Open Space Advisory Committee (OSAC)

SARATOGA SPRINGS OPEN SPACE COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES FEBRUARY 26, 2020 5:00 P.M. SARATOGA SPRINGS RECREATION CENTER, 15 VANDERBILT AVE. PRESENT: Mr. Tom Denny (Chair), Mr. Tim Holmes, Ms. Maureen Roberts, Mr. John McMahon, Mr. Steve Samuell ABSENT: Mr. Dave Miller CITY STAFF: Tina Carton – Admin of Parks, Open Lands, Historic Preservation/Sustainability OTHERS PRESENT: Ms. Amy Durland, Resident of Saratoga Springs NOTE: Shortly after the February 26, 2020 meeting, the Covid-19 pandemic shut down much routine activity in the U.S. and the world. The pandemic affected progress on the OSAC’s work, including the Natural Resource Inventory, the revision to the Open Space Plan, meetings with consultants, and routine meetings. The OSAC did not meet in March, April, or May. On June 24, it finally met, but used a virtual meeting platform (Zoom) rather than meet in person. The OSAC and the consultants were not able to hold to the anticipated timetables mentioned in these minutes. 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 There being no revisions or corrections to the minutes from the December 2019 meeting, those minutes were approved as circulated. Mr. Tom Denny added a paragraph to the draft January minutes that had been circulated, updating the LaBella timeline on finishing the NRI. There being no additional revisions 1|Page  SARATOGA SPRINGS OPEN SPACE COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES FEBRUARY 26, 2020 5:00 P.M. SARATOGA SPRINGS RECREATION CENTER, 15 VANDERBILT AVE. or corrections to the minutes from the January 2020 meeting, those minutes were approved as circulated with the additional paragraph. UPDATE ON SUBMISSION OF UDO COMMENTS Comments by both the general public and different advisory boards (including the OSAC) have been sent to the consultant. These comments will be analyzed and categorized, and then another draft, with revisions after the comments, will be published. An update of the zoning map will also be done. UPDATE ON NATURAL RESOURCE INVENTORY In an early February phone call with LaBella, Mr. Denny, and Ms. Carton, the consultant stated that a first iteration of the draft may be ready by March 2020. There are several OSAC materials that need to be finished and sent to LaBella for this to happen. These include maps that we are polishing up, such as: light pollution map, impervious surfaces, and distant vistas maps. Tina Carton is working on the climate change narrative and introduction. The narrative on the Mineral Springs is complete, and a local geology professor is adding some additional scientific and geologic detail to this. Ms. Judy Halstead, a physical chemistry professor at Skidmore, is reviewing the water resources narrative. The Urban Forest narrative is complete. Mr. Steve Samuell is finishing the map and narrative regarding conserved lands since the year 2000. The OSAC discussed the fact that many of our open space purchases and trails are now classified as institutional parkland since the UDO, and Mr. Samuell was advised to use this terminology in his narrative. He hopes to have a shapefile with his narrative, and may number the parcels and have a table identifying the parcels. Mr. Tom Denny showed a map of the Greenbelt that showed both the Country Overlay Area (COA) and the Conservation Development District (CDD) from the City’s Comprehensive Plan, and this will also have a greenbelt narrative and will be included with the NRI map packet. La Bella will also use the Recreation Master Plan maps and Mineral Springs maps. They are hoping for a draft to be ready by 3/21/20. OPEN SPACE PLAN UPDATE At a recent face-to-face meeting with Jackie Hakes and others from MJ Engineering, a discussion was had about forming a Project Advisory Committee (PAC). It was felt that 5-7 people would be an ideal working number. The hope is to get interested stakeholders from other organizations involved, such as Saratoga PLAN, the Open Space Institute, Sustainable Saratoga, the Saratoga Spa State Park, and Pitney 2|Page  SARATOGA SPRINGS OPEN SPACE COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES FEBRUARY 26, 2020 5:00 P.M. SARATOGA SPRINGS RECREATION CENTER, 15 VANDERBILT AVE. Farm. Several city employees from the Planning Dept. and City Hall may also join. The PAC would meet on a regular basis, then periodically meet with the consultant, MJ Engineering. The consultant will be producing a web-based application that will serve as a valuable tool to screen parcels in the future for acquisition. This tool will be turned over to the city at the end of the project. They will bring some materials to the OSAC by April 2020 to help frame the upcoming process. In terms of the timetable, they can compress work if needed and speed the process up. If they need to work past 12/31/2020, they can do so if needed, and the funding is in place for this scenario. It was discussed that the pace of both the City and public input will probably be the rate-limiting steps. The consultant hopes to use volunteer “ambassadors” to help garner public input. They could be positioned at various events and locations throughout the city, such as at the Farmer’s Market. SCENIC RESOURCES The committee went back to discussing this topic, as maps and a narrative will be in the NRI. Mr. Tom Denny showed a map of Rural Road Networks/Corridors, similar to the 2002 Open Space Plan, but bundled into networks, showing how these roads connect to other roads out beyond the city’s limits. He may use a Country Overlay Area map with rural roads superimposed onto it. He has also written a detailed scenic resources narrative, that describes scenic sites, corridors (rural, urban, car, bike, and pedestrian), scenic gateways to the city, and significant viewpoints. The committee was asked to go over Mr. Denny’s document and suggest any changes, revision, or additions. PUBLIC COMMENT Amy Durland brought up the question: “Should the NRI and Open Space Plan update be informing the UDO? If so, the timing is not working well for this to happen.” She stated that the UDO project will likely not wait for the other two projects to be completed. ADJOURN There being no further business, Tom Denny adjourned the meeting at 6:37 p.m. NEXT MEETING: Next Meeting is scheduled for 3/25/20 at 5 PM, 15 Vanderbilt Ave, Saratoga Springs, NY. 3|Page