Ulysses holds hearings on zoning laws

At its most recent town board meetings, the town of Ulysses held public hearings on two zoning law amendments, bringing upon changes to zoning regarding public parks and how the board of zoning appeals (BZA) notifies residents of the items the BZA is set to vote on.

One of the amendments presented at the Oct. 8 meeting addresses the permitted uses in the park/recreation zone of the town’s zoning code. The amendment changes the permitted uses under that specific zone. More specifically, now public community parks, regional parks, and preserves are intrinsic to projects permitted in that area. Previously, those uses for structures required special permit applications.

In a memo sent to the town board, Town of Ulysses Planning Board Chair Karl Klankowski recommended the board adopt the amendment only for publicly-owned lands.

“The planning board has concerns of potential unforeseen impacts of park and recreational uses on privately owned lands,” he said in the memo.

No members of the public spoke about the amendment during the public hearing. Town Supervisor Katelin Olson said the town had received two comments digitally in support of enacting the amendment.

The other public hearing addressed an amendment to a local law that adds the following language to the BZA’s operating guidelines: “Notice of public hearings shall, in addition to all other requirements for publication of a hearing notice pursuant to the Laws of the state of New York, be posted on the subject property in a manner that is readily visible to the public from the nearest adjacent public road at least 10 days prior to the subsequent public hearing.”

Olson said this brings the BZA to a similar standard that other town boards follow.

“This is related to a change that allows that when items come before the BZA that the advertising, the posting of signage related to those cases, will be treated in the same fashion that planning board submissions and requests are treated,” Olson said. “That way, there is parallel notification so the public is more aware of activities before the BZA.”

No members of the public spoke at this public hearing. 

However, Klankowski spoke at one of the public hearings about zoning regulations that he described as behind the curve. He said intermittent streams are popping up throughout the town and its surrounding areas, particularly in the Salo Preserve located at 23 Salo Dr. that the town acquired in 2018. These streams, he said, are not recognized by the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the entity the town’s zoning code defers to when it comes to marking these types of streams. The streams, however, show up in Tompkins County geographic information system (GIS) and could pose questions about environmental regulations for developers interested in making use of land where those streams run.

Streams under the town’s zoning code require a certain distance setback. Setbacks are the areas, measured from the property line to any structure, within which building is prohibited. A lack of clarity as to what mapping developers or property owners should follow to account for streams, whether it is the USGS or the county’s GIS, would complicate things for development and overall lawful land use.

Olson said she recommended further conversations at the planning board-level with other advisors to find an appropriate solution.

“The planning board needs to get legal counsel and have a conversation,” Olson said. “That is the logical next step for the planning board, as well as putting together a resolution. Obviously, how water flows in Ulysses is incredibly important, having accurate mapping is incredibly important, but I think there are still some unknowns.”

For Klankowski, the conundrum represents a case in which technology is ahead of the town’s zoning regulation. 

“We just need to work at fixing it,” he said.

Ulysses Connection appears every week in Tompkins Weekly. Send story ideas to editorial@vizellamedia.com. Contact Eddie Velazquez at edvel37@gmail.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @ezvelazquez.

In brief

A reception supporting the Trumansburg Conservatory of Fine Arts will feature two art exhibits curated by Ben Marlan and Domenica Brockman. The event is scheduled for Oct. 20 at Forge Cellars,  3775 Matthews Rd. in Burdett. 

The exhibits, Marlan’s “Horizon” and Brockman’s “Sunrise,” also feature the works of artists Julie Rosa, Gilda Williams Ruggi and Ann Welles. Wine and light snacks will be provided. Doors open at 4:30 p.m. and the event will go on until 7 p.m. Live music will be provided by La Cruche.

More information can be found here: https://www.tburgconservatory.org/10-15-save-the-date