HomeMy WebLinkAboutMin-08-20-08CODES AND ORDINANCES COMMITTEE
MEETING MINUTES
AUGUST 20, 2008
MEMBERS PRESENT: Bill Goodman, Herb Engman, Pat Leary, Eric Levine.
OTHERS PRESENT: Rich DePaolo, Town Board; Susan Brock, Attorney for the Town; Sue
Ritter, Assistant Director of Planning; Christine Balestra, Planner.
Chair Bill Goodman called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m.
Agenda Item No. 1 - Member Comments/Concerns:
No comments. Committee discussed meeting minutes from June and July, made a few minor
changes to the June minutes and approved both sets of minutes.
Committee moved to discuss Agenda Item No. 4 next:
Agenda Item No. 4 – Consider Amendments to Chapter 184-Noise Relating to Fees for Permit
Applications and the Timeframe for Submission of Noise Permit Applications:
Susan Brock presented amendments to the Noise Permit Regulation (Chapter 184 of the Town of
Ithaca Code), based on Committee discussions regarding the law at the July COC meeting. The
amendments authorize the Town Board to waive the 45 day submission requirement for noise
permit applications and also include a $50 application fee, to reimburse the town costs of preparing
and publishing the public notices for the permits in the Ithaca Journal. After a bit of discussion
between members about what the appropriate application fee should be, the COC unanimously
approved the proposed amendments as drafted.
Agenda Item No. 2 – Continuation of Review of Lakefront Residential Zone Amendments:
The Committee spent the balance of the meeting discussing the Lakefront Residential Zone
regulation, specifically the comments made by the public and Town Board members at the August
11th Town Board meeting. Planning staff distributed more statistical information and revised
spreadsheets for the Committee to review, particularly information on the percentage of lakefront
properties that currently comply with the dock length, dock width, and surface area of the existing
regulation and percentage of properties that will comply with the modified regulation.
Among the comments made by the public and Town Board members: mooring provisions, placing
boatlifts at the end of docks, dock length versus depth to water, Conservation Board comments, and
comments from the Tompkins County Planning Department (memo dated August 8, 2008).
The comment about moorings was made by a member of the West Shore Homeowner's Association
(WSHA) at the last Town Board meeting. He stated (this is not verbatim) that the narrow width of
many properties and the larger size of existing sailboats on the lake prevent many lakeshore owners
from meeting the mooring setback requirements of the LR Zone (moorings shall be no closer than
10 feet to the projection of adjacent property lines from the shore). The WSHA later suggested a
reduction in the setback for moorings, from 10 feet to 1 foot. The Committee discussed this option,
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and agreed that reducing the setback to 1 foot would be too difficult for Code Enforcement staff to
enforce. The Committee wanted to know what other lakeshore communities were doing about
moorings in their jurisdiction. Planning staff reported that several communities did not have
mooring provisions in their dock laws and that the communities that did have mooring regulations
had almost identical provisions as the Town's existing regulation. The Committee asked Planning
staff to call some of the other municipalities to ascertain if their mooring regulations are working, if
they receive many variance requests for properties that do not meet the mooring provisions, why
some of the communities did not choose to regulate moorings, etc. **Planning staff will contact
these municipalities and will report back to the COC at the September COC meeting. In the
meantime, the COC tentatively recommends reducing the setbacks for moorings from 10 feet
to 5 feet.
Regarding the boatlift on the end of docks comment: There was some concern that a lakeshore
resident might install a 50-foot long dock and then attach a 308s.f. boatlift on the end of the dock
(lengthwise), thereby creating a 70+ foot long overall structure (length of dock plus length of
boatlift). Staff explained that this was not a likely scenario, as the lakeshore owner would need
some sort of platform or dock extension to reach the side of the boatlift so people could get on and
off the boat without falling into the water. That dock extension or platform would be calculated
into the overall dock length and surface area. If it resulted in longer than 50ft overall length (or
300s.f. overall dock area), then a variance would be required for the structure.
Regarding the comment from a resident about allowing dock lengths of 50 feet "or 5 feet of water
depth, whichever is first": This was discussed by the COC in previous meetings. The COC
determined that it would be difficult for Code Enforcement staff to enforce the water depth element
of this proposal, since staff would need to physically measure the depth of the water (possibly
getting into the water to do so). The Committee decided to keep the maximum 50-foot length
provision as it is without adding the water depth aspect.
Regarding the Conservation Board (CB) comments: staff distributed a sheet containing the main
comments offered by the CB pertaining to the LR Zone regulation. The Committee discussed the
comments and determined that most of the comments were not detailed enough to take action on.
For example, the CB remarked that sea walls should be less than eight feet in height. However,
they did not indicate a height they felt would be acceptable nor did they provide a reason for
suggesting a lower height limit.
Finally, regarding the Tompkins County Planning Department comments: The Committee discussed
the two comments made by the County Planning Department and decided not make any changes to
the law. Regarding the issue of width requirements, the committee felt it was unlikely that property
owners would build excessively long docks parallel to the shore and therefore did not recommend
any language modification. Regarding the issue of dock length (perpendicular to the shore), the
majority of the committee was comfortable with the proposed increase in allowable dock length (to
50 feet) and did not see a need to revisit that issue.
The West Shore Homeowners Association contacted the Town Supervisor and Bill Goodman after
the August 11th Town Board meeting and offered additional proposed modifications to the most
recent draft regulation. First, WSHA members wanted to see the permitted height of uncovered
boatlifts/hoists increase from 8-feet in height to 15-feet in height. They argued that when an
uncovered lift is attached to a dock, it is likely placed flush with or just below the surface of the
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dock, which could be 5+/- feet above the OHW already. So an 8-foot height limit would only leave
3-feet above the surface of the dock for the boatlift supports. They believed this would be
impractical. The WSHA also wanted an increase in the allowable dock surface area from 300s.f. to
350s.f. and an increase in the size of accessory structures at the shore from 100s.f. to 150s.f.
Finally, the WSHA suggested that "stairways" be added to the section of the regulation that permits
certain structures to be 10-feet from the shore, since many properties (especially "cliff" properties)
have stairways that provide access to the shore below. They wanted to ensure that these structures
would be allowed.
The Committee discussed the WSHA suggestions and decided to recommend the following
additional changes to the LR Zone regulation: increase the uncovered boatlift/hoist heights
from an 8-foot maximum to a 15-foot maximum, keep the 300s.f. dock surface area and 100s.f.
accessory structure size as they are (not much discussion on these items), and possibly add
"stairways" to the list of uncovered facilities permitted to be 10 -feet from the shore.
**Planning staff will check with Code Enforcement staff to ascertain whether stairways
require building permits. If stairways require building permits, then the Committee will
recommend adding stairways to the list in the regulation. If stairways do not require building
permits, then they will not be added to the list.
The Committee then discussed the status of the Town's application to be added to the State
Navigation Law. The LR Zone regulation was sent and approved by the State Legislature, but has
not yet been signed by the Governor. Some Committee members had reservations about passing a
revised LR Zone regulation without the authority to regulate docks afforded by the state. The
Committee therefore recommended they cancel the September Town Board public hearing that
would consider passing the proposed LR Zone revisions and instead consider setting the
public hearing for the October Town Board meeting. In the meantime, the COC will figure out
and possibly recommend modifying the mooring provisions of the law (at least reducing the
setback), in addition to the recommended changes in bold above.
Agenda Item No. 8 - Schedule and Agenda for Next Meeting:
The Committee agreed to hold the next meeting on the scheduled date of Wednesday, September
17th, 2008 and to continue discussion on the Lakefront Residential Zone regulation, specifically in
regards to moorings. Other possible agenda items include: continuing review of the proposed
Stream Setback Law, considering amendments to the Town Zoning provisions regarding fences,
and continuing review and revision of the Town Sign Law (Chapter 221 of Town Code).
Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 9:45 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Christine Balestra, Planner