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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPC Packet 2026.08.11 PLANNING DEPARTMENT 215 N. Tioga St 14850 607.273.1747 townithacany.gov TOWN OF ITHACA PLANNING COMMITTEE TUESDAY, AUGUST 11, 2026 at 1:00 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 June meeting minutes. 4. Review and discuss three consultant responses to RFQ for developing scenario planning models for 2014 Comprehensive Plan Future Land Use Map Character Districts / areas. 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. 1 Town of Ithaca Planning Committee Thursday, June 18, 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 Planning C.J. Randall; Director of Code Enforcement Marty Moseley; Director of Engineering Justin McNeal; GIS Specialist Max Villenueva; Planning Intern Owen Linder; Town Planner Nick Quilty-Koval; Town Board Member Susie Gutenberger. Guests: Tompkins County Planning and Sustainability Department representatives David West and Shawna Stevenson. 1. Persons to be heard: None 2. Committee announcements and concerns: None 3. Review and discussion of the draft Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to develop scenario planning models for 2014 Comprehensive Plan Future Use Map Character Districts/areas. Nick began with a summary and overview of the draft Request for Qualifications to post for additional consultants interested in the proposed ArcGIS Urban scenario planning modeling project for the town. The specific target areas are the South Hill TND as well as the West Hill/Mecklenburg Rd. TND area as pointed out on the town’s future land use map. A sample of similar modeling work was passed around the room which staff learned about at the recent Congress for the New Urbanism. Max added that mapping the utilities in the scenario planning will be a helpful tool for predicting impact on the water and sewer services and any potential expansion constraints within the town and the connection to the city system. He also noted that he will be attending the upcoming annual Esri User Conference where various firm representatives will be onsite for general questions. Planning intern Owen Linder briefly explained his task of taking the zoning code language and merging it into the spreadsheet format that the software will need to complete the analysis and potential visualizations. C.J. asked if the committee would like to refer the RFQ to the town board first for release or directly authorize from the committee discussion? All were in favor of authorizing the RFQ to be released the following Monday. The document will be posted in various outlets for visibility. The eventual contract authorization will be a town board action and the contract cost for this professional scenario planning modeling services portion will be expended from the NYS Homes and Community Renewal grant. The grant agreement execution is forthcoming after a slight delay. Additional questions to consider once the responses are received include asking if cost to serve predictions can be calculated for each phase of the project for the developer and the town as well as asking which firms have used geodesign tools. The top firms could be invited to the August PC meeting for an interview process before the selection to refer to the town board. 2 4. Approval of April minutes: Dave moved the April 16, 2026, minutes for approval as presented; Diana seconded. The minutes were approved. 5. Overview of the Tompkins County Community Housing Development Fund. Housing and Community Development program planner Shawna Stevenson shared a brief presentation about how the fund began after extensive research with contributions from County, City of Ithaca, Cornell University and developers with projects under the IDA Workforce Housing Policy. The Town of Ithaca and the Town of Dryden each later joined as associate members. The purpose of the fund is to financially support the construction or rehabilitation of permanent affordable housing units. Statistics of the approved projects were given and maps of the projects were shown. Shawna offered to share the link (also inserted here for quick reference https://www.tompkinscountyny.gov/All-Departments/Planning- and-Sustainability/Housing) to the full CHDF program information and materials. Town Board Member Susie Gutenberger spoke as the town’s representative on the board and supported the town considering full membership. The reasons were that it keeps the town in line with the Comprehensive Plan goals as well as having more participation and representation may entice and encourage developers to build within the town. The contribution process was explained in detail. In summary, the funds are not expensed until a project is proposed and approved by the committees and board set in place with the CHDF process. A portion of funds from other contributing members could occur, however the full process of consideration remains across the board. The committee concluded with two options besides staying with the associate membership and contribution of the minimum $50,000 (no MOU). The first option is to go with full membership wherein the minimum commitment is $100,000; the amount the Town commits to would be considered in the 2027 Town Budget with a formal MOU. The other three full members have MOU’s that end in 2027, so if interested the town could signal to be involved in the MOU process that would be effective beginning in 2028. The second option is to stay with the associate membership and raise the contribution to be considered with the 2027 Town Budget. In the end, all were in favor of a proposed increase to the associate member allocation. There is time for additional questions and research if needed before the budget numbers are put together and the discussion and link above is available for the record as well. 6. Staff updates and reports: C.J. reported that planning staff attendance at the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU 34) in Northwest Arkansas. A summary of the conference and the showcase of that area’s notable active transportation efforts was provided. The director of the Ithaca-Tompkins County Transportation Council (ITCTC) will be attending the upcoming town board meeting to talk about their transportation work. Awards are being announced soon for the Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) grant application the town submitted for the design and construction of sidewalks on Trumansburg Rd. 3 C.J. noted attending the recent Ithaca Area Economic Development (IAED) meeting and sent their annual report to town board members. Involved projects in the town include Carrowmoor Solar and SouthWorks. Meetings continue with town staff and the SouthWorks team related to the proposed portion of the project in the town referred to as “The Woods.” Regarding the Pro Housing Community Supply Funds award, C.J. mentioned that no Incentive Proposal has yet been received by Empire State Development; there may also be a possibility for administration of said grant by another agency. The Town’s Planning Board is scheduled to begin preliminary development review application in August. The initial draft of the town Capital Improvement Plan is being discussed among staff. If awarded the TAP Grant, that would affect final plan. Upcoming mid-year Planning staff conversations were noted. C.J. offered to send the 10-year implementation look back that staff put together to show the progress made on the 2014 Comprehensive Plan goals and objectives. 7. Next meeting date and upcoming agenda items: July 20-cancelled due to no anticipated agenda items. The August meeting was moved from August 20 to Aug 11, 1:00-3:00 p.m. The Town of Ithaca Planning Committee meeting concluded at 4:30 p.m.