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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1990 Circle Greenway Annual Report ! o I &; . iiif®®il, 1,!°o/GTEO= CITY OF ITHACA 108 EAST GREEN STREET ITHACA, NEW YORK 14850 CIRCLE GREENWAY TELEPHONE: 272-1713 CODE 607 CIRCLE GREENWAY : ANNUAL REPORT FOR 1990 . BROCHURE Our new brochure "WALK ITHACA" was distributed at City Hall , Corner Book Store and Chamber of Commerce (over 1000 copies , " it ' s our Hottest brochure" ) ; and at events and meetings . Had many requests for brochure from out- of-towners . EVENTS Wildflower Day in Six Mile Creek Gorge , tours . May 4. Native Plant Ground Covers , an exhibit at Coop Extension ' s May Garden Fair , May 11 . Color Day in Six Mile Creek Gorge , October 6 . WORK IN Parking lot at VanNatta ' s re-surfaced . SIX MILE Tree work along paths . GORGE Vandalism repair ,especially the bulletin board . Lawn and path maintenance . Scheduled litter pick-up . - Much of this work done by the Tree Crew of Streets and Facilities . GORGE Participatson in selection of Gorge Ranger , and RANGER orientating him to the job . LIAISON Participation in formation of the Parks Commission and the re-organized Six Mile Creek Gorge Committee ; also meetings concerning land acquisition in the Gorge , Circle Greenway route in the Town , Pogo Parcel planning , Natural History Network , and Finger Lakes Independence Center' s concern about difficulty of access to woodland at Van Natta ' s . (There will be path re-surfacing in 1992 . ) GIFT Circle Greenway received a gift of $25. 00 from an out- of- towner who enjoys Six Mile. ( Such occasional gifts are deposited in a trust fund in the Chamberlain ' s office ; we may use these funds for special needs not provided for in our budget . ) Elizabeth Mulhol Chair Circle Greenway "An Equal Opportunity Employer with an Affirmative Action Program" • Memo to: Supervisor Noel Desch Members of Ithaca Town Board Town Planners, Susan Beeners and George Frantz Town Attorney John Barney From: Betsy Darlington, Conservation Advisory • .� � ^ 9' Council (CAC) Chair Re: Six-Mile Creek Recreation Trail EAF Date: March 6, 1989 I understand the Town Board will be discussing, and maybe voting on, the bikeway EAF on March 13. I urge you to delay the vote. I. I only learned a little over a week ago that an EAF had been done for this project. If the City is an "involved agency," it should be included in the SEQR process. I have three bits of information concerning this: A. Bonnie McLaud, the NYSEG negotiator, said she thought--but was not sure--that the City would have to give its approval for the bikeway to cross the new City parcel. Susan Beeners asked Attorney Barney about this and he felt City approval would not be needed. Someone (or some document) at NYSEG should be able to clarify this. B. Susan Beeners said that Mr. Barney felt that the City would have to give its approval for use of the Wildflower Preserve Trail, in from Renzetti Pl.--if that is, in fact, an official trail. C. Ralph Nash told me that if City approval is needed for any part of the project, then the City will conduct its own environmental review when the time comes, if it is not included now. This would delay the project-- possibly at an awkward time for you. I would like to suggest that the City be included and a vote on the EAF be delayed until this has happened. This will give people in the City an opportunity to state any concerns, and also avoid later delays. II. In the event that you decide to go ahead without comments from the City, I would like to make a few now, although I have not yet had time to study the document carefully. 1. Trail width: Few people seem to favor a width of 8 feet. There are • narrow maintenance vehicles designed for use on narrow trails, and access for trucks is the only reason I've heard for having the trail so wide. (For removing fallen trees from the trail, the ecologically soundest procedure would be to simply leave the trees in the woods.) A number of users of the Honness Lane trail feel that is it far wider than necessary or desirable. Along Six-Mile Creek, which is so much wilder a place, the extra width would destroy the sense of being on a remote, isolated trail through the woods. If the trail is narrower--4 or 5 feet D. maybe?--at least some of the opposition to it will disappear. 2. Sewer line, etc.: There is always a problem of knowing what to address in doing an EAF. One of the City planners and I were told by John Lockrow, Sr. Analyst at the DEC in Albany, (regarding the City's Alienation process) that an environmental assessment must address a "worst case" scenario; other things that could follow as a result of the project must be addressed. In this instance, there are five major things that could happen, once the project is approved, and these should be addressed in the EAF: a. Extension of the sewer line out along the right-of-way, b. Intense development below Coddington Rd. as a result of (a); c. Construction of a road where the trail now is (some of this is in fact already planned); d. Deterioration of the valuable natural area below the rr bed because of (b); e. Degradation of the water supply because of (b), (c), and (d). One could argue that leaky septic systems along Coddington Rd. pose a greater risk. (If so, why isn't the County correcting the problem?) First, sewer lines also can leak (and the one west of Northfield may be doing just that!). Also, a new study shows that with development comes greatly increased pollution of groundwater (which, of course, along Coddington Rd., ends up in Six-Mile Creek). This pollution is from many different substances - pesticides, solvents, salt, gasoline, etc. Of course, there is also greater runoff and more pollution of surface water with development. 3. Mitigating measires: If we wish to protect the water supply and the outstanding and unique natural area that extends upward for a considerable distance from it, measures must be taken before the bikeway is approved. Here are some possibilities: a. Be sure that the easements from NYSEG and Therm allow for only the bikeway and not a sewer line or future road; b. Be sure that there are not other conditions in the easement that could stimulate intense development below Coddington Rd.; c. Go for an easement, and not purchase, of the right-of-way. (Otherwise • some future board could overturn any protections you put in place.) • • d. Ask for an easement of, say, 20' rather than 66'. * A determination of significance cannot be made until terms of the easement are known. 4. Cost of project: Many people are concerned about the cost of the project. Couldn't a good bike trail be made at far less expense by simply smoothing / r � out the bumps, putting bark chips or cinders in especially muddy places, and trimming brush where it is threatening to overrun the trail? I believe that many people would support the trail if I) the trail were narrower and less manicured or "suburban' in character; 2) if a commitment were made--ensured in part with the easement conditions--not to ever extend the sewer line along it, and not to ever put in a road; and 3) if the cost were reduced. I think many people like the idea of having the trail maintained and monitored to some degree. They just don't like the extent of the proposed changes nor of the future impacts that such things as a sewer line would have. Trails can be beautiful, and this one already is. Let's not do so much to it that we ruin it! If it's done right, I think the project will enjoy widespread support. Thanks for your attention! ' ^ • • . . . • � . ccl (4'6' fCji!WI— j'14, m; CITY OF ITHACA 108 EAST GREEN STREET ITHACA, NEW YORK 14850 OFFICE OF TELEPHONE: 272-1713 CONSERVATION ADVISORY COUNCIL CODE 607 March 6, 1989 Mr. Richard 3. Cook CNG Transmission Corp. 445 W. Main St. Clarksburg, W. V A 26302-2450 • Dear Mr. Cook: I read in the legal notices on February 28th that your company is planning to construct a natural gas pipeline across Six-Mile Creek just east of the Ithaca Reservoir. As I understand the notice, much of the pipeline will run along the current NYSEG powerline. Are you aware that this powerline crosses City land, near Coddington Rd. as far as the old railroad bed, and again in the City watershed holdings? In addition to concerns with siltation and other pollution of the water supply, the Six-Mile Creek area is designated by the County Environmental Management Council as a "unique natural area" because of its many rare or scarce plants, animals, and ecological communities, its spectacular scenery, and its interesting geological features. The area is characterized by deep gorges with highly erodible banks, leading down to the main creek. What measures will your company be taking to: a. Minimize disturbance to the plants and wildlife; b. Minimize problems of runoff, erosion, and sedimentation during construction; c. Minimize construction damage; d. Minimize pollution (including trash) by your construction crews and their machinery? Also, what will you be doing to involve the City in review and oversight of the project? Thank you for your attention. Sincerely, Betsy Darlington, Conservation • Advisory Council Chair Cc: NYS DEC (vw,w.rsS �or�.w� Public Service Commission NYSEG Mayor Guten rF.9 FO& Jr�ryd t itiea �tive Action Program" ge,A - . a,, . P.r 3 .-7:3v . /121-4-11)7 Tools for Protection of Six-Mile Creek March 22, 1989 Buzz Lavine, Margaret Fabrizio, John Johnson, and Betsy Darlington met on March 20 to consider various ways to enhance protection of the watershed and the unique natural area along the Six-Mile Creek corridor. We went through the list sent out several months ago by Thys Van Cort, and discussed each idea (Buzz's expertise was invaluable!): 1. New watershed rules and regulations. This could be a powerful tool for protecting water quality. The regs proposed by Steve Baker before he moved away last June would protect not just the creek but all tributaries as well. Buzz is going to talk to John Andersson at the County Health Dept. and I'll talk to City Engineer, Bill Gray, and tell them a letter may come from our joint committee, asking for some action. 2. Conservation Overlay Zones. The Comprehensive Plan that the Town of Ithaca is working on apparently includes COZ s for 6-Mile. Buzz is going to ask Susan Beeners what the plan recommends. 3. TDR's (Transfer of development rights). A complicated tool that requires a lot of planning. Unlikely in Dryden for many years; even more unlikely in -Caroline. But possible in Town of Ithaca. The Town Board members need encouragement to adopt this tool. The basic principle is that everyone shares equally in development • rights. Let's say Mr. Newt owns 10 acres below the rr bed that the Town has decided may not be developed. Ms. Toad owns 10 acres in a part of town that can be developed. She may indeed go ahead and develop that 10 acres, but only after paying Mr. Newt for the development rights on some (all?) of his ten acres. That is, she compensates Mr. Newt for not being able to develop his land, in order to gain the right to develop her own land. (At least, I think that's how Buzz explained it.) • 4. Conservation easements. A landowner retains ownership of his land and all the rights that this implies, EXCEPT for rights that are spelled out in the easement--usually development rights. All or part of the land can be covered by the easement. Easements are sold or donated. If donated, there can be considerable tax benefits to the owner: a. charitable deduction on state and federal income tax (for the difference in value between the land before the donation and after); b. possible reduction in property taxes (assessors are not required to lower the taxes, but they should, and they should be urged to do so); c. reduction in estate taxes. Let's say a couple has 200 acres of valuable, developable property but their income and assets are rather low. They might think they can protect their land by leaving it to their conservation-minded children. They die. The kids get it--and quickly discover that the estate taxes are so high they must sell the • land to pay the taxes. Since an easement would greatly reduce the value of the land, the estate taxes would be much lower. eve,"'4' S LA\ Sell \ave 'v- WOaSzb1 Tv4.01-4 61 -44.‘•c eapa.u,kk- • Ove✓—� tp The tax benefits of donating an easement naturally depend on how much has been given up. If all development rights are donated, the tax benefits will be greater than if certain areas are designated as ones on which development can take place. An easement does not open the land to the public, unless the owner says so in the easement. 5. Deed restrictions. Although restrictions can be put into the deeds on any piece of property, this usually happens only at the time the land changes hands, and especially when it is proposed for development. A municipality can require deed restrictions as a condition for approval for a development. Municipalities should be urged to use this tool. Deed restrictions are much easier to break (legally) than conservation easements. 6. Runoff management. Controls should be required as part of the normal development approval process in a municipality. Erosion and sedimentation co•.-lw1 ordinances are especially helpful in this. Betsy is going to call Stuart Stein (on the County Bd. of Reps.) and ask him to to have his committee ask the County Planning staff to prepare some sample ordinances and to circulate these to the various municipalities in the County, urging their adoption. 7. Critical Environmental Areas (CEA's) and unique natural areas. Useful to have these designations, but not a whole lot of teeth in them. The second has no teeth at all, except as a warning to reviewers of proposals to proceed with caution. An action that takes place in a CEA automatically becomes a Type I action, thus requiring environmental review. John Johnson is going to ask Paul Mazzarella what the status is for 6-Mile: is it already a CEA? If not, we should start the process of getting it designated. 8. Mapping - potential streets, etc. An official document. Probably not a lot to be done on this now, but we should be involved in decisions regarding roads and other map changes in the 6-Mile Cr. area. Question for Susan or George: what does the Comprehensive Plan propose? 9. Wild, scenic, and recreational river designation. This would be useful and should be pursued. 10. Outright acquisition of land, either from willing donors or sellers or by condemnation. This naturally affords the greatest protection. We agreed that there is a need for a flan: a. what to purchase (whether easements or outright acquisition), and b. what the priorities are - highest would be lands the City should acquire, either through donation or purchase; next would be land that is only valuable enough to get some cheaper way than through purchase; and • lowest priority would be land that needed protection but not as desperately as the others, and for which deed restrictions should be sufficient. Michael Jones has done a lot of work for the Town on 6-Mile and should be included in figuring out which lands to put into which categories.