HomeMy WebLinkAboutMin-01-18-06CODES AND ORDINANCES COMMITTEE
MEETING MINUTES
JANUARY 18, 2006
PRESENT: Herb Engman, Cathy Valentino, Pat Leary, Fred Wilcox, Eva Hoffmann, Kirk Sigel, Lenore
Durkee.
OTHERS: Jonathan Kanter, Director of Planning; Susan Brock (Susan), Attorney for the Town; Sue
Ritter, Assistant Director of Planning.
Chair Herb Engman called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m.
Agenda Item No. 1 - Member Comments/Concerns:
Fred Wilcox asked whether the Town Board had made any decisions regarding how Committees would be
structured. Herb indicated that the Town Board had not made any decisions, and that members of
committees such as Codes & Ordinances (COC) had been re-appointed on an interim basis until the board
has had an opportunity to discuss this subject further. Fred asked whether committee members who are not
on the Town Board would be able to continue as voting members on COC. Herb said that there are some
legal issues that need to be looked at, so there are no answers yet.
Agenda Item No. 2 – Approval of Minutes of December 21, 2005 Meeting:
Herb asked whether there are any comments on the draft Minutes of the December 21 st meeting. Susan
Brock had a correction at the bottom of page 2, indicating that the spelling of Mike Drummond should be
corrected to Mike “DeMunn”. Herb suggested adding a sentence on page 2 in the fourth paragraph after
the first sentence, as follows: “Herb noted that the Town of Ithaca Zoning Code states that docks and
wharves shall be of floating construction whenever feasible”. Eva indicated that a clarification should be
added at the top of page 2 in the sentence that ends, … “so why should the Town allow docks to encroach
on the lake” by adding … “any more than what is already allowed”. By consensus, the Committee agreed
to accept the Minutes of the December 21, 2005 meeting with the corrections and additions noted above.
Agenda Item No. 3 –Report Regarding Proposed Indian Creek Gorge and Lake Slopes Conservation
Zone:
Jonathan Kanter reported that the meeting on the proposed Indian Creek & Lake Slopes Conservation Zone
that had been scheduled for December 15, 2005 had been postponed due to bad weather, but that Town
staff had met with representatives of the Cayuga Medical Center and Holochuk Homes LLC to discuss the
proposed Conservation Zone since then. Sue added that the Holochuk Homes group showed staff a
conventional lot layout on the former Cayuga Cliffs site with about 61 lots to establish a preliminary lot
count, but that they have not prepared an actual development proposal yet. Sue indicated that staff went
over the proposed Conservation Zone boundary with Holochuk so that they could get a better idea of how it
might affect their development potential on the site.
Sue reported that the Cayuga Medical Center was concerned about the proposed Conservation Zone on
their property because the zone does not allow hospitals. This could potentially affect the Medical Center’s
long range development plans. Sue added that the Medical Center also suggested the possibility of moving
the proposed Conservation Zone boundary further downhill from the existing facility. As an example, the
Medical Center had indicated concern about the future need for adding storm water facilities in the area of
the proposed zone. Fred asked whether the Medical Center had acquired the Biggs Building. Sue said they
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had, and the Medical Center had also talked to staff about their plans to demolish the building and reclaim
the area.
Susan asked whether storm water facilities are allowed in the Zoning Code. Jonathan responded that storm
water facilities are not listed as permitted uses, but are considered as improvements that are part of the
proposed use (not a separate use). The Committee then had a discussion about whether all Conservation
Zones should be treated the same or whether special requirements could be incorporated into specific
Conservation Zones. Kirk expressed the opinion that there is a benefit to treating all Conservation Zones
the same. Sue mentioned that the Six Mile Creek Conservation Zone, which was the first one, included
language about a setback from the South Hill Recreationway, and that a similar provision might be
appropriate for the future Black Diamond Trail. Jonathan suggested that hospitals could be added as a
special permit use in the Conservation Zone – museums are already permitted in the Conservation Zone.
Cathy agreed and suggested including hospitals in all Conservation Zones. Kirk indicated that current
residential zones include no real controls over the non -residential uses that are permitted in them, and that
special coverage restrictions for non-residential uses might be appropriate. Eva indicated that if hospitals
are added as permitted uses in the Conservation Zone, there should also be special height and density
restrictions.
Fred indicated that the desired timeframe for rezoning this area to the Conservation Zone should be rather
short, and wondered how the amendments regarding uses and size controls would fit into the timeframe.
Herb asked when a public meeting could be re -scheduled. After reviewing possible dates, the Committee
agreed to hold the public meeting on Thursday, February 9, 2005 at 7:15 p.m. Kirk suggested that we
move ahead with the Conservation Zone with the boundaries as proposed, and work on a separate track on
possible amendments relating to permitted uses and density.
Jonathan mentioned that in staff discussion with the Holochuk group, the idea of a density bonus for the
inclusion of affordable housing units in the development was discussed. Jonathan mentioned the proximity
of the PRI Museum of the Earth to the more buildable part of the Holochuk site. Sue added that there is a
sensitive viewshed through the Rebecca Hall site that could be impacted with the addition of higher density
housing on the upper part of the Holochuk site. Herb indicated that the character of the area is mostly
institutional. Sue mentioned that access to the Holochuk site is a limitation to development of the site. The
Committee had no positive consensus regarding the question of whether they would support a density
bonus approach for the inclusion of affordable housing on the Holochuk property.
The Committee agreed to move ahead with the Conservation Zone proposal with its current boundary, and
then work quickly on possible amendments regarding uses and density. The Committee agreed to forward
the Conservation Zone proposal to the Town Board after the February 9th public meeting, and ask the Town
Board to refer the proposal to the Planning Board for a recommendation. Sue suggested that the
Committee discuss the possible use and density amendments regarding the Conservation Zone at the
February 15th meeting. Jonathan suggested that the Town Board might be able to set a public hearing on
the proposed rezoning at their March 13th meeting to be held at their April 10th meeting.
Agenda Item No. 5 – Continuation of Discussion Regarding Work Plan Priorities for 2006:
Herb indicated that several changes had been made in the draft Work Plan Priorities list that had been
distributed for the meeting. Cathy mentioned that the County has adopted open burning regulations, and
wondered what additional burning regulations the Town would add. Herb indicated that indoor burning of
trash in wood stoves is an important issue that is not addressed in the County regulations, as well as the
burning of agricultural plastic materials, and that these are issues that need to be further addressed. Cathy
suggested waiting to see what else the County does on these issues before the Town proceeds with any
further burning regulations. Herb added that the State may also get into this area.
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Kirk suggested adding the possible modification of the Conservation Zone section of the Zoning Code to
incorporate use and coverage revisions as discussed earlier in the meeting, and to make this a very high
priority on the list.
Fred indicated that the Planning Board has expressed frustration with the dock applications that have been
coming in for approvals that do not conform to the new dock regulations in the Zoning Code. The Planning
Board had passed a resolution asking the Codes and Ordinances Committee to review the dock regulations.
Fred asked whether this item could be moved up in priority on the list. Kirk indicated that the length of
docks might not be as significant an issue as the height or bulk of shoreline structures, such as boatlifts,
large decks, and boathouses. The Committee agreed to move this up to a high priority on the list.
Cathy indicated that the Stream Setback Law and Outdoor Lighting Law are close to being completed, and
that the Committee should move ahead with these.
Agenda Item No. 6 - Other Business:
Sue provided a brief update on the map work that she is doing for the Coy Glen Conservation Zone, and
indicated that the GIS mapping program does allow the inclusion of basic bearings and distances of
boundary lines. Sue pointed on a revised map to several possible boundary modifications that had been
discussed at past Committee meetings. One is the addition of a portion of the Hanavan property on the
north end of the proposed zone off of Mecklenburg Road, which is located within the Unique Natural Area.
Cathy asked what the current zoning of this property is. Jonathan responded that it is currently zoned as
Low Density Residential, so the density would be reduced if it were rezoned to Conservation Zone. The
Committee agreed to include this in the zone proposal. Sue mentioned another area on the west end of the
proposed zone off of Max’s Drive, which includes three lots, one of which has a house. Sue wasn’t sure
what the rationale for including these three lots is. Jonathan mentioned that they are currently zoned
Agricultural, and therefore, already have the lower density of one house per seven acres – the same as the
Conservation Zone. Sue indicated that the three lots are located outside of the Unique Natural Area. The
Committee agreed to remove those three lots off of Max’s Drive from the proposed Conservation Zone.
Agenda Item No. 7- Schedule and Agenda for Next Meeting:
The next Committee meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, February 15, 2006. Proposed agenda items
include a report on the Conservation Zone public meeting, discussion of possible amendment to the
Conservation Zone section of the Zoning Code regarding hospitals as a permitted use, coverage and other
relevant modifications, further discussion of the work plan priority list, and update on the Coy Glen
Conservation Zone mapping, including the revisions discussed and what the metes and bounds descriptions
might look like.
Adjournment: As there was no further business to come before the Committee, the meeting was
adjourned at 9:20 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Jonathan Kanter, A.I.C.P.
Director of Planning