Open Space Advisory Committee (OSAC)

SARATOGA SPRINGS OPEN SPACE COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES JANUARY 29, 2020 5:00 P.M. SARATOGA SPRINGS RECREATION CENTER, 15 VANDERBILT AVE. PRESENT: Tom Denny (Chair), John McMahon, David Miller, Tim Holmes, Maureen Roberts. ABSENT: Steve Samuell CITY STAFF: Tina Carton – Admin of Parks, Open Lands, Historic Preservation/Sustainability OTHERS PRESENT: NA RECORDING OF PROCEEDING: The minutes are not a verbatim record of the proceedings. CALL TO ORDER: Tom Denny called the meeting to order at 5:04 p.m. PUBLIC COMMENT-15 MINUTES No Public Comment APPROVAL OF MINUTES The minutes from the 12/18/19 will be forwarded for approval to the February 19, 2020 meeting. The committee also discussed that there is now an open space on the committee, and all were asked to forward recommendations for qualified candidates to Tom Denny. OPEN SPACE PLAN RFP UPDATE The contract to update the Open Space Plan was awarded to MJ Engineering. This firm has software that can be used to screen for elements that are important to assist with future land acquisition screening. They completed an Open Space Plan for the town of Bethlehem recently. The kickoff meeting is to occur 1|Page  SARATOGA SPRINGS OPEN SPACE COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES JANUARY 29, 2020 5:00 P.M. SARATOGA SPRINGS RECREATION CENTER, 15 VANDERBILT AVE. during the first week of February, with City staff including Tina Carton and Susan Barden, committee chair Tom Denny, and project staff from MJ Engineering. The committee discussed forming a Project Advisory Committee, which would also include other stakeholders, such as people from Saratoga PLAN and Sustainable Saratoga. This committee would meet on a regular basis with the MJ Engineering team. There will also be a likely public meeting with MJ Engineering so that interested residents of Saratoga Springs can have input and voice their opinions and concerns. MJ Engineering has suggested that members of the OSAC serve as ambassadors to interact with the public and educate people about the updated plan. This could occur at the Farmer’s Market, Pitney Farm, and other locales within the city. They hope to have a first draft of the updated plan by May 2020, and then discussion and comments at the City council meeting in June 2020. It is unclear exactly how long the project will take to complete, but the OSAC is hoping to have it all done within 12 months. NATURAL RESOURCE INVENTORY (NRI) UPDATE AND DISCUSSION The City and chair of the OSAC plan on meeting with LaBella (consultant) in the near future. The goal of the meeting is to agree with LaBella on deadlines for both the City and LaBella to finish the maps and narratives for which each is responsible and, after that, to set a deadline for an assembled first draft from LaBella. The OSAC agreed that the end of February should be the goal for completing the components and the end of March for receipt of the assembled document from LaBella. Ms. Tina Carton and her new intern are finalizing the narrative in the climate change section of the report. The Saratoga County Health Dept. published a climate and health report in the fall of 2019, which contains updated information, especially concerning precipitation, that will be useful for the narrative, in addition to the material from NYSERDA’s Climaid report of 2016. In addition to the climate change narrative, Mr. Tom Denny is finalizing his report on Scenic Resources, Mr. Steve Samuell is working on preserved lands, and the committee is getting expert assistance from a geology professor at Skidmore College to help review the mineral springs report for accuracy. OPEN SPACE BOND REFERENDUM UPDATE: Tom Denny had a recent meeting with Mayor Kelly and Ms. Lynn Bachner. His impression was that it would not be possible to have an open space bond referendum with the November 2020 election cycle. 2|Page  SARATOGA SPRINGS OPEN SPACE COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES JANUARY 29, 2020 5:00 P.M. SARATOGA SPRINGS RECREATION CENTER, 15 VANDERBILT AVE. Part of the problem is the potential loss of VLT money from New York State that the city has been receiving for years. The revenue loss will make balancing the budget even harder, and makes it difficult to ask the voters for more money for land purchases. The Mayor stated, however, that the OSAC could still bring projects/purchases to the attention of the City Council if a potential purchase arises. DISCUSSION OF UDO DRAFT AND MAP Several OSAC members went to the open public sessions regarding the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) draft. The committee had an extensive discussion regarding standard lot sizes and “microspaces”, which deals with setbacks and lot coverage. A reduction of standard lot sizes was proposed, and the committee discussed concerns of over density and crowding of residential areas. In the proposed ordinance, residential building heights are also being reduced. Currently 68% of lots in Saratoga Springs are non-conforming in UR-3. Currently, the public is required to submit their opinions by February 7, 2020. The committee discussed sending a letter from the OSAC that addresses our concerns: light pollution in the city, preserving and protecting the rural character of the greenbelt, land disturbance policies, and making sure that all future development, including single-family homes, conforms to the city’s vision of our rural character. PUBLIC COMMENT No public comment. ADJOURN There being no further business, Tom Denny adjourned the meeting at 6:34 p.m. NEXT MEETING: Meeting Schedule for 2020: We will continue to meet on the 4th Wednesday of each month. The next meeting is scheduled for February 26, 2020, and will be at the Recreation Center on 15 Vanderbilt Ave, Saratoga Springs, NY. 3|Page