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WE'RE[ TOWN OF GREENBURGH CONSERVATION ADVISORY COUNCIL Agenda THURSDAY, February 11, 2021 – 6:30 P.M. ]
WAITING, I THINK, FOR, UM, MIKE TO MAKE A FEW FINAL CHANGES TO THE DOCUMENT ON AUSLEY ROAD.IS THAT CORRECT, ERIN? THAT'S CORRECT.
SO WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO DO, FIRST, LET ME INTRODUCE MYSELF.
I'M THERESA TORI, I'M THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE C A C, AND I WELCOME YOU ALL THIS EVENING.
UM, WHAT I, FIRST THING I'D LIKE TO DO IS WE HAVE SEVERAL FOLKS HERE WHO ARE REPRESENTING AN APPLICATION WE'LL BE DISCUSSING A LITTLE LATER ON, BUT WE HAVE THREE POTENTIAL PEOPLE WHO ARE INTERESTED IN THE C A C AND I'D LIKE TO WELCOME NANCY DRAIN, LISS SILVERSTEIN AND GEORGE GR TO JOINING US THIS EVENING.
I HOPE YOU'LL FIND IT AN INTERESTING EXPERIENCE.
UH, WHAT WE NORMALLY DO IS WE ASK PEOPLE WHO ARE INTERESTED IN THE C A C, WHICH WE PROBABLY HAVE MENTIONED TO YOU, EITHER INDI INDIVIDUALLY, EITHER BY, UH, SPEAKING WITH MIKE SIEGEL, THE VICE CHAIR, OR WITH MYSELF.
AND WHAT WE USUALLY ASK IS THAT PEOPLE ATTEND TWO OR THREE MEETINGS, BE, AND THEN INDICATE WHETHER THEY REALLY ARE INTERESTED.
WE'VE ALWAYS FOUND THAT'S A VERY GOOD APPROACH BECAUSE IT'S SORT OF HARD TO SUBSCRIBE WHAT WE DO.
BUT TONIGHT MIGHT BE AN INTERESTING REPRESENTATIVE MEETING OF THAT.
UM, WHILE WE'RE AT IT, I THINK I
ARE YOU? IT'S DONNA MARLOW, SHARON HERSTATT, AND MARGARET BEAL.
AND I'M GOING TO ALSO OPEN THE MEETING AND ASK DONNA.
DONNA, WOULD YOU TAKE THE MINUTES TONIGHT? I AM.
I KNEW THAT WAS KIND OF A DEFAULT MINUTE PERSON WHEN WE, WE, WE GET PEOPLE AND THEN, UH, WE LOSE THEM.
SO DONNA, DONNA JUST KNOWS THAT I, SHE'S GONNA GET ASKED.
AND MIKE SIEGEL, THE VICE CHAIR HAS JOINED US.
SO THE FIRST THING I'D LIKE TO DO IS, UM, I'D LIKE TO JUST, UH, SEE IF THERE ARE ANY CHANGES TO THE MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF JANUARY 28TH.
SO I HAVE A MOTION TO ACCEPT THE MINUTES, MARGARET, WAS THAT? YES.
THE OTHER THING I'D LIKE TO DO PROCEDURALLY, IS WE HAD SENT A LETTER TO THE TOWN BOARD, WHICH YOU ALL WERE COPIED ON, UH, POINTING OUT THAT ON THE ELMWOOD PROPERTY, UM, THE WESTCHESTER COUNTY PLANNING BOARD HAD INDICATED THAT THEY DID NOT RECOMMEND CHANGING THE UNDERLYING ZONING TO ALLOW FOR MORE DENSITY.
AND WE SENT A BRIEF LETTER TO THE TOWN BOARD HIGHLIGHTING TO, I THINK OF THE COMMENTS ABOUT NOT CHANGING THE DENSITY, THOUGH THERE WERE MORE THAN TWO IN THE LETTER.
AND THAT WENT OUT ON, UM, FEBRUARY 8TH.
AND I WOULD JUST LIKE US AS A, AS A GROUP TO, UM, AUTHORIZE THAT LETTER.
THIS IS SOMETHING WE'VE DONE IN THE PAST WHERE WE PASS DOCUMENTS PRIOR THEY'RE BEING SENT AND THEN RATIFY THEM AT THE MEETING TO, YOU KNOW, FILL IN THAT GAP OF TWO WEEKS WE HAVE.
SO, UM, COULD I HAVE A MOTION TO, UH, AUTHORIZE THAT LETTER? SO MOVED.
SO WE REALLY HAVE BEEN WHIPPING THROUGH THE, UM, KIND OF THE BUSINESS PIECE OF THIS MEETING MEETING.
WE DID RATHER LIMITED INTRODUCTIONS.
I THINK IN TERMS OF GETTING TO KNOW, UH, THE NEW ME POTENTIAL MEMBERS WHO ARE HERE TONIGHT.
I WOULD ASK YOU TO HOLD OFF, UH, JUST A LITTLE BIT BECAUSE WE DO HAVE AN APPLICATION HERE TONIGHT THAT WE NEED TO FINISH UP.
AND I THINK IT WOULD BE AS COURTESY, YOU KNOW, IT'S NIGHTTIME, EVERYONE WOULD LIKE TO GO HOME TO THEIR FAMILIES AND EAT THEIR DINNER.
SO WHAT I'M GONNA ASK, UH, OUR POTENTIAL MEMBERS IS, UM, TO GIVE US A LITTLE TIME TO GET TO KNOW YOU BETTER AFTER WE FINISH UP WITH THIS APPLICATION.
SO THE FOLKS THAT ARE HERE SOLELY FOR THE APPLICATION CAN LEAVE US.
I KNOW OUR MEETINGS ARE SO INTERESTING AND I REALLY WOULD RATHER STAY, BUT JUST IN CASE THEY HAVE OTHER PLANS.
SO JUST TO KIND GET, UH, LET ME CONFIRM.
AARON, DID YOU GET THE EMAIL I JUST SENT YOU? IS AARON ON AARON? YES, I DID.
AND I'VE ALREADY REVISED IT AND RE-EMAIL IT TO THE ENTIRE C A C.
MAYBE YOU JUST WANNA BRING IT UP ON THE SCREEN.
COULD YOU DO THAT? BECAUSE I THINK OTHERWISE EVERYONE'S GONNA HAVE TO GO OUT AND OPEN UP THEIR EMAIL.
TERRY, WHAT THESE ARE IS, UM, AARON CONSULTED WITH THE TOWN'S LEGAL DEPARTMENT.
UH, WELL COULD WE JUST LIKE BRING
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THE, THE PEOPLE WHO ARE HERE FOR THE FIRST TIME INTO THE LOOP ON WHAT'S GOING ON? SURE, MIKE.SO AT ANY RATE, WHAT WE DO HAVE RIGHT NOW IS, UM, WE HAVE AN APPLICATION THAT HAS COME IN AND IT IS A CONCEPTUAL PLAN FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF PROPERTY.
AND ON THAT PROPERTY THERE IS A WETLANDS AND BY TOWN CODE, THE CONSERVATION ADVISORY COUNCIL ADVISES AND SEIZES DOCUMENTATION FOR ANYTHING WITHIN A HUNDRED FEET OF A WETLANDS OR WETLANDS BUFFER.
AND THIS ALSO HAS A, A GREAT DEAL OF TREE REMOVALS ON THIS PROPERTY.
'CAUSE IT'S A MULTI ACRE PROPERTY WHERE THREE HOMES WILL BE SITUATED.
SO WE ALSO ARE COMMENTING ON THE TREE REMOVAL.
NOW, WHEN WE DO THIS, WE NORMALLY PRODUCE A DOCUMENT THAT GOES TO THE PLANNING BOARD.
AND HISTORICALLY THE PLANNING BOARD ALMOST ALWAYS ACCEPTS ALL OUR RECOMMENDATIONS IN TERMS OF THINGS LIKE TREE REMOVALS AND WETLANDS.
WHAT WE HAD, WE HAD PRETTY MUCH GONE THROUGH THIS AND HAD COME TO AGREEMENT WITH THE APPLICANT WHO HAS BEEN VERY HELPFUL WITH WORKING WITH US ON THIS.
BUT THERE WAS A BIT OF, UM, DISCUSSION AS TO HOW TO PROPERLY RECORD WHAT WAS AGREED, WHETHER, WHETHER IT WAS SUFFICIENT TO PUT ON WHAT'S CALLED THE PLAT, WHICH IS THESE VERY LARGE DIAGRAMS DESCRIBING THE PROPERTY, OR SHOULD IT ACTUALLY GO ON THE INDIVIDUAL PROPERTY DEEDED.
AND THAT HAS BEEN SORTED OUT, I GUESS IN THE LAST HALF HOUR WITH THE HELP OF MIKE SIEGEL AND I.
WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN NOW IS I'M GOING TO ASK AARON TO BRING UP THE DOCUMENTS SO THE C A C MEMBERS CAN SEE THE CHANGES THAT WERE MADE SINCE THEY SAW THE LAST VERSION OF THE DOCUMENT.
SO I THINK THE TOP PART HASN'T CHANGED AND IT'S ONLY WHEN WE GET INTO THE VERY BOTTOM.
AND MIKE, DO YOU WANNA ADDRESS THAT, MIKE? SURE.
UM, AARON HAD TWO DISCUSSIONS TODAY WITH TOWN'S LEGAL DEPARTMENT AND, UH, WHAT THEY PREFER IS THAT THE REFERENCE BE MADE IN THE DEEDS.
SO, UM, NUMBER FIVE, WHICH USED TO SAY USED TO READ IN THE SUBDIVISION PLATT, UH, WHICH IS WHEN YOU SUBDIVIDE PROPERTIES, UM, YOU FILE KIND OF A MAP OF IT IN THE COUNTY RECORDS.
UH, THEY PREFERRED THAT THAT BE THE, THE DEEDS.
AND SO THAT'S THE PRIMARY CHANGE.
UM, UH, AS I SAID, WE, WHEN IT WAS ORIGINALLY SENT OUT AS A DRAFT, WE HAD A BRACKET, THE END OF FIVE, UH, CHECK-IN WITH, UH, TO CHECK WITH THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT AND
SO THAT'S THE, THE PRIMARY CHANGE.
AND, UM, BUT MAYBE, MAYBE TERRY, YOU WANT TO GO THROUGH THE REST OF IT JUST FOR THE, THE THREE, UH, OUR THREE POTENTIAL NEW MEMBERS JUST TO KIND WELL, WHY AREN'T WE VOTE ON IT AND DO IT THEN? SO WE CAN LET OUR GUESTS, OUR, OUR, OUR, THE FOLKS WHO ARE HERE JUST TO SEE THIS FINISHED UP.
I HAD A QUESTION FOR, UH, THE REPRESENTATIVES FOR THIS PROJECT.
DO YOU HAVE ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS CHANGE? NO, I, I THINK, UM, JUST I APPRECIATE THE, THE BOARD GIVING US THE DRAFT.
I THINK WE WERE ALL, UM, FINE WITH WHAT THE DRAFT SAYS.
I'M FINE WITH HOW IT READS NOW, AND I APPRECIATE YOU JUST SORT OF COUCHING IT WITH TO THE SATISFACTION OF THE TOWN ATTORNEY'S OFFICE BECAUSE OFTENTIMES AS WE DRAFT THINGS, UM, IF IT NEEDS TO BE FILED, THE CLERK'S OFFICE ASKS CERTAIN THINGS TO BE ADDED OR REMOVED.
SO IT'S HELPFUL TO HAVE THAT, UM, TO THE SATISFACTION OF THE TOWN ATTORNEY'S OFFICE TO GIVE US SOME COVER IN CASE WE NEED TO VARY A LITTLE BIT FROM EXACTLY WHAT THE BOARD SAID.
SO I APPRECIATE THE WAY YOU DRAFTED THAT MR. SIEGEL.
AND WE JUST WANNA THANK THE BOARD FOR YOUR CONTINUED ATTENTION TO THE PROJECT AND UH, WE LOOK FORWARD TO APPEARING BACK BEFORE THE PLANNING BOARD ON THIS SUBDIVISION.
SO WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO NOW IS, UM, I'D LIKE TO HAVE THE C A C MEMBERS IF WE COULD HAVE A MOTION TO, UH, GO TO SEND THIS FORWARD TO THE, UM, PLANNING BOARD.
SO IT SAID, I THINK FOR THE APPLICANT AND THE APPLICANT'S REPRESENTATIVE, GO HOME AND ENJOY YOUR DINNER IF YOU LIKE.
I HAVE ANOTHER, I HAVE ANOTHER MEETING AT SEVEN, SO I APPRECIATE YOU GETTING TO US QUICKLY.
AARON, COULD YOU BRING UP THE DOCUMENT AGAIN BECAUSE
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I THINK WHAT MIKE SAID, UM, WOULD BE HELPFUL FOR THE POTENTIAL MEMBERS IF WE JUST COULD LOOK AT IT.SO WHAT WE WERE LOOKING AT, AT THIS PROPERTY, WE, IT'S A, UH, MULTI ACRE PROPERTY.
AND EVEN BEFORE IT CAME TO US, UM, THE PLANNING BOARD HAD ASKED THEM TO BASICALLY REMOVE ONE BUILDING LOT AND REDUCE IT TO THREE BUILDING LOTS AND KEEP THE, UH, FOURTH ONE AS A TREE COVER.
WHAT WE WERE LOOKING AT WHEN YOU SEE THE PLAT IS, UH, THIS IS BASICALLY THE SITE PLAN, WHICH IS DIVIDING UP THE PROPERTY AND SHOWING THE POTENTIAL FOR WAREHOUSES WOULD GO WHERE THE ROADS WOULD GO.
AND AT THIS POINT IN THE DESIGN PHASE, IT'S IN THE DEVELOPMENT IS REALLY ABOUT, UM, WHERE THEY'LL BE PUTTING ROADS AND THAT WOULD START.
AND THEN THIS PROPERTY, ONCE THEY GET THE ROADS IN THE INDIVIDUAL LOTS WOULD BE SOLD TO PEOPLE.
SO THE HOUSE FOOTPRINT THEY SHOW MAY CHANGE.
SO WHAT AARON HAS AND, AND, AND THE PROCESS ON THIS, AND AARON, IF I MISSPEAK LET ME KNOW, THEY BASICALLY, OVER TIME WE'VE WORKED TOGETHER AND WE'VE COME INTO THIS CONCEPT OF WHERE YOU SHOW AN AREA OF DISTURBANCE.
AND THE AREA OF DISTURBANCE IS WHERE THERE IS A POTENTIAL FOR TREES TO COME DOWN BASED ON THIS HYPOTHETICAL HOUSE.
AND OF COURSE THE QUESTION ALWAYS BECOMES IF WHEN THEY'RE SELLING PROPERTY, UM, WHERE YOU DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THE HOUSE WILL LOOK AT, THE GENERALLY THE WAY YOU DO, YOU PUT PRETTY MUCH THE LARGEST HOUSE IS GONNA APPEAR THERE.
BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT SOMEONE COULD COME IN AND DECIDE TO BUILD A SMALLER HOUSE AND TAKE DOWN LESS TREES.
BUT IT GIVES AN AREA AND IT GIVES A STARTING POINT.
SO WHAT WE DID AS A C A C IS WE LOOKED AT THE IMPACTS ON THE WETLANDS AND WE WANTED TO BE SURE THAT THE WETLAND WOULD BE PRESERVED AND TAKEN CARE OF.
WE WANTED TO ALSO ADDRESS ANY DRAINAGE PROBLEMS THAT WOULD COME ON THE PROPERTY WITH THE REMOVAL OF THE TREES AND BUILDING THIS ROAD, WHICH WOULD BE IN PER HAVE A SERVICE, A SURFACE THAT'S OUS, WHICH IS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT, AND ALSO TO LOOK AT THE TREE REMOVAL.
SO WHAT WE DID IS WE ACTUALLY MET WITH THE APPLICANT TWICE AND THE APPLICANT WAS VERY COOPERATIVE IN WORKING WITH US.
UM, AND SO YOU'LL SEE THIS TYPICAL DOCUMENT THAT GOES TO THE PLANNING BOARD.
WE, WE LIST WHO ATTENDED THE MEETINGS AND WHAT WAS DISCUSSED.
AND THEN AARON, IF YOU CAN JUST SCROLL THIS DOWN AND THEN WE MAKE OUR RECOMMENDATIONS BASED ON THE MATERIALS WE'VE HAD IN THE DISCUSSIONS.
AND ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS YOU'LL NOTICE IS THAT OUR RECOMMENDATION INCLUDES THE STAFF REPORT, WHICH WAS PRODUCED AND ADOPTED ON NOVEMBER 6TH.
NOW THAT STAFF REPORT SPELLS OUT MANY THINGS THAT HAVE TO BE OBSERVED ENVIRONMENTALLY DURING THE BUILDING PROCESS AND ALSO IN TERMS OF RESTORING AND MAINTAINING THE WETLANDS.
NOW THIS IS AN INTERESTING PROJECT BECAUSE THE, UM, ROADWAY IS GOING GOING TO BE OWNED BY THE TOWN.
IT IS GOING TO BE OWNED BY THE THREE HOUSES.
SO IT NEEDS TO BE MAINTAINED ALSO.
SO THEY'RE CREATING A HOMEOWNER'S ASSOCIATION.
THE HOMEOWNER'S ASSOCIATION IS ALSO GONNA BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE WETLANDS ON THE PROPERTY.
SO WE WANTED TO ENSURE THAT IT WAS RECORDED, THAT THE, THERE WOULD BE A HOMEOWNER'S ASSOCIATION, WHAT THEY WOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR.
SO YOU'LL NOTICE NUMBER TWO SAYS A HOMEOWNER'S ASSOCIATION WILL BE CREATED UNDER NEW YORK LAW AND CANNOT BE AMENDED WITHOUT THE APPROVAL OF THE TOWN'S ATTORNEY'S OFFICE.
NOW THAT'S IN THERE BECAUSE OTHERWISE WE COULD HAVE ALL THESE WONDERFUL THINGS.
AND THE HOMEOWNER'S ASSOCIATION, WHICH IS BASICALLY THREE HOUSEHOLDS, COULD GET TOGETHER AND SAY, WE DON'T WANNA DO THIS ANYMORE.
SO THEY'LL HAVE TO GET THE TOWN'S ATTORNEY'S OFFICE TO APPROVE IT.
THE HOMEOWNER'S ASSOCIATION WILL OWN THE SHARED ROADWAY AND WILL MAINTAIN THE ROADWAY AND THE WETLANDS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PRACTICES AND STANDARDS SATISFACTION TO THE TOWN WETLANDS INSPECTOR, THE H O A WILL GRANT THE TOWN THE RIGHT TO COME ONTO THE PROPERTY TO DO NECESSARY WORK TO MAINTAIN THE WETLANDS AND CHARGE FOR THE WORK.
AND IT IS NOT DONE BY THE HOMEOWNER'S ASSOCIATION.
AND IF THE TOWN FEES ARE NOT PAID, THE AMOUNT WILL BE BECOME A LIEN AGAINST THE PROPERTIES.
NOW THIS IS A PRETTY POWERFUL TOOL TO HAVE, WHICH IS REALLY GREAT.
NUMBER FIVE, THE DES WILL REFERENCE THE HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION RESPONSIBILITY IN THE TOWN'S RECOURSE AS DESCRIBED IN ITEMS TWO, THREE, AND FOUR ABOVE TO THE SATISFACTION OF THE TOWN'S ATTORNEY'S OFFICE.
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WITH THE CG AND C PRACTICE TREE REMOVAL, WE PHASED FOR THE PROJECT FOR EACH LOT AS DELINEATED IN THE ATTACHED DOCUMENT PREPARED BY, UM, A DEPUTY AARON SCHMIDT DEPUTY COMMISSIONER.AND THERE IS AN ATTACHED DOCUMENT WHICH SHOWS, AND I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANNA BRING THAT UP, AARON, IS IT HANDY OR WE CAN'T HEAR YOU ERIC, YOU, YOU MIC'S OFF.
I'LL SEE IF I CAN, UM, I'LL SEE IF I CAN PULL IT UP QUICKLY.
AND THIS IS A NICE STARTING POINT BECAUSE WHAT AARON HAS PRODUCED FOR US AS A DOCUMENT WE'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO USE GOING FORWARD, WHICH IS REALLY GREAT.
UM, AND IT REALLY INDICATES HOW WE PHASE OUT A DEVELOPMENT LIKE THIS SO THE TREES DON'T COME DOWN UNTIL THEY ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO.
'CAUSE HISTORICALLY THIS HAS BEEN A PROBLEM WHERE SOMEONE COMES IN, GETS THEIR APPROVAL AND THEN STARTS TAKING DOWN TREES AND THEN DOESN'T BILL FOR FOUR OR FIVE YEARS.
AND IRONICALLY, THIS CAME OUT OF
WE'RE NOT EVEN TAKING A POSITION ON THE SUIT.
ALL WE'RE SAYING IS DON'T TAKE THE TREES DOWN TILL YOU GET THE DECISION.
AND SUBSEQUENTLY TO THAT KIND OF WORKING IN, UH, TATUM WITH A AARON, WE HAD A, UH, A LARGE PARCEL COME IN AND WE'RE LOOKING AT IT, AND IT WAS A SIMILAR ONE TO THIS, WHERE THE BUILD OUT WAS GONNA BE, UM, PEOPLE BUYING PROPERTY.
AND WE ASKED, WELL, DON'T TAKE THE TREES DOWN FOR ANYTHING OTHER THAN THE ROADS UNTIL YOU LET THE PEOPLE WHEN THEY COME IN TO SELL THE PROPERTY, YOU KNOW, BUY THE PROPERTY.
AND WE THOUGHT THIS WAS A BIG ASK AND WE WEREN'T GONNA GET IT.
AND WE'VE SORT OF MOVED WITH AARON NOW THAT WHEN SOMETHING COMES IN AND THE DEVELOPMENT ISN'T GONNA START RIGHT AWAY TO SAY THAT'S NOT OUR PROCESS HERE.
WE DON'T TAKE DOWN TREES UNTIL YOU'RE READY TO DO SOMETHING.
WHICH ASIDE FROM NOT LOSING THE VALUE OF THE TREES, ALSO REALLY PREVENTS ANY KIND OF FLOODING THAT WOULD RESULT OR, OR HARM.
SO WHAT AARON HAS PUT TOGETHER, WHICH IS SOMETHING GOING FORWARD, WE'LL BE ABLE TO USE, UH, WE'VE ACTUALLY NOW KIND OF CODIFIED WHAT HAS BEEN PRACTICED.
AND AARON, MAYBE YOU WANNA TALK YOUR WAY THROUGH THIS ONE SINCE IT'S REALLY YOUR DOCUMENT.
SO CAN YOU GUYS HEAR ME WELL? BECAUSE I'M GETTING FEEDBACK ON MY END? YEAH, YOU'RE FINE TO ME.
SO I'M JUST GONNA REALLY READ THROUGH IT BECAUSE, UM, IT WAS AT THE REQUEST OF THE CONSERVATION ADVISORY COUNCIL.
IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'VE BEEN PRACTICING FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS NOW.
UH, HOWEVER IT WAS NEVER REALLY WRITTEN AS POLICY AND IT WAS, UH, AN IMPORTANT AND I THINK A A A GOOD REQUEST TO THE CONSERVATION ADVISORY COUNCIL TO GET THIS IN WRITING AND REQUEST IT THROUGH MY OFFICE.
UM, JUST SO THAT EVERYONE'S ON THE SAME PAGE, THE C A C MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC, THE APPLICANT, THE PLANNING BOARD, THE TOWN BOARD, WHEN THE TOWN BOARD'S INVOLVED.
SO NOW WE HAVE THIS WRITTEN UP AND ESSENTIALLY IN A NUTSHELL, UM, IT LAYS OUT THE FACT THAT CERTAIN THINGS MUST BE COMPLIED WITH IN FULL, BEFORE NON-HAZARDOUS REGULATED TREES WERE REMOVED FROM A DEVELOPMENT PROJECT SITE.
SO THERE, AND, AND I RECALL IN 2007 OR SO, THERE HAD BEEN A SUBDIVISION IN THE ARDSLEY SECTION OF TOWN.
THERE WAS MULTIPLE LOTS, I WANT TO SAY SEVEN OR EIGHT TOTAL, UH, LOTS WITH A COUPLE OF HUNDRED TREES BEING REMOVED.
SO SIMILAR, UH, TO THIS PROJECT THAT, THAT WE WERE JUST DISCUSSING BEFORE.
AND THE C A C ISSUED A RECOMMENDATION AND THE PLANNING BOARD APPROVAL LETTER STATED FINAL SUBDIVISION APPROVAL AND TREE REMOVAL PERMIT APPROVAL.
SO THE APPLICANT OR THE DEVELOPER WHO BOUGHT THE PROJECT DID CHANGE HANDS, HAD THAT IN HAND, LOOKED AT THE PLAN, AND PROCEEDED TO CUT DOWN OVER 200 TREES FROM THE PROPERTY WHILE THE HOUSING MARKET CRASHED RIGHT AROUND THAT TIME.
AND THE PROPERTY LAID DENUDED OF TREES FOR SEVERAL YEARS AND IT WAS A COMPLETE EYESORE ON THAT NEIGHBORHOOD.
AND THAT'S WHEN WE REALIZED WE CANNOT
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ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN AGAIN AND STARTED TO PUT THIS POLICY INTO PLACE.UM, IT'S COVERED IN THE PLANNING BOARD DECISIONS NOW, BUT IN ADDITION TO THAT, I THINK IT, IT WAS HELPFUL TO BE ABLE TO PUT THIS INTO WRITING, SO I'M HAPPY TO READ THROUGH IT OR I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS ON IT, WHATEVER YOUR PREFERENCE IS.
I THINK READING THROUGH, IT'S PROBABLY LONG.
I THINK THE IMPORTANT THING HERE IS, IS AS AARON IS SAYING, IS THAT JUST BECAUSE THEY'VE GOTTEN APPROVAL FOR THE PROJECT, THE TREES ARE NOT COMING DOWN.
IT'S ONLY WHEN THEY COME IN FOR A BUILDING PERMIT TO PUT THE ROADS IN THE TREES WHERE THE ROAD THAT IS GOING CAN COME DOWN WHEN THEY COME IN TO ACTUALLY BUILD A HOUSE, THAT'S WHEN THOSE TREES COME DOWN.
SO IT REALLY, UM, PREVENTS ANY TREES THAT DON'T NEED TO COME DOWN FROM COMING DOWN.
IT PREVENTS THE KIND OF STRIPPING OF LAND AND THEN NOT HAVING IT USED SO THAT IT'S JUST BARREN FROM HAPPENING.
SO IT'S A WIN ALL AROUND AND IT REALLY DOESN'T SEEM FOR MOST OF THE, WHAT WOULD YOU SAY, UM, PEOPLE WE SEEM TO BE DEALING WITH DON'T SEEM TO FIND IT PROBLEMATIC.
I THINK THEY UNDERSTAND THE LOGIC IN IT AND IT, BUT IT IS NICE NOW TO HAVE IT CODIFIED SO WE CAN JUST PUT IT ON, ON ANY APPLICATION GOING FORWARD.
AND I REALLY WANNA THANK AARON FOR DOING THIS.
AND THEN THANKS FOR ASKING FOR IT.
THE ONLY OTHER THING I WANTED TO ADD, AS CHAIRPERSON TORI MENTIONED THE TREES CANNOT BE REMOVED UNTIL A BUILDING PERMIT APPLICATION IS FILED AND, AND BASICALLY ON THE VERGE OF BEING APPROVED.
AND AS SHE MENTIONED BEFORE, IN THE CONCEPTUAL PLANS THAT GO BEFORE THE VARIOUS BOARDS, THERE'S THE LIMIT OF DISTURBANCE.
SO THAT'S THE LIMIT OF WHAT CAN BE DISTURBED.
AND WITH RESPECT TO TREES REMOVED, IF SOMEONE IS MOVING IN THAT WANTS, YOU KNOW, THE HOUSE IN THE COUNTRY AS WE LIKE TO CALL IT, UM, AND WANTS TO RETAIN MORE TREES THAN WHAT WAS SHOWN ON THE CONCEPTUAL PLAN, THEY CERTAINLY CAN DO SO.
AND WE GET THAT PLAN, THEIR FINAL PLAN AT THE TIME AND IN CONNECTION WITH THE BUILDING PERMIT APPLICATION.
AND THAT'S WHEN WE REVIEW IT TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S AT A MINIMUM COMPLIANT WITH THE CONCEPTUAL PLAN AND PERHAPS EVEN, UH, A SITUATION WHERE THEY'RE WILLING TO RETAIN AND OR PRESERVE ADDITIONAL TREES THAT HAD BEEN SHOWN FOR REMOVAL PREVIOUSLY.
YOU WANT ME TO TAKE THIS DOWN? I THINK SO THAT WE, THAT WE CAN ALL HAVE BIGGER HEADS,
UM, WE SORT OF WENT RIGHT INTO THE MEETING AND I DO WANNA WELCOME OUR GUESTS THIS EVENING AND MAYBE WE CAN ALL GO AROUND AND JUST BRIEFLY SAY WHERE WE'RE FROM, WHO WE ARE, AND GIVE A LITTLE BRIEF INTRODUCTION SO WE ALL GET TO KNOW EACH OTHER A LITTLE BIT THIS EVENING.
I'M THE CHAIR OF THE CONSERVATION ADVISORY COUNCIL.
I HAVE BASICALLY LIVED ALMOST OTHER THAN SEVEN YEARS OF MY LIFE IN, IN HARTSDALE IN THE SAME HOUSE.
UM, I HAVE BACKGROUND IN IT AND I'VE RETIRED A NUMBER OF YEARS AND I'VE ALWAYS LOVED THE OUTDOORS AND THE ENVIRONMENT AND I REALLY WOULD WANT TO WORK AND HAVE BEEN TRYING TO WORK TO KEEP THE BEST PARTS OF GREENBERG IN TERMS OF NATURE AND QUALITY OF LIFE, OF THE COMMUNITY AS I'VE KNOWN IT THROUGH MY LIFE TO SEE IT HERE FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS.
MIKE, YOU WANNA GIVE A BRIEF, UH, INTRODUCTION HERE? SURE.
UM, FIRST APPOINTED, UH, DURING THE CLINTON ADMINISTRATION, SUBSEQUENTLY APPOINTED DURING THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION.
UH, I REPRESENT THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, THE COMMISSION OF THE UNITED NATIONS, HEADQUARTERED OVER IN VIENNA.
AND, UH, I'VE BEEN, UH, ON THE C A C FOR ABOUT 15 YEARS AND, UM, VICE CHAIRMAN OF IT FOR ABOUT 10 YEARS.
DONNA? HI, MY NAME'S DONNA ELLO.
I WORK AT A LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT PLANNING AND ENGINEERING FIRM IN WHITE PLAINS.
I LIVE IN POET CORNER, NOT TOO FAR FROM TERRY.
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I DON'T EVEN KNOW.I'VE BEEN ON THE C A C MAYBE SIX YEARS NOW.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, THAT'S AN, OBVIOUSLY FROM MY BACKGROUND, I HAVE AN INTEREST IN THE ENVIRONMENT AND, UM, YOU KNOW, I'M HAPPY TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE GROUP THE KNOWLEDGE I HAVE FROM MY PROFESSIONAL CAREER.
MARGARET? HMM? I MUTE? NO, CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES.
SO, MARGARET BEAL, UM, I'M A RESIDENT OF GREENBURG FOR 28 YEARS, UH, RAISED TWO CHILDREN IN THE ARDSLEY SCHOOLS.
UM, I'VE BEEN WORKING ON WALL STREET FOR 39 YEARS.
OH, GOD,
UM, WE, I'M SO PROUD OF THE WORK WE DO.
WE WORK SO HARD TO BE CAREFUL AND SCIENTIFIC AND NOT, YOU KNOW, KUMBAYA AND EARTH DAY AND ALL THAT STUFF.
WE REALLY WANNA BE CAREFUL ABOUT WHAT WE SAY, WHAT WE RECOMMEND, MAKE SURE WE HAVE SCIENCE BEHIND IT.
WE'RE CAREFUL ABOUT EVERY WORD WE PUT IN EVERY RECOMMENDATION.
UM, AND, UM, I BELONG TO TREE HUGGERS, ANONYMOUS
SHARON, SHARON, YOU MUTE? OKAY.
I'VE LIVED IN HARTSDALE FOR 44, 40 SOMETHING YEARS, AND I THINK I'VE BEEN ON THE C A C FOR MAYBE 20 YEARS OR MORE.
MOST OF WHAT I'VE DONE HERE HAS BEEN BECAUSE I'M ALSO HAVE BEEN A, UH, MASTER GARDENER AND A GARDEN GUIDE AT WAVE HILL.
SO I, THIS HAS BEEN A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO SEE THAT THINGS CAN, YOU KNOW, CONFORM TO THE BEST PRACTICES FOR THOSE ORGANIZATIONS AND FOR US, FOR THE TOWN.
NOW MAYBE OUR GUESTS WOULD LIKE TO SHARE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THEMSELVES.
NANCY, WOULD YOU WANNA GO FIRST? UM, LET'S SEE.
I'VE LIVED IN EDGEMONT FOR PUSHING, PUSHING 30 YEARS NOW.
I LIVE ON OLD ARMY ROAD AND I RECENTLY GOT A NEIGHBOR THAT I'M VERY PLEASED WITH.
MICHAEL LIVES NEXT DOOR TO ME NOW.
AND, UM, YEAH, I, I THINK THE CARE OF THE CARE OF THE EARTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT IS THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT THING WE HAVE TO DO NOW.
LET SEE, I'VE BEEN RETIRED FOR A LITTLE OVER A YEAR.
I SPENT MY CAREER ON THE BUSINESS END OF A VERY LARGE, UH, LAW FIRMS. UH, NOT AS AN ATTORNEY, BUT AS A BUSINESS AND ADMINISTRATOR.
MY WIFE'S FAMILY HAS BEEN HERE FOR 35 OR 40 YEARS, MOSTLY AROUND POET'S CORNER.
UM,
UH, I, UM, WE'RE VERY, I CARE VERY MUCH FOR THE ENVIRONMENT.
UM, WE, WE DO A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF GARDENING, SAILING, UM, INTERESTED IN WHAT HAPPENS IN THE TOWN.
I HOPE I CAN, UH, UH, GAIN SOMETHING FROM, UH, THESE, UH, THESE MEETINGS AS I OBSERVE THEM AND PERHAPS MAKE A CONTRIBUTION MYSELF.
UH, UM, CAN I ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS? I'M NOT SURE WHERE TO GO WITH.
NO, I THINK I JUST WANTED, I THINK IT WAS JUST BECAUSE WE'RE SORT OF A GROUP TONIGHT AND I JUST THOUGHT IT WOULD BE EASIER IF EVERYONE JUST KIND OF LIKE GOT KNOW EACH OTHER.
MAYBE, MAYBE IT'S MAYBE TOO MUCH SOCIALIZATION.
BUT LIZ, YOU'RE LAST, BUT NOT, I'M VERY, NO, I WAS VERY HAPPY TO TALK.
I I JUST DIDN'T WANNA PRESENT THAT.
IT'S VERY NICE TO MEET YOU ALL.
I, UH, LIVE IN EDGEMONT, LIKE NANCY ABOUT, BEEN HERE ABOUT 24 YEARS AND, UM, MY BACKGROUND IS IN, IN SALES AND ORGANIZING AND THE ENVIRONMENT IS SOMETHING I'VE
[00:30:01]
ALWAYS BEEN INCREDIBLY PASSIONATE ABOUT.I KNOW I'VE SPOKEN TO AARON IN THE PAST ABOUT TREES AND IDENTIFYING SOME TREES ON MY PROPERTY.
AND I'M RIGHT NOW IN THE PROCESS OF CONVERTING ALL OF MY GARDEN BEDS AND ADDING NEW BEDS IN MY BACKYARD THAT'LL ALL BE NATIVE AND BE PART OF THE POLLINATOR PATHWAY.
AND, UM, I KNOW I VERY MUCH APPRECIATE THAT THE TOWN HAS TAKEN SOME GREAT STEPS LIKE THE TREE CODE AND, AND, UM, HOPEFULLY THE, THE, UH, LEAF BLOWER BAND, WHICH I KNOW IS COMING DOWN THE PIPE.
SO IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO ME AND, AND I'M VERY INTERESTED IN LEARNING HOW YOU GO ABOUT ACHIEVING SOME OF THESE GOALS.
AND I MUST SAY IN BOTH CASES, BOTH IN TERMS OF, UM, THE NEW TREE LAW, WHICH WE OWE SO MUCH TO AARON WHO WORKED ON THIS WITH US, AND THE RECOMMENDATION FOR RESTRICTION ON USING LEAF BLOWERS, BOTH OF THOSE HAVE REALLY COME OUT OF THE C A C.
SO I, YOU KNOW, WE
AND, UH, AND I THINK IT'S BEEN REALLY HELPFUL.
IT'S GONNA REALLY MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE COMMUNITY.
SO I REALLY THANK YOU ALL BECAUSE I THINK IT WAS HELPFUL FOR EVERYONE WHO, WE HAVE AN AGENDA TONIGHT.
UH, LEMME JUST MAKE FEW COMMENTS.
ONE OF THE THINGS, UM, I'D LIKE TO JUST SUPPLEMENT, UM, THE, UM, FOR, FOR GEORGE AND NANCY AND LIZ, UM, BOTH OF THESE PROJECTS, THE TREE LAW AND THE LAW LAW WERE MULTI-YEAR IN DEVELOPMENT.
AND, AND PICKING UP ON SOME OF WHAT MARGARET SAID, UM, WE TRY TO BE SCIENTIFICALLY BASED.
AND MARGARET, FOR EXAMPLE, SPENT I THINK PROBABLY AN EXCESS OF 200 HOURS, UM, UH, RESEARCHING, UH, THE SCIENTIFIC DATA UNDERLYING THE BLOW ALONE.
UM, SO WE ARE NOT, UM, WE, WE ARE NOT JUST ENVIRONMENTAL CHEERLEADERS.
WE HAVE, WE'RE, WE, WE'RE ONE OF THE THREE LAND USE BOARDS THAT ARE SPECIFIED IN THE TOWN CODE.
IT'S THE PLANNING BOARD, THE ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS, AND THE CONSERVATION.
SO OUR RESPONSIBILITY IS TO TRY TO COME UP SOMETHING THAT IS BALANCED.
IT IS NOT ALWAYS THE BEST AND MOST PUREST FORM OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION.
UM, YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER THAT IN THE COMMUNITY THAT WE LIVE VIEWS ON THE ENVIRONMENT, AND THIS IS MIND-BOGGLING, ARE PROBABLY ABOUT 60 40.
UH, THERE ARE ABOUT 40% OF THE PEOPLE IN UNINCORPORATED GREENBERG THAT THEIR VIEWS ON THE ENVIRONMENT ARE DOMINATED BY TWO VIEW, BY TWO VIEWS.
ONE OF WHICH IS I CAN DO WHAT I WANT TO ON MY PROPERTY.
UM, UH, YOU KNOW, NOW THAT DISREGARDS THE FACT WE HAVE 45,000 PEOPLE LIVING IN 20 SQUARE MILES.
UM, SO IN
BUT WE HAVE A NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT SAY THAT.
AND THEN WE HAVE A NUMBER OF OTHER PEOPLE, AND THIS IS MY FAVORITE GROUP THAT SAY, I LOVE THE ENVIRONMENT, BUT NOT ON MY PROPERTY.
'CAUSE MY PROPERTY IS TOO BIG, MY PROPERTY'S TOO SMALL, MY PROPERTY IS THIS, MY PROPERTY IS THAT.
I REALLY WANT YOU TO KNOW I'M, CAN I CALL YOU THIS? WE HAVE THAT GROUP.
IT'S ABOUT A 60 40 SPLIT IN THE COMMUNITY IN GENERAL, UH, ON ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES.
NOW WE HAVE GREAT LEADERSHIP FROM, UH, UH, UH, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND CONSERVATION AND AARON AND GARRETT.
BUT, YOU KNOW, UM, THE TOWN BOARD BEING AN COLLECTED AND ELECTED BODY IS OBVIOUSLY RESPONSIBLE TO LISTEN TO EVERYONE IN THE COMMUNITY.
SO YOU HEAR A LOT AT TOWN BOARD MEETINGS, THINGS THAT ARE, UH, ENVIRONMENTALLY SILLY, BUT UM, IN SOME CASES ENVIRONMENTALLY COUNTERPRODUCTIVE, BUT ARE VIEWS OF CITIZENS.
AND SO OUR OUR ROLE IN THIS IS NOT ALWAYS TO BE PURE ENVIRONMENTALISTS, BUT TO STRUCTURE SOMETHING THAT THE TOWN BOARD THAT IS ENVIRONMENTALLY HELPFUL FROM WHAT WE NOW HAVE, BUT IS SOMETHING
[00:35:01]
THAT THE TOWN BOARD IS COMFORTABLE IN ADOPTING AS PART OF THE TOWN CODE, IN THE ENVIRONMENT, UH, UH, OF, OF THE VIEWS OF THE CITIZENS OF THIS COMMUNITY.SO IT'S A VERY DELICATE BALANCING JOB.
AND IT'S NOT ALWAYS, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS EXACTLY ENVIRONMENTALLY RIGHT.
AND IT TAKES ABOUT, IN MY EXPERIENCE ABOUT THE 15 YEARS I'VE BEEN ON C A C, IT TAKES A COUPLE OF YEARS TO KIND OF GET A HOLD OF THAT.
AND IT'S NO ONE'S FAULT IF IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE TO YOU AT FIRST BECAUSE IT MAKE SENSE TO ME AT FIRST, IT DIDN'T MAKE THE SENSE TO ANY OF US AT FIRST, BUT IF, BUT WE HAVE A KIND OF A SAYING, WHICH IS DON'T LET THE PERFECT BE THE ENEMY OF THE GOOD.
SO THE, I JUST DON'T, WE HAVE HAD PEOPLE COME ON AND THEY'RE PERFECTLY WONDERFUL PEOPLE AND, UH, BUT HAVE A, YOU KNOW, A ROMANTIC VIEW OF WHAT WE DO, WHAT WE DO.
WE DON'T DO POLITICS, WE DON'T GET INVOLVED IN POLITICS OR AGAINST ANYBODY.
BUT WHAT WE DO FOR BECOME PART OF TOWN LAW IS DOES GET INVOLVED IN GETTING THREE VOTES.
YOU KNOW, WE LIVE IN A DEMOCRACY, BUT WE LIVE IN THE TYPE OF DEMOCRACY WHERE IT, IT'S, YOU KNOW, IT, IT'S COUNTING NOSES.
IT'S THREE VOTES OUT OF FIVE THAT MAKE ANYTHING HAPPEN IN THE TOWN CODE.
SO WHAT WE DO HAS TO BE TEMPERED ON HOW WE GET THREE VOTES.
SO, UH, I JUST WANTED TO TO SAY THAT 'CAUSE IT'S A LITTLE, IT'S A LITTLE MORE COMPLEX AND A LITTLE MORE SUBTLE THAN A PURE ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP.
AND I, I REALLY THANK, UM, MIKE THAT DOING THAT.
AND I ALSO, GOING BACK TO WHAT MARGARET SAID IS THAT WE ARE SO REALLY SCIENCE BASED IN TERMS OF WHAT WE DO.
IT'S AN, I CAN SHOW YOU THE DOCUMENTATION FOR THAT.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS, LIKE FOR INSTANCE, WITH THE LEAF BLOWER, MARGARET DID ALL THE SCIENTIFIC BACKGROUND FOR WHY IT WAS NEEDED, WHAT THE HARMS WERE.
BUT WE HAVE SOMEONE WHO JUST RECENTLY HAS LEFT THE CAC BECAUSE HE'S GOING TO BE DOING EXTENSIVE TRAVELING, I GUESS.
HE GOT HIS SHOTS AND HE BASICALLY PICKED UP ON SOMETHING.
WE WERE TRYING TO MAKE AN END RUN THROUGH THE NOISE ORDINANCE AND WE DISCOVERED THAT JUST SERENDIPITOUSLY, I KNOW I LOOKED AT HOME DEPOT AND I SAID, GEE, EVEN THE ELECTRIC BLOWERS ARE MORE THAN THE TOWN NOISE CO NOISE CODE.
WELL, PETER WENT THROUGH AND HE CHECKED ON THE SPECIFICITY AND THE DETAILS OF MANUFACTURERS OF THE THREE, BASICALLY 300 LEAF BLOWERS THAT ARE AVAILABLE RIGHT NOW AND CAME UP WITH THE FACT THAT THERE ARE ONLY FIVE ELECTRIC BLOWERS THAT, UM, ARE BELOW THE TOWN NOISE ORDINANCE LIMIT.
SO BASICALLY, UNLIKE MOST COMMUNITIES, WE ARE ASKING FOR A BAN ON ALL LEAF BLOWERS BECAUSE THE SCIENCE TELLS US THAT REGARDLESS OF WHETHER IT'S POWERED BY ELECTRIC OR GASOLINE, IT'S EQUALLY HARMFUL, SAME LEVELS.
IT PRODUCES THE SAME FORCED AIR THAT PORSCHES STUFF UP INTO THE ATMOSPHERE THAT'S HARMFUL TO RESPIRATORY SYSTEM.
THE SAME STRONG VOLUME THAT OF AIR THAT BASICALLY IS A HURRICANE FORCE OF AIR THAT DESTROYS THE SOIL.
SO WE'RE REALLY LOOKING AT SOMETHING, AND THIS IS AN EXAMPLE WHERE IT'S THE SCIENCE, IT'S THE FACTS, NOT, YOU KNOW, WHAT PEOPLE THINK.
SO THAT'S REALLY SOMETHING I THANK BOTH, BOTH MARGARET AND MIKE IN PARTICULAR FOR, FOR DETAILING THAT WE HAVE SOME OTHER AGENDA ITEMS. I JUST WANNA KIND OF DO A LITTLE, UH, HOUSEKEEPING HERE WITH MIKE IN TERMS OF WHERE YOU'D THINK WE SHOULD GO NEXT.
I KNOW YOU HAD WANTED TO, UM, TALK ABOUT THE WEBSITE, BUT WE ALSO HAVE, UH, I GUESS A LITTLE UPDATING TO DO ON ELMORE AND ON THE BEST MEETING.
SO WHAT DO YOU WANNA DO NEXT? LET'S DO THE EASY WEBSITE.
WHEN I WAS, UH, WHEN I WAS CHAIR OF THE, FOR FIVE YEARS, I WAS CHAIR OF THE BOARD OF ETHICS AND, UM, UM, WE DEVELOPED A WEBSITE, UH, WHEN I WAS THERE WE HAD, WE HAD 20 ETHICAL OPINIONS, UM, AND WE PUT THEM ON THE WEBSITE, UM, UH, SO THAT PEOPLE COULD SEE IT.
UM, UM, WE, UM, UM, HAVE SEVERAL FORMS. UH, MOST OF WHAT WE DO IS IN WRITING, UM, AND, UM, ON LAND USE PROJECTS.
UM, UH, THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY, UH, DEVELOPMENT AND
[00:40:01]
CONSERVATION, UH, POST OUR REPORTS TO THE TOWN BOARD OR OUR REPORTS TO THE PLANNING BOARD, POST THEM ON THE TOWN WEBSITE.UM, UNDER, UM, UM, THE RELEVANT APPLICATION, IF YOU GO ON THE TOWN WEBSITE AND YOU PUT IN IN DEPARTMENTS, YOU, ONE OF THE DEPARTMENTS YOU'LL FIND IS DEPARTMENT OF UH, UM, UH, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CONSERVATION, AND THERE'S A MARGIN ON THE LEFT, WHICH YOU'LL FIND WHEN YOU GET ON THEIR WEBPAGE.
IT HAS, UH, WHAT'S CALLED ACTIVE APPLICATIONS.
AND MOST OF THOSE ARE EITHER APPLICATIONS FROM THE PLANNING BOARD IN FRONT OF THE TOWN BOARD.
AND WHEN WE ISSUE A REPORT, LIKE THE ONE THAT WE RATIFIED EARLIER THIS EVENING, UH, IT IS LISTED BY THE DEPARTMENT UNDER THAT APPLICATION NUMBER.
UM, AND THAT WAS ELWOOD, WHICH I DON'T KNOW, LIKE 7 17 0 2 OR 1802 OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
BUT THEN WE DO OTHER THINGS LIKE THE BELOW A LAW REPORT IS 15 TO 20 PAGES.
IT DOESN'T RELATE TO A PARTICULAR APPLICATION.
AND SO THE WEBSITE, WE, WE WOULD BE ABLE TO, TO PUT THAT ON IT, UM, WE WOULD BE A, WE HAVE DONE, WE JUST ADOPTED IN EARLY JANUARY, UM, UM, THERE'S A NEW YORK STATE LAW CALLED C CQ.
SS E Q R STANDS FOR NEW YORK STATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY REVIEW ACT, S E QR, UH, IT'S EXTREMELY COMPLICATED.
IT IS BY FAR, AND I USED TO WORK IN A LAW THAT, UH, WAS MOSTLY WORK IN LAW THAT WAS, UH, WRITTEN IN 1898, UH, FEDERAL LAW.
UM, UM, IT, UM, THIS IS THE WORST LAW I'VE EVER WRITTEN, I'VE EVER SEEN WRITTEN THIS NEW YORK STATE SEQUEL LAW.
YOU READ IT AND YOU SAY, WHAT, WHAT IS, WHAT DOES IT SAY? WHAT DOES IT MEAN? YOU KNOW WHAT, I COULD HAVE WRITTEN THIS, BUT IT IS WHAT WE HAVE TO WORK WITH.
BUT IT HAS A VERY BROAD DEFINITION OF ENVIRONMENT.
ANYTHING THAT AFFECTS THE LAND, THAT AFFECTS THE AIR, THAT AFFECTS FLOOR, UH, ANYTHING THAT AFFECTS POPULATION, ANYTHING THAT AFFECTS HUMAN HEALTH.
ALL OF THIS IS CONSIDERED PART OF THE ENVIRONMENT.
AND UNDER THE TOWN CODE, WE'RE ALL ORGANIZED UNDER CHAPTER FIVE 20 AND THE, THE LOCAL TOWN CODE, WE ADVISE ON THE ENVIRONMENT.
THERE'S NO LOCAL DEFINITION OF ENVIRONMENT.
SO WE USE THE STATE DEFINITION AND BASICALLY, YOU KNOW, YOU GO OUT AND YOU GO TO THE SUPERMARKET TO GO SHOPPING UNDER C E YOU ARE AFFECTING THE ENVIRONMENT 'CAUSE YOU'RE AFFECTING TRAFFIC, YOU'RE AFFECTING AIR POLLUTION, YOU'RE AFFECTING A LOT OF THINGS.
SO WE CAN ADVISE ON ALMOST ANYTHING IN THE WORLD THAT'S NOT FISCAL, IT'S NOT TAXES, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, NOT POLICE ENFORCEMENT.
UM, SO THAT IS A VERY COMPLICATED THING.
AND WE PREPARED, WE TOOK ABOUT A HALF A YEAR AND WE PREPARED A GUIDE ON HOW TO OPERATE UNDER CE Q A THAT NOW IS ON THE WEBSITE.
UM, WE PROBABLY COULD VERY USEFULLY HAVE SOME ENVIRONMENTAL LINKS THAT THE COMMUNITY MAY BE INTERESTED IN ON THINGS THAT POP UP, UH, UH, AS LONG AS WE THINK THEY'RE NOT, YOU KNOW, THAT THEY'RE SOUND, UH, THAT WE COULD PUT ON THEM.
SO THAT IS THE TYPE OF THING THAT WE'RE THINKING ABOUT FOR, UH, UH, FOR THE WEBSITE.
AND I CREATED KIND OF A FRAMEWORK, UH, UH, TO, TO KICK IT OFF.
AND NOW WE NEED SOMEONE TO, UH, TO TAKE IT OVER AND TO, UH, YOU KNOW, AND TO PERFECT IT.
AND IT'LL BE AN ONGOING PROJECT.
UH, YOU KNOW, I, IT TOOK ME, YOU KNOW, A LITTLE TIME TO GET THE FRAMEWORK DOWN.
I TALKED WITH TERRY, REVISED IT WITH BASED ON HER COMMENTS.
AND, UM, BUT NOW WE HAVE A FRAMEWORK AND NOW I NEED SOMEONE TO TAKE IT OVER AND TO, UH, UM, UM, UM, YOU KNOW, AND KEEP AND KEEP IT GOING.
THEY, UH, THE TOWN HAS A, UM, UH, A WEB MANAGER, UH, JOE LUCEY, HE WAS THE WEB MANAGER WHEN I WAS CHAIR OF THE BOARD OF ETHICS.
HE'S VERY EASY TO WORK WITH, VERY NICE, VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE, VERY EASY TO WORK WITH.
SO THERE'S NO KIND OF PROBLEM OR ANYTHING, ANYTHING LIKE THAT IN THAT RESPECT.
BUT, YOU KNOW, WE NEED SOMEONE TO BE THE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE FATHER OR THE MOTHER OF, UH, OF OUR WEBSITE.
SO I, I THINK, MIKE, MAYBE THAT'S NOT SOMETHING WE'RE GONNA ACTUALLY DESIGNATE THE PERSON TONIGHT, BUT I THINK YOU'VE EXPLAINED WHERE WE'RE GOING WITH THIS AND WE'LL BE LOOKING FOR SOMEONE TO BE, THAT'LL BE THEIR KIND OF THEIR CHARGE THE WAY WE HAVE SOMEONE WHO'S CHARGED WITH DOING THE MINUTES.
AND DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY, YEAH, NO, THAT'S RIGHT.
UH, BUT DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ON WHAT TERRY SENT AROUND A COUPLE DAYS AGO? I,
[00:45:01]
I, UM, YEAH, I DO.WAS IT, WAS IT YOUR IDEA TO HAVE ALL THAT, ALL THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT LONG AND UM, COMPREHENSIVE INFORMATION COME RIGHT UP? OR DID YOU WANNA HAVE LIKE A LINKS BUTTON, CLICK HERE ON CLICK HERE, CLICK HERE FOR LEAF BLOWER, CLICK HERE FOR YES.
IT WOULD BE OVERWHELMING IF IT WAS JUST, YOU KNOW, UH, YEAH.
'CAUSE I SAW IT AND I WAS SO PROUD TO SEE ALL OUR WORK, BUT I WAS LIKE, HMM, I DON'T THINK, I DON'T NEED, PEOPLE COULD GET THROUGH.
NO, WE, NO, WE WOULD WANT BUTTONS.
WE WOULD WANT BUTTONS TO, YOU KNOW, BLOW ALLURE SECRET BECAUSE SECRET WOULD BE SOMETHING LIKE IF SOMEONE HAD A QUESTION, I, WE SAW THAT AS BEING, BECAUSE WE REALLY NOW HAVE A, AS I WOULD SAY, I DON'T KNOW IF THEY STILL HAVE CLIFF NOTES.
CLIFF NOTES WERE VERY BIG BACK WHEN THE EARTH WAS COOLING.
AND I WENT TO SCHOOL WHERE YOU GET THESE WONDERFUL ABBREVIATIONS OF STUFF TO GET, GET THROUGH, AND THIS IS SORT OF THE CLIFF NOTES AND WE THOUGHT THIS WOULD BE A WONDERFUL RESOURCE.
UM, SOMETIMES FOR NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS WHEN THEY'RE TRYING TO UNDERSTAND WHEN THEY HAVE A PROBLEM NEAR THEIR COMMUNITY, HOW DO I GO ABOUT WHAT ARE MY RIGHTS IN, IN TERMS OF NEW YORK STATE LAW TO OBJECT TO SOMETHING? BECAUSE THAT'S SORT OF A MURKY THING THAT MOST PEOPLE DON'T UNDERSTAND AND THEY SAY, WELL, YOU CAN ATTEND THIS MEETING AND SPEAK HERE, BUT, BUT THEY DON'T REALIZE THEY REALLY SHOULD BE SPEAKING, UM, SIX MONTHS BEFORE AT THE MEETING THAT'S SIX MONTHS BEFORE, OR SUBMITTING A COMMENT IN WRITING OR THAT THEY HAVE THE RIGHT TO COMMENT.
SO SOME OF THESE THINGS WE THINK WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE WOULD COME OUR SITE LIKE WITH SOME OF THE LINKS, IF IT'S FOR SOMETHING LIKE, UM, NATIVE PLANTS, 'CAUSE THEY'RE LOOKING FOR SOMETHING.
BUT IN OTHER THINGS, SOME OF THOSE RESEARCH DOCUMENTS ARE JUST, I THINK, VALUABLE RESOURCES AND IT WOULD GIVE US SOMEPLACE TO HAVE 'EM AVAILABLE FOR THOSE PEOPLE WHO WERE INTERESTED.
UM, ALSO BECAUSE I'M ALWAYS LOOKING AT THE CLOCKS.
NOT TO RUN TOO LATE ON THIS, UM, WE DID HAVE A TOWN BOARD MEETING LAST NIGHT ON THE ELMWOOD APPLICATION.
UM, THE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT FOR THAT PROJECT WAS ACCEPTED AND IT HAS BEEN OPEN FOR COMMENT AND FOR ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS.
UM, THEY GOT OUT ALL THE FOLKS WHO WON THE BALL FIELD LAST NIGHT.
UM, AND ONE OF THE ISSUES, THE BIGGEST ISSUE WITH THIS PROJECT IS THE APPLICANT IS ASKING FOR A CHANGE IN THE ZONING.
THE PROPERTY ON THE ELMWOOD COUNTRY CLUB IS ZONED R 30 AND R 20, PREDOMINANTLY R 30.
UH, BOTH SCHOOL DISTRICTS, SINCE TWO SCHOOL DISTRICTS OVERLAP IN THE PROPERTY HAVE SAID THAT THEY WOULD PREFER TO HAVE, UM, SINGLE FAMILY HOMES WITH CHILDREN AND STILL THINK IT'S BETTER FOR THEM BOTH IN TERMS OF THEIR SCHOOL POPULATION AND IN TERMS OF REVENUE.
THE APPLICANT WANTS TO BUILD SENIOR RESTRICTED HOUSING, BUT WHAT HE WANTS IS A ZONING CHANGE THAT WOULD ALLOW HIM TO INCREASE THE DENSITY BY 46% BECAUSE HE FEELS HE'S ENTITLED TO THIS 'CAUSE HE WANTS TO GIVE 14 ACRES TO THE TOWN FOR BALL FIELDS.
NOW THESE 14 ACRES HAPPEN TO BE UNDER THE HIGH TENSION WIRES AND NEAR THE PARKWAY.
SO THEY ARE NOT THE MOST DESIRABLE PIECE OF THIS PROPERTY.
UM, THERE'S A GREAT, THERE WAS A GREAT OUTPOURING OF PEOPLE WHO WANT THE BALL FIELDS.
UM, MY FEELING IS WE SHOULD PERSONALLY ME, I'D PAY THE TAXES TO BUY THE LAND FOR THE BALL FIELDS, BUT I STILL WANNA KEEP ZONING THE WAY IT IS.
WE HAVE MULTIPLE ISSUES ON THIS, ON THE CONCEPTUAL PLAN BY WESTCHESTER IS THAT AS YOU GET AWAY FROM THE MAIN ARTERIALS, LIKE ONE 19 AND CENTRAL AVENUE, THE FURTHER YOU GET FROM THAT, THE LARGER THE PLOT SHOULD BE.
AND THIS IS QUITE A WAYS FROM ANY MAIN ARTERIAL.
UH, THE WESTCHESTER COUNTY PLANNING BOARD HAS CAME OUT VERY FORCEFULLY AND SAID THEY DO NOT THINK THERE SHOULD BE A CHANGE IN THE ZONING TO INCREASE THE DENSITY.
UM, WE AS A C A C HAVE COME OUT AND SAID THAT THERE IS AN ADDITIONAL PROBLEM WITH THIS, THAT IT WOULD SET A PRECEDENT.
AND UNLIKE MOST COMMUNITIES SOUTH OF 2 87, UH, BECAUSE OF THE GOLF COURSES AND BECAUSE WE ACTUALLY HAVE FARMLAND STILL IN UNINCORPORATED GREENBURG AND WE HAVE SEVERAL, UH, CAMPS, WE ARE SITTING ON OVER 800 ACRES OF UNDEVELOPED LAND.
[00:50:01]
AND THERE'S A TREMENDOUS CONCERN IN TERMS OF IF THIS ZONING VARIANCE IS ALLOWED, WOULD THAT THEN SET A PRECEDENT FOR THE OTHER GOLF COURSES, CAMPS AND SUCH? AND WE WOULD BECOME SO INUNDATED BECAUSE, UM, I WAS ON THE MASTER PLAN COMMITTEE AND WHEN WE DID OUR WALK AROUNDS, AND THIS IS NOW ALMOST 20 YEARS AGO, IT DIDN'T MATTER WHETHER YOU WERE IN HASTINGS IN EDGEMONT AT THE THEDO YOUNG CENTER, THE CONSISTENT COMPLAINT WAS, IT'S TOO CROWDED.YOU CAN'T GO FROM POINT A TO POINT B IN A CAR WITHOUT BEING STUCK IN TRAFFIC.
I DON'T LIKE THE CHANGES, I DON'T LIKE IT BECOMING ACIDIFIED.
I WANTED TO STAY THE WAY IT WAS REALLY A SUBURBAN COMMUNITY.
SO I THINK THIS IS NOT, UH, THIS IS SOMETHING IN TERMS OF WHAT THE RESIDENTS WANT IN TERMS OF THEIR COMMUNITY, BUT WE'RE FIGHTING SORT OF A DANGLING OF A, A BALL AREA FOR BALL FIELDS THAT, UH, IS COMING INTO PLAY.
AND WHAT WAS INTERESTING LAST NIGHT, WHICH THIS IS DEMOCRACY, WE HAD PEOPLE SPEAKING WHO DON'T EVEN LIVE IN UNINCORPORATED GREENBERG, AND YET THEY ARE ABLE TO VOICE AN OPINION AT A MEETING.
SO THAT'S SORT OF WHAT IS GOING ON WITH ELMWOOD.
WE WILL CONTINUE TO, LEMME LEMME MAKE ONE COMMENT FOR SURE, GEORGE, NANCY, AND LIZ.
ALL ZONING IS SUBJECT TO, TO, TO TWO DOMINANT OVERARCHING RULES.
ONE IS YOU, YOU CANNOT ACT ARBITRARILY OR CAPRICIOUS.
THERE HAS TO BE A REASON FOR TOWN BOARD TO ACT TO EITHER GRANT OR A PLANNING BOARD, TO EITHER GRANT OR NOT GRANT A LAND USE APPLICATION CANNOT BE ARBITRARY AND CAPRICIOUS.
NOW, THE COURT DOESN'T HAVE TO AGREE THAT THEY WOULD A AGREE WITH THE UNDERLYING BOARD, BUT AS LONG AS THERE'S A RATIONAL REASON, THE COURTS WILL SUPPORT IT.
THE SECOND, WHICH IS THE ONE THAT TERRY MENTIONED, IS THERE CANNOT BE ZONING DISCRIMINATION.
AND DISCRIMINATION IN THIS CONTEXT IS MORE THAN, THAN, UH, DISCRIMINATION, UH, UH, IN, IN THE CIVIL RIGHTS CONTEXT.
UM, DISCRIMINATION MEANS THAT, UM, THEY CANNOT SAY, UM, TERRY REALTY CAN GO DO THIS, BUT MIKE REALTY CAN'T.
SO ONCE YOU GO LET SOMEONE DO SOMETHING, LIKE YOU'D LET SOMEONE INCREASE THE DENSITY OF THE UNDER OF THE ZONING DISTRICT BY 47%, UM, YOU CANNOT DENY TO THE NEXT PERSON COMES UP AND SAYS, WELL, YOU KNOW, UM, I'D LIKE TO BUILD THIS THING, AND BY THE WAY, I'D LIKE TO INCREASE, UH, BASICALLY DOUBLE THE DENSITY.
UM, SO THAT'S THE OVERARCHING PROBLEM.
AND THE REAL, THE REAL DELICATE ISSUE HERE IS THAT, YOU KNOW, OF COURSE BALLS FIELDS ARE REALLY GREAT IDEAS AND IT'S GREAT FOR KIDS TO BE ABLE TO HAVE BALL FIELDS TO, TO PLAY IN.
IT'S, IT'S, IT'S PART OF, UH, YOU KNOW, HEALTHY GROWING UP.
UM, ON THE OTHER HAND, IF YOU INCREASE, IF YOU LET, IF, IF AN EXCHANGE FOR THREE BALL FIELDS, YOU INCREASE THE DENSITY BY 47% AT THIS ONE LOCATION, THE RISK IS THAT YOU ARE INCREASING THE DENSITY OF THE ENTIRE TOWN.
YOU'RE DOUBLING IT, UH, FROM, UH, WHAT IT NOW SAYS IN, IN, UH, WE'RE JUST DOUBLING IT.
AND THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN, WHICH THE TA TERRY REFERENCED THAT SHE WAS ON THE COMMITTEE THAT DRAFTED THIS, WAS ADOPTED IN 2016, UH, SAYS WE'RE NOT INCREASING DENSITY.
THAT WAS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT PEOPLE WERE CONCERNED ABOUT WAS DENSITY, COMPREHENSIVE PLANS WERE NOT INCREASING DENSITY.
SO HERE WE ARE FIVE YEARS LATER, POTENTIALLY DOUBLING DENSITY, UM, UH, TO GET THREE BALL FIELDS.
AND SO IT'S, YOU KNOW, IT'S, UH, YOU KNOW, IT'S HARD TO SAY NO TO NOT GETTING THE BALL FIELDS, BUT THE IMPLICATIONS, THE IMPACTS OF THIS ON 15,000, THERE'S 16,500 HOUSEHOLDS AND CORPORATE GREEN BOOK.
THE IMPLICATIONS FOR 16,500 HOUSEHOLDS IS, IS PRETTY DRAMATIC FROM A, AN ENVIRONMENTAL POINT OF VIEW, FROM A DENSITY POINT OF VIEW.
AND THIS AFFECTS A NUMBER OF THINGS, INCLUDING THE TAXES YOU GET, THE INFRASTRUCTURE YOU NEED TO SUPPORT DOUBLING THE DENSITY IN THE COMMUNITY.
IT IS JUST A HUGE AMOUNT OF ISSUES THAT, UH, UH, THAT ALL COME INTO THIS.
SO THIS, THIS IS A MAJOR THING THAT WE'RE GONNA BE FOCUSING ON, UH, IN THE SHORT RUN.
SO I GUESS THE OTHER THING THAT WE GOTTA REPORT, BUT MIKE AND I SEEM TO BE GOING TO A LOT OF MEETINGS OR LISTENING TO A LOT OF MEETINGS IN THIS, THIS TWO WEEKS.
[00:55:01]
UM, THERE IS A COMMITTEE THAT WAS FORMED, UM, BY THE TOWN BOARD TO WORK FOR FOUR MONTHS TO PRODUCE LEGISLATION TO SET THE STANDARDS FOR THAT THRILLED THE TOWN, WHAT ARE CALLED BEST.THESE ARE THESE LARGE BATTERY STORAGE UNITS.
UH, IT'S A NEW TECHNOLOGY WHERE EITHER COMING FROM SOLAR PANELS OR COMING OFF OF THE GRID AT NIGHT, ELECTRIC IS STORED AND THEN SET BACK INTO THE GRID IN VARIOUS WAYS.
THESE VARY IN SIZE FROM SOMETHING THAT'S ON SOMEONE'S HOUSE TO SOMETHING THAT'S 20 MEGAWATTS THAT'S BEING PROPOSED FOR THE PROPERTY AT NORWOOD.
SO WE HAVE BEEN MEET, WE HAD OUR SECOND MEETING, I GUESS THIS TODAY.
AND WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS REALLY FIGURE OUT, AND TODAY WHAT WE ARE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT AND WHAT SEQUENCE WOULD WE GO TO THE SOURCES FOR INFORMATION.
ONE OF THE BIG PROBLEMS ON THIS IS WE'VE BEEN A GROUP OF PEOPLE BROUGHT TOGETHER TO TRY AND HELP CRAFT A LAW.
AND THE FIRST THING WE REALLY NEED TO DO IS TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THESE THINGS DO, WHERE THEY CAN GO, HOW THEY WORK, WHAT ARE THE SAFETY REQUIREMENTS THAT WOULD MAKE THE COMMUNITY SAFE.
BECAUSE THERE ARE ISSUES WITH THEM IN TERMS OF THEY CAN CATCH FIRE, THEY CAN EXPLODE VERY RARELY, BUT IF THEY DO, WHAT'S THE RECOURSE? WHAT DO THEY GIVE OFF IN FUMES? SO I WOULD SAY OUR MEETING TODAY WAS PRIMARILY ONE OF JUST GETTING THE ORDER ON HOW WE WERE GONNA OBTAIN THIS INFORMATION SO THAT WE WOULD BE IN A POSITION TO START TO THINK PROBABLY IN A MONTH OR SO, HOW WE WANNA FORMULATE THE LAW.
BECAUSE THE BIGGER QUESTION, UH, IS, UM, YOU KNOW, GETTING TO THE LEVEL WHERE WE KNOW WHAT WE NEED.
MARGARET, ARE YOU ON THE COMMITTEE? TARA? YES, MYSELF AND MIKE.
AND IT'S, IT'S FRANCIS SHEEN AND KEN JONES FROM THE TOWN BOARD.
IT'S WALTER AND YOU FROM THE PLANNING BOARD.
AND THEN THE OTHER PEOPLE ARE, UM, INTERESTED CITIZENS, SOME FROM THE IMMEDIATE VICINITY OF NORWOOD.
I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANYONE WHO ELSE OTHER THAN THE ONES FROM AROUND NORWOOD ARE THERE.
DO YOU THINK THEY, THE, THE THREE ARE FROM THE NO WARD AREA, NO NORWOOD AREA.
ANYTHING TO ADD, MIKE? THE, UM, THE RANGE OF WHERE THIS GOES IS WHERE THESE, WELL, THE PURPOSE OF THIS TAKING ENERGY, WE HAVE A SHORTAGE OF ENERGY IN THE NORTHEAST, ALWAYS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY.
IT'S GONNA GET WORSE WITH INDIAN IMPORTANT CLOSING.
SO ONE OF THE CONCEPTS IS TAKE THE ENERGY AT A TIME WHEN IT IS NOT MUCH DEMAND AT 2:00 AM IN THE MORNING AND PUT IT BACK INTO THE GRID WHEN THERE'S A LOT OF DEMAND, LIKE ON AN AUGUST AFTERNOON AT 2:00 PM DON'T THINK IT'S COME YET.
SO THE, IT'S KIND OF, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT'S KIND OF A RATIONAL.
UM, BUT THE PROBLEM IS WHERE TO WHERE TO PUT IT.
NOW, ONE PLACE THEY PROPOSE TO PUT THESE THINGS IS ON TWO SHOPPING CENTERS ON CENTRAL AVENUE.
UH, ONE IS MIDWAY SHOPPING CENTER WHERE THE SHOPRITE IS, AND ONE IS, UM, THE SHOPPING CENTER ACROSS ALEY ROAD, WHICH IS GREENVILLE, WHICH IS WHERE T G I FRIDAYS IS.
NOW THOSE THINGS ON A, YOU KNOW, A SATURDAY AFTERNOON AT ONE O'CLOCK ARE PACKED WITH HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE.
THE MANUFACTURER OF THESE THINGS, UH, IS A HIGH QUALITY MANUFACTURER.
BUT TESLA SAYS IF YOU, UM, IF THESE THINGS DO CATCH FIRE, UH, UH, THERE'S A POTENTIAL RI I MEAN IT'S VERY SMALL RISK, BUT IF IT DOES CATCH FIRE, THESE THINGS CAN, UH, IT, IT CAN SPEW OUT TOXIC FUMES THAT THE PEOPLE THAT FIGHT THE FIRES HAVE TO HAVE FULL P P E AND SELF BREATHING, BREATHING APPARATUS AND WHAT THEY CALL CIVILIANS DOWNSTREAM HAVE TO BE PROTECTED FROM THE TOXIC FUMES.
THIS IS IN TESLA'S EMERGENCY RESPONSE GUIDE ON ITS AUTOMOBILES.
AND ITS AUTOMOBILES ARE MUCH SMALLER THAN IN TERMS OF THE AMOUNT OF ENERGY THAT THEY ARE STORING IN BATTERIES THAN, UH, THAN WAS PROPOSED AT THE SHOPPING CENTERS.
UM, SO THAT'S A, UM, YOU KNOW, DO WE REALLY WANT THESE THINGS IN SHOPPING CENTERS? DO WE WANT THESE THINGS? YOU KNOW, ANOTHER PLACE YOU CAN STICK 'EM IN IS SCHOOLS.
SCHOOLS ALWAYS HAVE SOME SPACE YOU CAN STICK THESE IN.
DO WE WANT THESE THINGS BY THE KIDS? YOU KNOW, THAT'S ANOTHER THING.
NOW, THE PROBLEM WITH NORWOOD IS NORWOOD'S ONE OF THESE GOLF COURSES THAT'S IN
[01:00:01]
ECONOMIC TROUBLE.UH, SO THEY, UH, LEASING SOME LAND FOR THIS, UH, FOR THIS, UM, UM, LARGE FACILITY, 20 MEGAWATTS.
AND THAT'S ONE OF THE, WILL BE ONE OF THE LARGEST IN THE UNITED STATES.
UM, AND, UM, AND THESE THINGS LIKE ARE REALLY PROFITABLE.
THERE'S A BIG ONE DOWN IN AUSTRALIA WHERE THEY MADE $800,000 IN TWO DAYS BY SELLING IT BACK IN THE HEAT WAVE, UH, SELLING IT BACK TO THE GOVERNMENT IN THE HEATWAVE.
SO THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, IT'S GOOD, YOU KNOW, GOOD.
IT'S A, IT IS A GOOD BUSINESS RISK, YOU KNOW, IF, UH, YOU'RE LUCKY YOU BUY THE ENERGY CHEAP AND THEY HAVE A HEAT WAVE AND YOU SELL IT BACK.
UM, BUT THE PROBLEM ON THE GOLF COURSE IS FOR SOME REASONS, WHICH I HAVE NO IDEA, UH, ALL OF OUR GOLF COURSES ARE IN, WHAT IS IN RESIDENTIAL ZONES.
UH, NO WOODS IN AN R WELL KNOW.
IS IT R 30? TERRY? BELIEVE IT'S R 30 MIKE, WHICH BY THE WAY, I KNOW A AARON HAD PUT UP A LITTLE, LITTLE, UM, NOTE THERE IN THE CHAT ROOM, WHICH, YOU KNOW, WE THROW THESE THINGS AROUND AND WE FORGET THAT MAYBE PEOPLE DON'T KNOW.
THE, THE R DISTRICTS ARE THE RESIDENTIAL DISTRICTS AND THE NUMBER IS RELATIVE TO THE SQUARE FEET.
SO AN R 30 IS A 30,000 SQUARE FOOT LOT, A 40, I MEAN, UH, A ACRE IS ABOUT 42,000 SQUARE FEET.
SO R 40 IS A, IS AN ACRE AROUND FIGURES.
R 30 IS THREE QUARTERS AN ACRE, YOU KNOW, R 20 IS HALF AN ACRE.
UM, AND, UM, SO WE HEAR FROM ALL OUR, OUR, OUR DISTRICTS, OUR RESIDENTIAL DISTRICTS, SO IS POINTS OUT FOR GO FROM R 40 DOWN TO R FIVE.
SO SINCE A GOLF COURSE IS IN A RESIDENTIAL DIS DISTRICT, ONCE WE CITE ONE OF THESE THINGS IN A RESIDENTIAL DISTRICT, WHAT'S GONNA HA AND THIS THING IS BEING CITED ON 1.6 ACRES.
THERE ARE A LOT OF 1.6 ACRES IN GREENBURG IN RESIDENTIAL DISTRICTS.
SO WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN WHEN SOMEONE COMES INTO SOME STREET THAT HAS NOTHING BUT HOUSES AND, YOU KNOW, FINDS A ONE AND A HALF LOT OR BUYS TWO, YOU KNOW, TWO, UH, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, TWO OR 30 LOTS AND WANTS TO PUT THESE THINGS RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF SOMETHING.
THERE'S, THERE'S NOTHING AROUND BUT HOUSES.
UM, SO AGAIN, IT'S THE PRECEDENT SETTING EFFECT.
'CAUSE YOU CANNOT HAVE ZONING DISCRIMINATION.
UH, SO THAT'S THE, YOU KNOW, DO WE WANT THESE IN ANY RESIDENTIAL AS A QUESTION, DO WE WANT 'EM IN SHOPPING CENTERS? DO WE WANT 'EM IN SCHOOLS? YOU KNOW, THERE IS ONE WHAT SIZE ONES WE WANT.
THIS IS THE OTHER THING, IT'S A SIZING ISSUE TOO.
SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, MIKE, I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS, I DON'T MEAN TO CUT YOU SHORT, BUT YOU KNOW, THE TIME IS PASSING AND I WANTED TO GIVE OUR GUESTS, UM, AN OPPORTUNITY TO KIND OF ASK US QUESTIONS OR COMMENT.
I THINK YOU GOT A, A FEEL FOR, AND I WAS A GOOD NIGHT 'CAUSE YOU GOT A FEEL FOR SOME OF THE THINGS WE DO, WHICH I THINK IS HELPFUL BECAUSE YOU'VE HEARD A FULL RANGE OF SEEING AN ACTUAL APPLICATION BEING FINISHED UP.
UM, SOME OF THE TYPES OF PROJECTS WE'RE WORKING ON, PARTICULARLY THIS BEST ONE.
UM, SO IT'S A REALLY WIDE RANGE OF AREAS AS A GROUP THAT WE GET INVOLVED WITH.
SO MY QUESTION TO MY THREE, THREE GUESTS ARE, DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? BECAUSE WE'VE BEEN DOING ALL THE TALKING, SO PLEASE FEEL FREE.
UM, I HAVE A QUESTION THAT WILL REVEAL THE DEPTH, THE DEPTHS OF MY IGNORANCE.
YOU SAID THAT TO PASS SOMETHING, YOU NEED THREE VOTES OUT OF FIVE.
BY WHAT? BY THE TOWN BOARD OR WHAT? BY THE TOWN BOARD.
AND IS THE TOWN BOARD THE SAME AS THE TOWN PLANNING BOARD? NO.
ARE THEY THE TWO DIFFERENT, THE TOWN BOARD IS THE ELECTED OFFICIALS? IT WOULD BE THE SUPERVISOR AND THE COUNCIL PERSONS.
WE ARE ACTUALLY A COUNCIL AND THERE IS A LITTLE LEGAL DIFFERENCE ON THAT, BUT WE ARE APPOINTED AS ARE THE PLANNING BOARD MEMBERS.
UH, USUALLY WITH, UH, PARTICULARLY WITH THE PLANNING BOARD AND PARTICULARLY I THINK THEY TRY VERY HARD TO GET A MIX OF NEIGHBORHOODS.
WE'RE NOT QUITE, UH, AS STRINGENT ON THAT, IT SEEMS AS THOUGH WE'RE GOING TO BE IN A, UH, EDGEMONT, HARSDALE, UH, COUNCIL SOON.
THANK YOU MARGARET, FOR HAVING A DIFFERENT ZIP
UH, BUT, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS IS, AND THEN, UM, BECAUSE
[01:05:01]
WE'RE WE'RE APPOINTED, WE SERVE AT THE PLEASURE OF THE TOWN BOARD, SO BOTH IN CLEANING BOARD AND THE CONSERVATION ADVISORY COUNCIL, IF SOMEONE IS GOING TO BE CONSIDERED TO BE A MEMBER, THEY'RE ACTUALLY INTERVIEWED BY THE TOWN BOARD, UM, IN ONE OF THEIR WORK SESSIONS.AND THEN THEY ARE FORMALLY APPOINTED AND THE APPOINTMENT LASTS IN BOTH CASES FOR BOTH, IF I'M CORRECT, FOR TWO YEARS.
THIS IS ALSO TRUE OF THE ZONING BOARD.
UM, AS MY SAID, IT TAKES THE TIME BECAUSE FOR MOST PEOPLE, UH, UH, I THINK EVERYONE I KNOW WHEN I CAME AND I'VE BEEN INVOLVED IN THIS SINCE THE NINETIES, IS THAT YOU DON'T REALLY UNDERSTAND HOW TOWN GOVERNMENT WORKS,
YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND THE ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS.
YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW EVERYTHING WORKS AND IT JUST TAKES TIME.
SO ONE OF THE THINGS IS YOU NEVER, IF, IF YOU CHOOSE TO JOIN THIS, YOU SHOULD NEVER FEEL OVERWHELMED.
AND I HAVE TO LAUGH AT MIKE'S COMMENT ABOUT, YOU KNOW, UM, TRYING TO FIND THAT CORRECT PLACE WHERE YOU GET WHAT YOU WANT ACCOMPLISHED DONE.
AND I KNOW I WAS SORT OF, YOU KNOW, AT THE BARRICADES AND THE BEGINNING, AND I KNOW WHEN MIKE CAME IN, I'M SURE I ANNOYED HIM A FEW TIMES BY SAYING, NO, MIKE, WE CAN'T SAY THAT
AND AND I ALWAYS REMEMBER WHEN I FIRST JOINED THE CAC, THERE WAS, UM, HARM A AT THAT TIME WAS ON THE BOARD AND THERE WAS A LITTLE BERG IN THE PAPER THAT THEY WERE INTERESTED IN PEOPLE FOR THIS CONSERVATION ADVISORY COUNCIL.
AND HE INTERVIEWED ME AND, AND HE WAS SAYING, OH, IT'S REALLY ABOUT THE LAW.
AND THEN THEY HAD SORT OF REVITALIZED THE C A C, IT HAD SORT OF STARTED IN THE, IN THE SEVENTIES AND HAD SORT OF FALLEN BY THE WAYSIDE AND THEY WERE REVITALIZING IT.
AND I'LL NEVER FORGET, AND IT HAS STUCK WITH ME AND IT IS SO IMPORTANT.
TOM ABER SAID TO US, REMEMBER, IT'S ALL ABOUT THE LAW.
THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS IT'S ALL ABOUT THE LAW.
AND IT IS, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE TREE TREE ORDINANCE THAT WE NOW HAVE, IT'S A LAW.
IT HAS CHANGED THE WHOLE APPROACH.
YOU CANNOT JUST KEEP TAKING DOWN TREES.
WE ARE FOCUSED ON REPLACING THEM BY LAW, REPLACING TREES.
THAT'S A TREMENDOUS STEP FORWARD.
BUT THE ONLY WAY WE'RE GONNA GET THAT REPLACEMENT IS WE ACTUALLY HAD TO PASS A LAW TO DO IT.
SO THAT'S THAT PIECE OF IT, WHICH I KNOW SOMETIMES, AS MIKE SAID, WE LITERALLY, YOU ARE LOOKING AT YEARS.
I LOOK AT THE TREE LAW, I CAN REMEMBER SITTING, BECAUSE IT WAS RIGHT AFTER NINE 11 AND WE COULDN'T USE THE, UM, TOWN HALL.
SO IT WOULD PROBABLY BE IN 2002 THAT WE FIRST STARTED TO TRY TO CHANGE THE TREE LAW.
SO THAT'S HOW
OH, I'M LOOKING UP SOMETHING ELSE.
SO THAT'S WHY NANCY, DO YOU HAVE OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? UM, WELL I READ THAT THERE'S SOMEBODY I DON'T CALL THE TOWN PAUL BUNIN OR THE TOWN SOMETHING
OH, YOU AARON
WE HAVE, YES, WE HAVE, WE HAVE A, A TOWN ARBORIST THAT'S AARON WHO'S FULLY TRAINED AND HE IS NOW GOT AN ASSISTANT WHO'S ALSO A TRAINED, UH, INDIVIDUAL.
GEORGE, DID YOU HAVE ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? WELL, I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, UM, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO, UM, LET YOU KNOW THAT I'VE, I'VE COME AWAY FROM THIS MEETING REALIZING THE, UH, THE DEPTHS OF, UH, INFORMATION GATHERING, THE IMPORTANCE OF IT, UH, AND THE NEED TO BALANCE OUT VARIOUS, UH, INTERESTS THAT ARE BEING THROWN AT, UH, AT THE C A C.
SO IT WAS QUITE INFORMATIVE FOR ME.
UM, THOSE ARE MY ONLY COMMENTS.
AND LIZ, YOU'LL HAVE TO UN UNMUTE YOURSELF.
UM, YEAH, THIS WAS VERY, VERY INTERESTING AND MIKE, I FOUND IT WHEN YOUR, YOUR COMMENTS ABOUT UNDERSTANDING THE PROCESS AND THE LAW, AND IT'S NOT JUST, OH, I LOVE THIS, SO I WANNA MAKE IT HAPPEN.
IT, I'VE SAT ON THE, UM, OUR SCHOOL BOARD NOMINATING COMMITTEE, AND IT VERY MUCH MADE ME THINK OF WHEN YOU'RE INTERVIEWING AND THERE'LL BE AN INCUMBENT WHO'S RUNNING FOR REELECTION AND SOMEONE NEW AND THE NEW PERSON IS JUST ALL IDEALS AND I'M GONNA DO THIS AND I'M GONNA DO THAT, AND OF COURSE, THE PERSON WHO'S RUNNING FOR HIS SECOND TERM HAS REALIZED THERE'S 80 MILLION RULES THAT YOU HA YOU'RE, YOU'RE REALLY CONSTRAINED AND AND
[01:10:01]
LIMITED.AND, AND I WAS JUST CURIOUS, MAYBE I MISSED SOMETHING.
UM, THE BATTERY STORAGE, IS THAT IN CONNECTION TO A PRIVATE SOLAR FIELD? IS THAT WHAT YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT? WELL, IT ISN'T ACTUALLY A SOLAR FIELD IN EITHER CASE.
IN, IN WHAT THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT WITH THESE PARTICULAR BATTERIES.
THEY CAN, BATTERIES CAN STORE FROM A SOLAR FIELD.
THE BATTERIES SO FAR THAT ARE BEING SUGGESTED FOR GREENBERG, AND THAT'S WHY WE'RE TRYING TO QUICKLY CRAFT A LAW BECAUSE WE'RE BEING INUNDATED WITH APPLICATIONS IS ONE THAT IS A MASSIVE BATTERY FIELD OF 20 MEGABYTES AND THEN TWO SMALLER ONES.
AND WHAT THEY'RE DOING IS THEY ARE PULLING OFF ELECTRIC AT NIGHT BECAUSE IT'S LESS EXPENSIVE AND STORING IT IN THE BATTERIES AND THEN SELLING IT, PULLING IT OFF THE CONED GRID, NOT OFF A SOLAR FARM, NOT OFF A SOLAR CON.
THE CONED GRID AND THE CONED GRID IS A MIX OF, OF RIGHT.
SOME ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY, SOME BEING PRODUCED BY BURNING, BURNING, UM, FOSSIL FUELS, RIGHT? FOSSIL FUELS, A MIX CON CONED MIX, IT HAS A MIX.
THE CONED GREEN ENERGY COMPONENT AT THIS POINT IN TIME IS 17%.
SO, SO, SO THEY'RE PULLING IT OFF AT, AT AT NIGHT AND THEN THEY'RE SELLING IT BACK DURING THE DAY.
NOW IT, THE APPLICATIONS WE'VE HAD SO FAR HAPPEN TO BE THIS MODEL, BUT THESE BATTERIES CAN BE USED IN OTHER WAYS.
THEY CAN BE USED COLLECTING FROM A SOLAR FARM, THEY COULD BE USED AS A BACKUP FACILITY FOR A SCHOOL.
SO WE ARE LOOKING AT A VERY WIDE RANGE OF SIZE OF BATTERIES, POSSIBLE LOCATIONS, POSSIBLE USES.
SO THAT'S WHY WE ARE REALLY TRYING TO, AS A GROUP COME UP WITH UNDERSTANDING ALL OF THE NUANCES OF IT TO CRAFT A LORE, UH, FOR WHAT'S RIGHT FOR GREENBURG.
BECAUSE SOME OF IT GOES INTO, WELL, IT'S A WONDERFUL AND GOOD THING.
IT MAY NOT BE A WONDERFUL AND GOOD THING IN CERTAIN LOCATIONS IN GREENBURG OR HOW MUCH OF IT DO YOU WANT IN THE TOWN? SO THERE ARE A LOT OF ISSUES INVOLVED IN JUST SHAPING THE RIGHT SIZE LORE FOR OUR TAM.
AND I DON'T KNOW IF I ANSWERED YOUR QUESTION, LIZ, DID I OR NOT? NO, YEAH, YOU DID.
I, I KNOW WE'RE GOING ON, BUT UM, ON WHAT HAPPENED WITH THE MORATORIUM IS THAT HAP IS THEY, THEY WOULD NOT DO A MORATORIUM.
THEY, THEY DID NOT WANT TO DO A MORATORIUM.
UM, SO THIS PROJECT IS NOT CONNECTED TO THE COMMITTEE'S FINDINGS? UH, PROBABLY WHAT WILL, I DON'T KNOW THAT IT'S SORT OF, I DON'T KNOW THAT, UM, THAT'S TRUE THAT'S GOING ON WITH NO, IT IS, IT'S ACTUALLY BEFORE THE ZONING BOARD.
'CAUSE THERE IS AN ISSUE AS TO WHETHER OR NOT THE BUILDING INSPECTOR'S DECISION THAT THEY WERE ALLOWED OR TO OUR EXISTING CODE WAS A CORRECT DECISION, REMEMBER THAT.
SO IF IN FACT THE ZONING BOARD SAYS IT WAS NOT A CORRECT DECISION, THEN THEY WOULD BE COVERED UNDER THE LAW.
IF THE ZONING BOARD SAYS THAT THE BUILDING INSPECTOR'S DECISION WAS CORRECT, THEN THEY WOULD NOT BE PREVENTED FROM GOING ONTO THE KNOW PROPERTY.
BUT I WOULD THINK AS WE COME UP WITH A LAW WITH REQUIREMENTS FOR, UM, THINGS LIKE SAFETY AND WHATNOT, SINCE IT WOULD BE A SPECIAL KIND OF A SPECIAL PERMITTED USE, IF I'M CORRECT, MY CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, IS THEY WOULD HAVE TO THEN COMPLY WITH ANYTHING WE HAD IN TERMS OF, UM, SAFETY REQUIREMENTS.
AND ALSO BECAUSE IT IS A, THAT TYPE OF THING WHERE IT'S NOT AN AN AUTOMATIC YOU CAN GET IT TYPE OF THING.
THE TOWN WOULD BE IN A POSITION TO PUT A LOT OF OTHER THINGS ON WHICH THE C A C HAD RECOMMENDED AND THE PLANNING BOARD IN TERMS OF PROTECTING US, THE TOWN FINANCIALLY IN TERMS OF THIS DOESN'T BECOME A GOOD MODEL ANY LONGER.
WE'RE STUCK WITH ALL THESE BATTERIES.
UM, THE C A C HAD RECOMMENDED THAT, UH, THERE'D ALWAYS BE, UM, MONEY, YOU KNOW, A BOND GUARANTEEING THAT IF FOR SOME REASON THEY WENT BANKRUPT, WE WOULD HAVE ACCESS TO MONEY TO REMOVE THE BATTERIES ALSO, THAT THERE WOULD BE ADEQUATE INSURANCE SO THAT IF SOMETHING HAPPENED AND THERE WAS A SUIT, THE TOWN WOULD NOT BE SUED, THE MONEY WOULD BE COMING FROM THIS OTHER FUND.
SO HOPEFULLY THOSE THINGS WILL APPLY.
ANYTHING TO ADD TO THAT, MIKE? NO, JUST ONE THING FOR, FOR GEORGE AND NANCY IS IN, WE HAVE ABOUT, UM, 30 ZONING DISTRICTS OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, UH, AROUND FIGURES AND ABOUT A LITTLE OVER HALF OF
[01:15:01]
'EM ARE RESIDENTIAL.WE CAN HAVE SINGLE FAMILY HOUSES OR MULTI-FAMILY HOUSES AND THE OTHER COMMERCIAL IN THE RESIDENTIAL AREAS, THERE ARE TWO WAYS YOU CAN BUILD THEM.
ONE IS A USE IS CALLED AS OF RIGHT THAT IS IN WHERE I THINK PROBABLY MOST EVERYONE LIVES.
UH, YOU CAN BUILD A SINGLE FAMILY HOUSE AS OF RIGHT.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO GET UH, TOWN APPROVAL TO DO IT THOUGH OF COURSE THERE ARE A LOT OF STANDARDS YOU HAVE TO FOLLOW CERTAIN RULES AS TO ELECTRICITY, CERTAIN RULES AS TO SETBACKS AND YOU KNOW, THINGS LIKE THAT.
BUT YOU CAN BUILD A SINGLE FAMILY HOUSE.
OTHER USES IN RESIDENTIAL AREAS ARE CALLED SPECIAL PERMITS.
AND OTHER TYPICAL OTHER USES IN A RESIDENTIAL AREA ARE SCHOOLS, HOUSES OF WORSHIP, UM, UH, THINGS LIKE THAT.
AND THESE FACILITIES THAT STORE ENERGY AND BATTERIES WOULD BE A, REQUIRE A SPECIAL PERMIT.
AND UNDER OUR CODE, SOME SPECIAL, SOME TYPE OF SPECIAL PERMITS ARE GRANT ARE GROUNDABLE BY THE PLANNING BOARD AND SOME BY THE TOWN BOARD.
THESE WOULD ALL BE REQUIRED BY THE TOWN BOARD.
AND WHEN YOU HAVE A SPECIAL PERMIT, THE GRANTOR OF THE SPECIAL PERMIT CAN HAVE STANDARDS AND WE, UH, THAT THE LAW WILL SAY YOU HAVE TO SATISFY THIS SO THAT WE RECENTLY DID ONE INVOLVING SENIOR HOUSING.
I THINK IT HAS 16 STANDARDS IN IT.
BUT THEN YOU GET BACK INTO, UM, A ZONE POTENTIAL TO ZONING DISCRIMINATION IF YOU LET SOMEONE DO IT.
IF YOU SAY THIS OR THAT SATISFIES THE STANDARD OR IF YOU WAIVE THE STANDARD, THEN YOU KNOW, YOU GOTTA ASK THE QUESTION, WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO WITH THE NEXT PERSON THAT COMES IN AND WANTS TO DO THE SAME THING BECAUSE THEN YOU'D BE DISCRIMINATING AGAINST, UH, THE SUBSEQUENT APP APPLICANT.
SO, UM, UH, THAT'S WHAT, BUT WHEN TERRY SAYS SPECIAL PERMIT, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT SOMETHING THAT WOULD REQUIRE A TOWN BOARD PERMIT AND THERE WOULD BE STANDARDS AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DEVELOP, UH, IN THE LAW.
WELL THIS HAS BEEN VERY GOOD AND VERY HELPFUL FOR US TO MEET YOU TONIGHT AND REALLY HOPE THAT IT HAS BEEN HELPFUL FOR YOU TO GET AN IDEA OF WHAT IT IS WE DO.
UM, AND I'M HOPING ALL THREE OF US WILL BE JOINING US AGAIN IN TWO WEEKS.
OUR NEXT MEETING IS ON FEBRUARY 25TH, AND I HOPE THAT WE'LL SEE THE THREE OF YOU AGAIN.
UM, WE'LL BE SENDING YOU THE AGENDA AND A, UM, YOU KNOW, THE ZOOM LINK TO JOIN US.
AND AARON, DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY? YOU'VE BEEN VERY QUIET.
UM, DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO COMMENT ON ANY OF THE THINGS WE SAID ABOUT TOWN LAW OR ANYTHING ELSE THAT WE SAID TONIGHT? NO, NOTHING FURTHER TO ADD.
I REALLY THINK, UH, THE INFORMATION YOU PROVIDED WAS ACCURATE AND AND HELPFUL FOR, FOR OUR GUESTS TONIGHT.
UH, IF ANY OF THEM HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR ME OR OUR OFFICE, THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND CONSERVATION MOVING FORWARD, FEEL FREE TO SEND ME AN EMAIL OR GIVE ME A CALL.
I'D BE HAPPY TO GET BACK TO YOU.
MY DIRECT LINE, SO YOU HAVE IT IF YOU WANT TO TAKE IT DOWN IS 9 1 4 9 8 9 1 5 3 4.
MY EMAIL, WHICH IS PROBABLY BETTER, IS A AS IN AARON SCHMIDT, MY LAST NAME, S C H M I D AS IN DAVID, T AS IN TOM@GREENBERGNY.COM.
I'M OFF TOMORROW AND WE'RE CLOSED MONDAY, BUT I'M HAPPY TO GET BACK TO YOU AS SOON AS I CAN IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OVER THE WEEKEND,
AARON
IT'S, IT'S UH, IT'S A GROUP THAT, UH, UH, HAS A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF WORK UNDERLYING ITS MEETINGS SO THAT WE MAKE, YOU KNOW, I'M SURE WE MAKE MISTAKES, BUT WE TRY TO MAKE COGENT, UM, YOU KNOW, RATIONAL AND, UH, YOU KNOW, DECISIONS IN, IN, IN TERMS OF OUR RECOMMENDATIONS.
SO THAT DOESN'T JUST HAPPEN BY COMING TO MEETINGS.
SO THERE IS, THERE IS, UH, WORK INVOLVED AND MAYBE TERRY YOU TO DESCRIBE WHAT YOU THINK IS KIND OF TYPICAL.
AND THEN OF COURSE THE SPECIAL PROJECTS.
I MEAN, THERE ARE SPECIAL PROJECTS THAT MARGARET HAS DONE AND THE SPECIAL PROJECT THAT DONNA IS NOW DOING,
[01:20:01]
UM, YOU KNOW, THAT, UH, TAKES, TAKES TIME.BUT MAYBE YOU'LL JUST DESCRIBE THE, THE TIME INVOLVEMENT.
WELL, I CERTAINLY THINK IT VARIES BECAUSE IF WE DON'T HAVE AN APPLICATION COMING IN AND THEN IT JUST, YOU KNOW, YOU COME TO THE MEETING, BUT WHEN WE HAVE AN APPLICATION, FOR INSTANCE, THE ONE THAT WE SIGNED OFF ON TONIGHT, THAT PROBABLY WILL TAKE AN HOUR TO TWO HOURS TO REVIEW BEFORE THE MEETING.
AND SOMETIMES WE HAVE MORE THAN ONE.
IT'S A VERY UNEVEN SCHEDULE ON THESE.
SOMETIMES WE HAVE SEVERAL, SOMETIMES WE ONLY, WE'LL GO SEVERAL MEETINGS WITH NONE.
UM, VERY OFTEN WE'RE JUST LOOKING FOR A MEETING LIKE TONIGHT WHERE WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO KIND OF BRING EVERYONE UP TO SPEED ON WHAT'S BEEN GOING ON.
UM, I THINK IT'S REASONABLE TO EXPECT IN THE BEGINNING THAT UM, IF YOU HAVE A SPECIAL INTEREST AND YOU KNOW, YOU, WE HAVE SOMETHING COMING UP WHERE RESEARCH NEEDS TO BE DONE, YOU MIGHT BE ASKED TO DO RESEARCH, BUT I CERTAINLY THINK THAT IT'S REASONABLE TO EXPECT IN A GIVEN MONTH, ASIDE FROM THE TWO MEETINGS, YOU'D BE SPENDING TWO TO FIVE HOURS PROBABLY WORKING ON STUFF FOR THE C A C.
AND I DON'T WANNA DISCOURAGE ANY ONE OF YOU, BUT I MUST BE FAIR AND TELL YOU THAT THE TAKING THE MINUTES GOES TO THE LAST PERSON IN
SO, AND THE REASON DONNA IS TAKING THEM TONIGHT, WE HAD SOMEONE WHO WAS THE ALTERNATE AND UH, HE JUST RESIGNED.
HE SAID HE'S GONNA BE TRAVELING.
PETER HAD BEEN DOING THE MINUTES, THE MINUTES WE APPROVED TONIGHT WITH THEM BY PETER.
HE DID HIS MINUTE MEETING MINUTES BEFORE HE RESIGNED, WHICH I THINK IS REALLY SOMEONE WITH INTEGRITY.
HE DIDN'T LEAVE THE MINUTES UNDONE.
I HAVE TO TELL YOU THAT, THAT BECOMES SOMETHING ONE OF YOU WOULD PROBABLY END UP DOING MINUTES.
UM, WE DO NOT DO EXTENSIVE MINUTES BECAUSE WE TEND TO NOT, UH, WE TAKE THE, THE BELIEF, WHICH IS VERY TYPICAL OF ORGANIZATIONS WITH MINUTES.
YOU WANNA JUST GET THE KEY ITEMS DOWN.
YOU DON'T WANNA GET INTO THE, THE, YOU KNOW, THE DETAILS BECAUSE IF YOU START DOING VERY DETAILED MINUTES, THEN YOU HAVE TO MISS SOMETHING.
IT'S GENERALLY A MUCH BETTER POLICY TO SAY WE DISCUSSED AND ONLY IF THEY, THAT THERE'S SOME KEY POINTS WE WANT IN THE MINUTES, DO WE PUT THEM IN THE MINUTES? 'CAUSE OTHERWISE YOU CAN GET YOURSELF IN A LOT OF TROUBLE WITH MINUTES.
I THINK ANY, ALL OF US ARE ALL HAVE, HAVE ENOUGH WORK EXPERIENCE AT THIS POINT IN OUR LIVES TO KNOW THAT THAT IS THE KIND OF THE RULE OF DOING THINGS WITH MINUTES.
SO WITHOUT ANY OTHER QUESTIONS AND I REALLY THANK EVERYONE AND I HOPE TO SEE THREE NEW FACES AGAIN IN TWO WEEKS.
UM, I THINK WE CAN PROBABLY CALL OUR MEETING TO AN END.