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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOC Minutes 2026-03-12TOWN OF ITHACA CODES AND ORDINANCES COMMITTEE 215 North Tioga Street Ithaca, New York 14850 (607) 273-1747 PLEASE NOTE: This meeting will be held in person in the Town Board Room at Town Hall, 215 North Tioga Street, Ithaca, NY, on March 12 2026, at 5:30pm. Members of the public may join the meeting via Zoom: • Join Zoom meeting: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87531393743 • Zoom meeting ID: 875 3139 3743 • Dial in phone: 929-436-2866 Meeting of March 12 – 5:30 P.M. AGENDA 1. Member comments/concerns. 2. Review minutes from November 13, 2025 and January 8, 2026 COC meetings. 3. Review proposed 2026 Codes and Ordinances Committee Work Plan. 4. Begin review of Revised Draft Subdivision of Land regulations (existing regulations: https://ecode360.com/8660770), Article I. 5. Other business: • Next meeting date (April 9, 2026); future dates, times, and location. • Rescheduling the May 14, 2026 meeting. • Next meeting agenda. Town of Ithaca Planning Department March 6, 2026 1 TOWN OF ITHACA CODES AND ORDINANCES COMMITTEE (COC) Meeting of March 12, 2026 – 5:30 p.m. Shirley A. Raffensperger Board Room, Town Hall Minutes Members Present: Susie Gutenberger-Fitzpatrick: Chair; Diana Sinton; Eva Hoffmann, and Vinny Ferrara. Staff Present: C.J. Randall, Director of Planning; Christine Balestra, Senior Planner; Nick Quilty-Koval, Planner; Marty Moseley, Director of Code Enforcement; Dana Magnuson, Senior Code Officer, and Susan Brock, Attorney for the Town. Guests: none The meeting was recorded on Zoom and live streamed on the Town of Ithaca YouTube channel. Susie called the meeting to order at 5:33 p.m. 1. Member comments/concerns. None. 2. Review minutes from November 13, 2025, and January 8, 2026, COC meetings. Changes were read aloud by the Attorney for the Town. On a motion made by Eva, seconded by Susie, the November 13, 2025, and January 8, 2026, Town of Ithaca Codes and Ordinances Committee (COC) minutes were unanimously approved as amended. 3. Review proposed 2026 Codes and Ordinances Committee Work Plan. The proposed work plan was distributed to committee members in January. Comments were provided by the COC at that time. C.J. presented the draft work plan again and asked for any additional comments or concerns. With new committee members being appointed by the time the next COC meeting takes place, Susie suggested the agenda item be tabled to discuss at the next meeting. 4. Begin review of Revised Draft Subdivision of Land Regulations, Article 1. Chris began by briefly summarizing the memo provided to the committee, which included the history of the subdivision regulations in the town up to the current revised draft as presented today. The document provided to the committee for review includes feedback from the initial COC review and work by staff and the Attorneys for the Town. The proposed revised draft regulations implement the goals and objectives of the Town 2014 Comprehensive Plan and are more in line with modern planning, 2 engineering, and codes requirements. C.J. added more information about the Site Design and Criteria Manual reference in the draft subdivision regulations; that document is currently under development and will be a separate, more detailed manual for developers to help determine road profiles and utility design details. A visual presentation was prepared by Nick and shared on screen as a tool for the committee to be able to visualize a cluster subdivision using the resource analysis requirements from Article VII: Subdivision Design Standards, along with other sections with calculations and detailed requirements. This was done from a developer’s standpoint on an existing lot, using the tools and proposed regulations as drafted. Slides were shown for each step of the process and were explained in detail. From a developers’ standpoint, the subdivision process begins with identifying the parcel to be subdivided, then reviewing Town Code requirements, creating a conventional subdivision plan using the yield estimator/site capacity worksheet to determine the maximum number of building lots and dwelling units (including accessory dwelling units) permitted on the parcel. This is done as a sketch phase and would include initial communication with town Planning staff. The next step of the process is the Resource Analysis to map and identify the conservation value of specific site features. A guide is included as an aid to determine the amount of land needed to be preserved. The last step before going to the Planning Board for a formal review is to create a cluster subdivision using the calculations and information from the Resource Analysis. C.J. briefly explained the benefits to a cluster style subdivision and Susan added that cluster subdivisions are only required for parcels that are five (5) acres or larger, and with at least four (4) lots proposed. There is a provision in the law that permits the developer to propose a conventional subdivision if the proposal meets the criteria in the law, and the Planning Board allows for it. After the presentation, the committee began a page-by-page review of the revised draft subdivision regulations. The document was shared on screen, and each of the Articles/sections were summarized by C.J. with pauses for questions or comments from the committee and staff. Additional clarifications were made by Chris and Susan, as needed. Susan and C.J. made a point to mention that the Town’s Open Space Index, created in the 1990’s continues to be a useful, well-written document and very valuable resource for the town. One area noted to be investigated further by staff was potential clarification in public notices, agendas, etc., to better inform the public that the preliminary stage of a subdivision review is where the environmental review and bulk of the approval is considered. The experience has been that the public tends to participate in the final stages of a review, where some details have been approved previously in the preliminary 3 stage. Staff will investigate ways to better inform the public earlier in the review process. The committee concluded their review at §234-20 Final Subdivision Review and will resume with page 8, letter D, Line 431 (proposed Article VI). Susie acknowledged staff’s dedicated work and attention on this law, noting that staff made sure to consider the best interests of the town, property owners, and applicants. 5. Other business: The next scheduled meeting is scheduled for April 9, 2026, at which time the committee will discuss changing the meeting day back to the second Wednesday of each month. C.J. noted that there would be no planning staff available for the regular scheduled meeting May 14, 2026 so the committee will discuss that upcoming meeting at the April meeting. Next meeting agenda: Continued review of Revised Draft Subdivision of Land Regulations Continued review of draft 2026 Work Plan Discussion of meeting dates, times, and room locations The meeting adjourned at 6:55 p.m.