Environmental and Energy Issues

See also: Recycling Issues, Open Space Issues

Town Board, 5/8/2012

Members of the Tree Advisory Commission met with the Board to discuss applying to the DEP’s Watershed Agricultural Council to do a forest management study for town-owned lands at Sylvan Glen and Granite Knolls as well as the privately owned State Land property abutting Sylvan Glen. Bill Kellner explained that the study area can include properties under different ownership as long as the owner gives consent to the project. Charles Monoco, owner of the State Land property, said he has no problem having his property included in such a plan.

A strong supporter of the forest management plan concept, Supervisor Grace said that the plan should also include a regional drainage plan and suggested that bMS4 (stormwater) money might be available for such a study. These comments led to a lengthy discussion over the redevelopment of the Route 202 corridor and what Supervisor Grace said was the need for a public private partnership to address the area’s infrastructure needs. He said that the town had to strike the right balance between development and open space and that the Route 202 corridor was the “last frontier” for commercial development.Town owned open space needs to be managed so that it does not become a liability for the future, he said. Councilman Bianco said he had no problem with the forest management plan but noted that parts of Sylvan Glen and Granite Knolls flowed to the Peekskill watershed. He also disagreed with the supervisor over whether the Town gets any benefits from developers when it gives something.

Joe Riina, engineer for the State Land project, said that based on his preliminary analysis, runoff from the site could be reduced by 30% if certain measures were taken on the State Land and Sylvan Glen parcels.

Bruce Barber, the Town’s environmental consultant told the group that lots of studies had already been done for the area and that we should not reinvent the wheel but work together. He suggested that a member of the Tree Commission join an already established team that included the town engineer and planning director.

Referring to the pending State Land rezoning application, Councilman Murphy cautioned “not to put the cart before the horse” and reminded the group that the Town needs to follow through on the rezoning in order to get the open space that is proposed as part of the rezoning request. Mr. Monoco and his attorney, Al Capellini, both pushed for faster action on the rezoning application. Mr. Monoco said he had someone interested in the parcel but that the potential tenant won’t commit until the rezoning is in place.Supervisor Grace assured them that the rezoning process hasn’t been stalled and that the forest management plan could go forward in the background while the rezoning worked its way through the planning process.He offered to talk to the potential client if Mr. Monoco thought that that would help.

The discussion ended with Supervisor Grace reaffirming the “team” concept.

Town Board, 5/1/2012

Ann Kutter spoke about the need for private landowners to develope forest management plans for their property. She said that adjoining homeowners could join together to arrive at the 10 acre minimum required for the Watershed Agricultural Council (914-962-6355) that could help private property develop such a plan. Additional help is available from the state DEC (845-831-8780), She explained that our forests are near their natural death, with the two major problems being deer and invasive species which are crowding up youngsaplings.A copy of the Council’s forest management plan for Turkey Mountain is in the process of being uploaded to the Town’s website,yorktownny.org.

During Courtesy of the Floor, several residents spoke in support of trees and tree related subjects. Bill Kellner, chairman of the Tree Conservation Advisory Commission, along with TCAC member Ron Buehl, presented the Voard with a plaque commemorating Yorktown’s designation as a Tree City USA. The Town was one of six towns in NYS to receive the designation last year.

Dale Saltzman, another member of TCAC , explained that the Town had to meet four criteria in order to qualify as a Tree City.

1. We had to spend at least $2 per capita for tree care

2. We had to have a tree commission or advisory board

3. We needed to have an Arbor Day celebration

4. We needed to have a tree ordinance

Patty Peckham thanked the Town for the work that led up to the adoption of the Tree City USA designation and also spoke about the importance of trees.

Ann Kutter reminded the Board that the recently completed forest management plan for Turkey Mountain that was praised by Supervisor Grace was done to comply with the Tree Ordinance which requires that these types of plans be developed for all Town owned lands.Under the Ordinance, if large private landowners voluntarily have similar plans prepared for their properties, they would be exempt from the Ordinance. She added that the Turkey Mountain plan was more than an inventory; it was a 15 year best practices management plan. The plan was done at no cost to the Town by the Watershed Agricultural Council.

Beginning the discussion by noting that he hasn’t hid his “disdain” for the law which he believes is an “incredible intrusion” on a person’s property rights, Supervisor Grace said he wants to either soften or repeal the law that was passedby the previous board. He called the purpose of the law “laudable” but its enforcement “contemptible.” You can’t focus on individual lots, he said, adding that some of the pro environmental people he has spoken to do not want to see another layer of government or another obstacle put in the way of development, especially in the current hard times. Without identifying the property, he cited the example of an owner who experienced a problem and delay taking down a tree that created a problem for his driveway. He said that the ordinance would delay a business’s opening and lead to a loss of revenue.

The one suggested change Supervisor Grace offered was that there should be more creative mitigation measures. He praised a recent inventory of Turkey Mountain as an example.

Councilman Paganelli joined the supervisor in calling for revisions to the law, although he didn’t specify exactly what he thought needed to be changed. He added that problems with the law may be more perception than reality but that the board had to deal with the perception. Councilman Murphy cited the example of a homeowner on White Hill Road who “napalmed his yard” much to the displeasure of his abutting neighbors. (Acting Town Engineer Sharon Robinson pointed out that the cutting had been done prior to the enactment of the law and that the property owner will have to replant some trees as part of a mitigation plan.)

Ann Kutter, who helped draft the law, said she was willing to work with the board to amend the law, adding that during the drafting processher goal was to shift the burden from the individual homeowner to the large developments, adding that there some provisions in the law were added to gain the support of some people.One of the pluses of the law, she pointed out, was that it consolidated into one law existing provisions regarding trees which were in several differentlaws and which weren’t always consistent. What was important, she added, was understanding the function that trees and woodlands play. When she equated the value of a tree ordinance to the Town’s long standing wetlands ordinance, Supervisor Grace intimated that he didn’t want to go there but then added that he did see the need for some type of wetlands regulation. In response to Councilman Paganelli’s earlier comment about the board listening to the public’s perception of the law, whether it was accurate or not, she suggested that the board had a responsibility to both represent the public but also to lead.

Ron Buehl, a member of the Tree Advisory Commission joined Ms. Kutter in support of the existing law but acknowledged that more could have been done, and should be done, to educate the public about the new law.

Ms. Kutter will schedule a meeting with Supervisor Grace and Councilman Paganelli to go over specific provisions of the law that they may want to modify.

Trees: William Kellner, chairman of the Tree Conservation Advisory Commission, advised the board that the Arbor Day Foundation, working in conjunction with the US Forest Service, has approved Yorktown’s designation  as a Tree City USA in recognition of the town’s efforts to protect its trees and forests.  He credited Keith Schepart, a member of TCAC, with suggesting the idea 15 years ago as well as past boards, supervisors and volunteers who, over the years, helped fulfill the requirements for the designation. He also announced that this year’s Ardor Day celebration will be held on May 4^th at the Patriot Garden.

Energy Issues

Town Board, 3/20/2012

Paul Moskowitz, chairman of the Yorktown Energy Committee, reported that rebates for the purchase of qualifying energy efficient refrigerators and washing machines were available from NYSERDA, in addition to free home energy audits. More information about both programs is available on the town website, www.yorktownny.org, or from www.nysappliance.com.

Town Board, 3-13-2012

If the gasboy project is deemed not eligible for funding, the board will revisit the allocation of funds.
 

At the conclusion of the regular meeting, the board went into work session mode for a discussion of how to use the remaining funds in the $158,000 energy stimulus grant the town received in 2009. Attending the meeting were Assistant Planner Lorraine DeSisto and Jerry Robock and Paul Moskowitz of the town’s Energy Advisory Committee.  Mr. Robock explained that for several reason, some of the original projects were not able to move forward and the town has 6 weeks to come up with alternative projects that need to be approved by the Department of Energy.  Some of the proposed new projects include lighting upgrades in town buildings, the installation of charging stations for electric vehicles in the commuter lot in Yorktown Heights, the library parking lot, and the small town owned lot  in Mohegan off Route 6, completion of the greenhouse gas inventory that was started but never completed, a “green” comfort station at Railroad Park, solar lighting for the planned Pinesbridge Memorial and lighting associated with a proposed Farmers Market at the Railroad Station park. Ms. DeSisto will refine the list before contacting the Department of Energy. Plans to use some of the funds to replace entry doors at the YCCC were dropped after Ms. DeSisto explained that she couldn’t get any vendors interested in the project. Supervisor Grace said that maintenance staff could do some weather stripping work on the doors which otherwise were in good condition.

The board rejected some possible solar projects given their 25 year pay back period. Board members liked the charging station idea and felt it would bring good publicity to the town and possibly pave the way for the town to apply for a grant to purchase electric vehicles for town use.  As part of the discussion of the green comfort station, Ms. DeSisto advised the board that that plan was part of a larger $500,000 plan for the renovation of the station and that the town had a commitment from the NYS Department of Transportation for $300,000 for the project.

As part of the discussion, Supervisor Grace said that one idea that he was considering was relocating the highway department to a new  “butler” type building on the Hill, at an estimated cost of $200,000, and selling off the land where the garage is currently located. Councilman Paganelli suggested that considering that the current site has been used for so many years as a highway garage there might be contamination problems that could hinder a future sale.

Recycling Issues