HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOC Minutes 2025-04-10 TOWN OF ITHACA
CODES AND ORDINANCES COMMITTEE (COC)
Meeting of April 10, 2025 —5:30 p.m.
Shirley A. Raffensperger Board Room,Town Hall
Minutes
Members Present: Rob Rosen, Chair; Bill Arms; Chris Jung; Eva Hoffmann; Susie Gutenberger-
Fitzpatrick; Margaret Johnson.
Staff Present: David O'Shea, Director of Engineering; Dana Magnuson, Senior Code Officer; Marty Moseley,
Director of Code Enforcement; Susan Brock, Attorney for the Town; Christine Balestra, Senior Planner; C.J.
Randall, Director of Planning.
Guests: none
The meeting was recorded on Zoom and streamed live on the Town of Ithaca YouTube channel.
1. Member comments/concerns. Rob asked if the committee wanted to revisit the discussion about leaving
the definition proposed for"buffer area"as is,which is"An area bordering the lot lines of the property on
which a clustered subdivision is to be built, within which there shall be no permanent structures. A
parking lot shall be considered a permanent structure for the purposes of these regulations. "He
wondered if anyone wanted to consider not allowing temporary structures in the buffer zones along
with not allowing permanent structures. The committee decided to not revisit the discussion.
2. Review minutes from March 13, 2025, COC meeting. Rob moved to accept the minutes; Susie
seconded; Susan Brock suggested one word change. All members voted in favor of approval of the
March 13, 2025, COC meeting minutes.
3. Continued review of Draft Subdivision of Land regulations:
Article VI. Terminology
FLAG LOT-Discussed at the last COC meeting, the committee asked that this definition be consistent or
similar with the New Neighborhood Code (NNC) and wherever else used in Town Code. Staff will
wordsmith and combine/compare the language in the sections of code. Committee would like to use the
graphic that was shown in the NNC as well.
HIGHWAY-Referenced"Transportation Network,"which is a different section of current law and might
confuse people. Dave O'Shea will check Highway Law for possible other terms/language.
LOT, LOT AREA& LOT LINE-Susan noted these all need to be consistent with existing Town Code
Zoning Chapter definitions.
LOT LINE ADJUSTMENT-The committee discussed the acreage calculation method. This language
should be clarified to indicate that no more than 5 acres total in aggregate shall be transferred. The
following sentences should also be moved from the definition to the beginning of the law, where lot line
adjustments were previously explained: "While not a subdivision, lot line adjustments are land divisions
and shall be approved in the same manner as exempt subdivisions under this chapter. If a lot line change
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does not meet this definition of being a lot line adjustment, then it shall be referred to the Planning Board
for review and consideration of approval. "Also change "new" in the first sentence to "additional."
MASTER PLAN-Delete; it's not used in the law.
MULTISTORY DWELLING UNITS—Delete; it's not used in the law.
OFFICIAL MAP-In second line, change "other public proposals"to "parks." Remove the last sentence.
This should match the way the Official Town Map is defined elsewhere in Town law.
PRIMARY THOROUGHFARE-Remove and put into the Site Design and Development Criteria Manual
instead.
RESUBDIVISON-Possibly delete or wordsmith to make it easier to tell the difference between this and
lot line adjustment. Staff will double check.
SEMIDETACHED DWELLING UNITS-delete, not used in the law.
SEQR-Spell out/add Article 8 of the NY Environmental Conservation Law and its implementing
regulations at 6 NYCRR Part 617).
SETBACK LINE-Marty will review.
SITE DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT CRITERIA-The committee discussed this definition. It was
unclear to Engineering if the definition applied to public and private infrastructure, noting that NYS Fire
Code dictates private roads. This spurred a discussion about private roads versus public roads, the pros,
and cons of the costs for developers for each. C.J.brought up the Town's Complete Streets Policy and the
conversation went back to revised §234-23 Transportation Network, where the language had the
requirement to meet the Town's standards for public dedication (now being built into a comprehensive
Site Design and Development Criteria Manual). Dave explained that any road that does not meet the
standard is not presumed to be dedicated and generally is maintained privately by the neighborhood HOA
and must meet the NYS Fire Code minimum standards. Related, it was unclear if the manual listed in the
definition really should apply to "all proposed construction," or if it should be narrowly tailored and
clarified.
The committee ended with the above definition and will pick up with the same definition at the next
meeting. Bill will submit a written summary of his remaining proposals to staff and the committee before
the next meeting.
Planning and Engineering staff explained that they will need at least two months to revise the draft
regulations once the committee has completed the current review. Rob suggested a one-month break in
June, and then other COC work plan items could be reviewed by the committee in the interim. However,
this will depend on staff availability to prepare other work plan items in the meantime.
4. Other business: Next meeting—May 8, 2025. Susie,Margaret and C.J. will not be at the meeting.
However, Rob, Eva, Bill, and Chris J. all noted that they would be present so there would be a quorum of
members. The main agenda item is to review the final pages of the Draft Subdivision Regulations.
The meeting adjourned at 7:04 p.m.
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