W. Court Street 1/15/14, 3:00 pm, Common Council Chambers, City Hall, 108 E. Green Street 1/31/14, 6:00 pm, Greater Ithaca Activities Center, 301 W. Court Street Criteria for selecting meeting places included convenience and accessibility to the neighborhoods served by the IURA. Meetings were advertised in accordance with the Citizen Participation Plan. 5. Summary of public comments Public comments received during the citizen participation and consultation process centered primarily on the following high-priority community needs:  Increased supply of affordable housing units of all types  Increased tenant-based rental assistance  Utility and security deposit assistance  Improved transportation options  Increased supply of transitional housing units  Affordable childcare, pre-school, and after-school options  Living wage jobs  Financial and technical support to local businesses  Micro-enterprise development and post-start-up assistance  Job readiness training, with a particular focus on youth  Specialized job training with placement and post-placement support  Increased collaboration among service agencies and between agencies and schools  Improvements to the Southside Community Center  Accessibility improvements to several public buildings and areas  Need for a formal public gathering space on West Hill  Physical improvements to several recreational facilities  Homeowner repair and accessibility improvement assistance  Increased number of small and accessible or adaptable housing units  OT/RN services for home visits to keep people in their homes longer  Early childhood development programming  Food security 6. Summary of comments or views not accepted and the reasons for not accepting them All comments were accepted and considered in the preparation of this Consolidated Plan. 13. INDIVIDUAL MEMBER FILED RESOLUTIONS: 13.1 Call for Increasing Look-Back Period Under The New York State Property Tax Freeze Legislation - Resolution WHEREAS, the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance released Publication 1030 dated July 14, 2014, rendering guidance on the Property Tax Freeze Credit, and WHEREAS, the Property Tax Freeze Credit is a two-year tax relief program that reimburses qualifying New York State homeowners for increases in local property taxes on their primary residences, and WHEREAS, in order for the credit to be available to the homeowners in a local taxing jurisdiction, the jurisdiction must comply with the New York State Property Tax Cap and, after the first year, must also develop an efficiency plan, and WHEREAS, the State legislation that enacted the property tax freeze expressly requires the consideration of “past efficiencies, shared services, and reforms” in determining whether the cost-saving requirements of the law have been met; and WHEREAS, this “look-back” provision is intended to recognize and reward local governments that took actions such as those now being advocated by the State long before the enactment of the property tax freeze legislation, and that are generating recurring annual savings for local taxpayers; and WHEREAS, the property tax freeze legislation does not limit the look-back period provided to local governments, thereby allowing the State Division of Budget great latitude to consider accomplishments of local governments that have proven to be sustainable and are continuing to generate annual savings to local taxpayers today; and WHEREAS, the State Division of Budget has chosen to exercise this latitude in an extraordinarily narrow and limited manner, allowing consideration of only those measures put in place since 2012, the initial year of the State’s cap on local property tax levies; and WHEREAS, the City of Ithaca, along with other municipalities within Tompkins County including the County itself, have been leaders in shared services, consolidations, and efficiencies and have assembled a remarkable list of achievements long-before the 2012 look-back period established by the Division of Budget, and WHEREAS, examples of such collaborations involving the City partnering with neighboring municipalities within Tompkins County include: - Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit - a not-for-profit public transportation provider governed by representatives from the City of Ithaca, Tompkins County, and Cornell University  Recreation Partnership - an inter-municipal collaboration between 10 municipalities across Tompkins County providing recreation services to member residents  Ithaca Area Wastewater Treatment Facility - operated jointly with the Towns of Ithaca and Dryden  City-Town of Ithaca Fire Service Contract - providing fire protection to both the City and Town of Ithaca through the Ithaca Fire Department  Tompkins County Health Consortium — a collaboration of multiple municipalities in and around Tompkins County providing affordable health insurance, prescription drug coverage, and related benefits to employees and eligible retirees, and WHEREAS, without a longer look-back period the City of Ithaca and its neighboring municipalities will be in a far worse position under the property tax freeze law than those local governments who chose not to initiate any such reforms or generate such savings in the past, and WHEREAS, nearly all municipal governing bodies in Tompkins County have been meeting monthly to document the efficiencies and collaborations already produced and have determined four areas of focus to seek further consolidation and collaboration of services, and WHEREAS, the City of Ithaca concurs with the member municipalities of the Tompkins County Council of Governments that believe that a longer look-back period will afford more municipalities the opportunity to show that savings have been achieved through collaborations such as those sought by the State; now, therefore be it RESOLVED, That the City of Ithaca Common Council requests that its elected members of the State Legislature please use their good office to influence the leadership in their respective Legislative Chambers to move the look-back date to January 1, 2000, a time in which the necessity of shared services and efficiencies became the catalyst for collaboration across municipalities, and be it further RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be sent to Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton, Senators Thomas O’Mara, Michael Nozzolio, and James Seward, Governor Andrew Cuomo, the New York State Division of Budget, and to the New York State Conference of Mayors. 14. MAYOR’S APPOINTMENTS: Appointment/Reappointment to Various City Boards and Committees – Resolution 14.1 Civil Service Commission – Resolution RESOLVED, That Barbara Abrams be reappointed to the Civil Service Commission with a term to expire May 31, 2020. 14.2 Planning and Development Board – Resolution RESOLVED, That Jack Elliott be reappointed to the Planning and Development Board with a term to expire December 31, 2016. 14.3 Public Art Commission – Resolution RESOLVED, That Norma Gutierrez be appointed to the Public Art Commission to replace Jason Otero with a term to expire June 30, 2016.