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Home My WebLink AboutPB Minutes 2021-05-04 TOWN OF ITHACA PLANNING BOARD Shirley A. Raffensperger Board Room,Town Hall 215 North Tioga Street Ithaca,New York 14850 Tuesday,May 4,2021 Because of the Novel Coronavirus(COVID-19),the Town of Ithaca Planning Board Meeting scheduled for May 4,2021 will be held electronically via Zoom,instead of a public meeting open for the public to attend in person.Members of the public may listen to(call in on cell or landline: (929)436-2866 and enter the Meeting ID: 675 059 3272)or view(by computer go to https://zoom.us/8/6750593272)the Board meeting through Zoom. AGENDA 7:00 P.M. SEQR Determination: Research Plot Remediation and Restoration Project,Cornell University Resource Ecology Management Complex, 139 Ecology Drive. 7:00 P.M. PUBLIC HEARING:Consideration of Special Permit for the proposed Research Plot Remediation and Restoration Project at the Cornell University Resource Ecology Management Complex located at 139 Ecology Drive,Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No. 63.-1- 10,Low Density Residential Zone and Planned Development Zone No.9. The proposal involves excavation of approximately 10,000 square feet of soil,at a depth of 18 inches,to remove Phragmites and rhizomes.Excavated soils will be replaced with a combination of gravel and topsoil to completely restore the area back to level field soils. Excavated material will be deposited on a field on Game Farm Road(Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No.64.-1-2.2). Cornell University,Owner/Applicant;Brian Fish,Associate Director for Capital Projects, CALS. 3. Persons to be heard. 4. Approval of Minutes: April 6,2021 and April 20,2021 5. Other Business -Discussion of paper and electronic application material. 6. Adjournment Susan Ritter Director of Planning 273-1747 NOTE:IF ANY MEMBER OF THE PLANNING BOARD IS UNABLE TO ATTEND,PLEASE NOTIFY SANDY POLCE AT 273-1747 or SPOLCF( TOWN.ITHACA.NY.US. (A quorum of four(4)members is necessary to conduct Planning Board business.) Accessing Meeting Materials Online Site Plan and Subdivision applications and associated project materials are accessible electronically on the Town's website under"Planning Board"on the"Meeting Agendas"page ihltp://www.town.ithaca.ny.us/meetini-arcnday). TOWN OF ITHACA PLANNING BOARD May 4,2021 Due to the extension of Governor Cuomo's Executive Order(s) suspending certain aspects of Open Meetings Law for health and safety reasons, the meeting was held virtually via the ZOOM platform. MINUTES Board Members Present: Liebe Meier Swain (Chair), Fred Wilcox, Yvonne Fogarty, Greg Lindquist,Jamie Vanucchi, Cindy Kaufman, Ariel Casper,and Margaret Johnson (Alternate). Town Staff. Chris Balestra, Planner; Marty Moseley, Director of Codes; Susan Brock, Attorney for the Town; David O'Shea, Engineer; Susan Ritter, Director of Planning; Mike Smith, Planner and Paulette Rosa,Town Clerk, Ms. Meier Swain opened the meeting at 7:01 p.m. Agenda Item 1: Consideration of Special Permit for the proposed Research Plot Remediation and Restoration Project at the Cornell University Resource Ecology Management Complex located at 139 Ecology Drive, Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No. 63.-1-10, Low Density Residential Zone and Planned Development Zone No. 4. The proposal involves excavation of approximately 10,000 square feet of soil, at a depth of 18 inches,to remove Phragmites and rhizomes. Excavated soils will be replaced with a combination of gravel and topsoil to completely restore the area back to level field soils. Excavated material will be deposited on a field on Game Farm Road (Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No. 64.-1-2.2). Cornell University, Owner•,Applicant; Brian Fish, Associate Director for Capital Projects, CALS. Applicant team: David Cutter, CU Landscape Architect; Brian Fish,CU Asst. Director of Facilities; Kara Bugis, Water Compliance Specialist Mr. Cutter went through a PowerPoint presentation. (Attachment 1) Overview and Questions Ms. Fogarty asked why the area is being filled in at this time. Mr. Cutter responded that Cornell would like to clean up the site and remove the old research project and prepare for the next research project. Mr. Fish added that the phragmites and rhizomes are in containers and those containers are deteriorating and could possibly overflow and spread to other parts of the property. Now is the time to get it cleaned up,and other containers and debris will be cleaned up as well. Greg asked about the proposed method of disposal and wondered if the researchers would be following DEC best practices for proper disposal of invasives. Mr. Fish responded that they have a very detailed disposal plan that will involve trucking the material offsite, running it through a compost shredder and spreading it. The plan is to follow up PB 2021-05-04(Filed 6.'18) 11g. 1 with testing and removal of any invasives that may survive,and test for 2 years. The field site is continuously mowed and it will be monitored closely. Greg asked about the impact of wind on disposal, including whether material will stay inside trucks during transport. He stated that he couldn't find the proposed type of disposal versus a landfill method. Mr. Wilcox said the written materials indicate the material being dropped offsite will be treated some way; where, when and what will that treatment be? Recording was corrupted and the rest of this meeting is from notes and memory. The Board continued to discuss the project and the proposed disposal method. It was discovered that the disposal location was not actually in the Town of Ithaca,as originally thought, but just over the municipal border into the Town of Dryden. Although the Town of Dryden was notified of the project through the GML process, the project was not analyzed for its impact on another municipality. Also, the public hearing notice only included tax parcel numbers for properties in the Town of Ithaca and not Dryden. After discussion, the Board determined that the project could not move forward without proper public hearing notification(s),and taking other steps to clarify the other municipality involved. Motion made by Fred Wilcox, seconded by Liebe Meier Swain,to postpone consideration of a Special Permit until the additional information needed was obtained and the project could be properly notified. Unanimous. Agenda Item 2: Persons to be heard None Agenda Item 3: Approval of Minutes: April 6, 2021 and April 20,2021 Motion made by Mr. Wilcox to approve the minutes of April 6", seconded by Mr. Casper, unanimous. Motion made by Mr. Wilcox to approve the minutes of April 201h,seconded by Ms. Fogarty, unanimous. Other Business: Discussion of reducing paper copies and switching to electronic application material submissions. Board members expressed their preference on how to receive packets. Most packets will be electronic but planning staff will solicit input from members on a case by case basis going forward. Adjournment: Meeting was adjourned upon motion and a second,unanimous. (No note on who moved or seconded) Sub4tey au V�� Town Clerk PB 2021-05-04(Filed 6x18) Pg. 2