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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPC Packet 2026-03-19 TOWN OF ITHACA 1Z1 NEW YORK DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING 215 N. Tioga St 14850 607.273.1747 www.town.ithaca.ny.us TOWN OF ITHACA PLANNING COMMITTEE THURSDAY,MARCH 19, 2026 at 3:00 P.M. Meeting Location: Ithaca Town Hall, 215 N. Tioga Street, Aurora Conference Room (Enter from the rear entrance of Town Hall, adjacent employee parking lot.) Members of the public may also join the meeting virtually via Zoom at https://us06web.zoom.us/j/6750593272. AGENDA 1. Persons to be heard. 2. Committee announcements and concerns. 3. Consider approval of February meeting minutes. 4. Discuss and consider recommendation for addition(Tax Parcel No. 37.-1-27.1) to Tompkins County Agricultural District#2. 5. Staff updates and reports. 6. Discuss next meeting date and upcoming agenda items. A quorum of the Ithaca Town Board may be present, however, no official Board business will be conducted. Town of Ithaca Planning Committee Thursday, February 19,2026 (3:00 PM Aurora Conference Room and on Zoom) Draft Minutes Committee members present: Rod Howe, Chair; Diana Sinton; Dave McCune. Board/staff members: Director of Codes Marty Moseley; Director of Planning C.J. Randall; Senior Civil Engineer Justin McNeal; Town Sustainability Planner Hilary Swartwood; and Town Planner Nick Quilty-Koval. Guests: none 1. Committee announcements and concerns: None 2. Persons to be heard: None. 3. Approval of January minutes: Dave moved the minutes for approval as presented. Diana seconded, the minutes were approved. 4. Draft resolution supporting the Deconstruction and Reuse of the Built Environment in the Town of Ithaca. Following up from the previous committee meeting discussion, a draft proposed Town of Ithaca resolution to support deconstruction was circulated for comments and consideration to recommend to the Town Board. Hilary summarized the intent of the proposed non-binding resolution is a starting point for research and development of a work plan for what a possible deconstruction ordinance/code would look like for the Town of Ithaca. Engagement with CROWD for technical assistance throughout the process is anticipated upon passing the resolution as well.A template resolution was initially provided by CROWD and municipalities including the City of Auburn, Town of Dryden, and Tompkins County have passed similar resolutions to the one presented. Planning will work with the Town's Code Enforcement Department to develop this initiative further. The Planning Committee was in favor of recommending the draft resolution to the Town Board for consideration. 5. Institutional Zoning Update-Comprehensive Plan Overview: C.J. provided an updated memo which outlined the priority goal LU-5 in the town's 2014 comprehensive plan to implement institutional zoning. Research and initial drafts for transect based and general campus zoning were completed in 2020-2021. Planning Committee will develop a scope of work for the COC committee scheduled for the 2026 Work Plan. Both the Ithaca College and Cornell University Campus Master Plans are considered current.A master plan update is anticipated for the Cayuga Medical Center. Continued meetings are being held with both large higher education institutions and the goal is to develop partnerships with the institutions in the town. Town Planner Nick Quilty-Koval is participating as a non-voting liaison on behalf of the town for the City of Ithaca Zoning Advisory Committee,which are undertaking the rewrite of the City zoning. The City's zoning contains institutional and university districts, and Comell's campus spans across the city and town. The municipal boundaries that cross buildings and properties make permitting and enforcement difficult and the town zoning for both campuses includes low density residential zones that conflict with the institutional uses. Sign regulations were given as a relevant example, as the community character of a campus compared to a residential area is different and 1 currently the same regulations apply, an appeal to the Zoning Board of Appeals is needed for every sign permit application on both campuses.Appeals are often heard for institutional buildings as well. The research and assessment of the initial phase of implementing institutional zoning was identified to develop a scope of work. C.J. noted that possibly addressing the signage portion to begin with could be a good target or coordinating with Cayuga Medical Center given the timing of their pending master plan update. The Planning Committee was in favor of continued research for the development of a scope of work. 6. Staff updates and reports: C.J. briefly reported that surrounding municipalities have had interest from industrial types of uses around data storage/processing centers. The uses and terms are fairly new and not generally defined in local codes, outside a possible mention in a PDZ for storage only. Town of Ithaca Code does not specifically define or permit these types of uses.An applicant could request an interpretation of the zoning code for the undefined use to be considered in an existing use category and zoning district. Currently, defined `Research and development facilities'use is only authorized in the Light Industrial and Industrial Zones, respectively; the total acreage of land in the town zoned as Industrial is about five acres and much of the acreage zoned Light Industrial is also subject to the Inlet Valley Overlay District. It was noted that those two respective zoning districts currently contain specific performance standard regulations relative to noise, vibration, odor, etc. Committee members were encouraged to reach out to staff with questions. As background information for the two new board and committee members, C.J. gave a detailed overview on what and where the South Hill Traditional Neighborhood(TND) is, how it began in 2010. The New Neighborhood Code was adopted in 2022 and the town is slated to work with a consulting firm for contractual services to complete the environmental review, anticipated to involve a Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS). Benefits to form-based code were discussed and it was noted that the large private property owners in the TND area have been involved in the process to date and were notified that the town was proceeding with the environmental review. The master plan prepared by Brown&Associates in 2022 was shown on screen and the committee was provided with the project specific website links for reports, public charettes, and other related information. 7. Next meeting date and upcoming agenda items: The regular scheduled meeting date was noted as 3-19-2026. Dave will not be in person to attend, however can participate via Zoom. Alternate dates were considered however it was ultimately decided to keep the original date and any action items which require an in person quorum can be postponed until the next meeting when all are present in person. No upcoming agenda items were noted. The Town of Ithaca Planning Committee meeting concluded at 4:20 p.m. 2 °]I°®MP] INS C®C[JNTY AGRICULTURE & FARMLAND PROTECTION BOARD 615 Willow Avenue Ithaca, New Fork 14850 Telephone(607) 272-2292 Fax (607) 272-7088 Date: March 10, 2026 To: Town of Ithaca Planning Committee From: Crystal Buck, Farmland Protection Educator, CCETC, on behalf of the AFPB Re: Agricultural District Annual Open Enrollment Period Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County, on behalf of the County Agriculture and Farmland Protection Board and County Legislature,facilitates the review of Agricultural Districts. Comprehensive reviews take place every eight years for each district (District 1 was last reviewed in 2020 and District 2 was last reviewed 2024). In addition, every year from February 1 to March 2 we facilitate the designated 30-day open enrollment period for Tompkins County Agricultural Districts. During this time, property owners may submit applications to be considered for addition to an Agricultural District. NYS Ag District Law(Article 25-AA of the Agriculture & Markets Law) dictates the process for reviewing these applications. Upon the termination of the thirty-day open enrollment period,the County's Agriculture and Farmland Protection Board (AFPB) must review the requested additions and provide recommendations as to whether the land to be included in the agricultural district consists predominantly of"viable agricultural land". As part of this process, I would like to hear from the Town Planning Committee so that your comments on these applications can be included in the AFPB report.The AFPB will review the draft report at their meeting on Wednesday March 251" and the final report will then be forwarded to the County Legislature for consideration. A public hearing on potential additions to the Agriculture Districts of Tompkins County will be held at the County Legislature meeting scheduled for May 19, 2026, at 5:30 p.m..The town will receive official notice of this hearing through the town clerk's office. Thank you for your support of farming in Tompkins County through the NYS Agriculture District program. htt0s://ccetompkins.org/resources/agricultural-district-inclusiOt'fWf'9b, r L I AM Ag District#_ (Office use only) Landowner Request for Inclusion in Tompkins County's Existing New York State-Certified Agricultural Districts By completing and returning this form I request that my land(identified below),which is predominantly Tompkins County Agricultural District. active f land,be added to the appropriate Phone(„q-41;-M1 a Email Name Mailing Address _ Do you currently receive the agricultural assessment for this property? Yes No :.1 Parcel Information(space for additional parcels on reverse) SWSS&Parcel#: C 9 - ' • Address/Location: SWSS&Parcel#: Address/Location: f (use reverse for additional parcels) Farm Activity Description Total acres -gFanned acres i.S Pasture acres I �.S Wooded acres Wetland acres \ J v�t.e �x O y Existing agricultural structures(type&size): `t � Streams on property? Name(s)&number of feet: A/l� 2 a � 2 .t_ Proximity to public natural areas?Describe: a� Type of Operation: Dairy _Vineyard Poultry C_ _Cash Crop/Grain _Livestock beef Hort/Greenhs/Nursery _Cash Crop/Hay _Livestock/sheep _Sugarbush Cash Crop/Vegetable _Livestock/equine _Christen Tree Orchard Livestock/other�OC� Other b If you do not farm this land yourself,provide the following for the person who rents your farmland: Name Phone Mailing Address � 6 d er Signature Date ***Please return your completed form by October 10,2023 *** Please Mail Early Forms received after October loth cannot be considered this year 1 https://ccetom Oki ns.orq/resources/agricultural-di strict-inclusion-form David Parcel Context Map Tompkins County Annual Ag District , Enrollment Application Town of Ithaca �,. - .► w � Tompkins County, NY d•�ds�� '� � fir` 4 +' v `` >,' Parcel ID. 37.-1-27.1 M` Total Acres to be added to the Ag r *''`a •v��:., _ �. District: 4.35 rt �' r� ` v�wt►.'. OAF Legend 0 David Tax Parcel ' I Ag Districts 2025 ;; 4� Aft Data Sources: - xs Ma ' s Parcel Boundaries: Tompkins County GIS Soils Data: Tompkins County GIS a�! _ , :• '�R Map prepared March 9, 2026 by the Tompkins County Department of Planning K`' and Sustainability, 121 East Court Street, !� " Ithaca, NY 14850 4�trls co M . * * * '` 0 0.1 0.2 r Mlles V ntc David Parcel T.• Soils Map �4'- Tit Tompkins County Annual Ag District r.� Enrollment Application �a Town of Ithaca Tompkins County, NY Hdc '�- - Parcel ID: 37.-1-27.1 ` Total Acres to be added to the Ag District: 4.35 *" ,d► t LegendAt ODavid Tax Parcel , Yf ' t `• 4.35 acres •.7l 7 `� 4� �. :a _ Soils: All Areas Prime Farmland 0.83 acres(19.15%) Farmland of Statewide Importance 2.66 acres(61.24%) r r►. Prime Farmland if Drained ' , 4, ' 0.0 acres(0.0%) 1 r• Not Prime or Statewide Importance Farmland 0.85 acres(19.61%) ®LULC 2023 Agriculture A' 0.0 acres(0.0%) Data Sources: = Parcel Boundaries: Tompkins County GIS Soils Data: Tompkins County GIS LULC 2023: Tompkins County GIS Map prepared March 9, 2026 by the Tompkins County Department of Planning and Sustainability, 121 East Court Street, Ithaca, NY 14850 4�t1�tS C� � ~ �•.+��, M r Miles ntor.