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Cazenovia to observe Earth Day with weeklong celebration
By kate Hill Staff Writer This spring, 26 local groups are coming together to celebrate Cazenovia Earth Week 2022 (April 18-24) with more than 20 events exploring the practical actions people can take in their homes, neighborhoods, and communities to help save the planet. This year’s events are presented by the following organizations: Scout Troop 18, Cazenovia College (seven different groups), Cazenovia Heritage, Cazenovia Garden Club, Cazenovia Lake Association, Cazenovia Preservation Foundation, Cazenovia Public Library (CPL), Cazenovia Rotary Club, Cazenovia Village Tree Commission, Greater Cazenovia Area Chamber of Commerce, Madison County Chapter of Trout Unlimited, Madison County Department of Solid Waste, New Woodstock Free Library, Project Café, Town of Cazenovia, Town of Nelson, United Climate Action Network (UCAN), Village of Cazenovia, CNY Chapter of Izaak Walton League of America, and USDA Forest Service. “[Maintaining] a healthy environment and dealing with climate change is in the background of everybody’s everyday life,” said Earth Week organizer and UCAN Steering Committee member Geoffrey Navias. “Most of us pretty much know that there is a looming crisis out there, and yet it’s so hard to acknowledge [it]. Certainly no one wants to leave a damaged, sick world to our kids, [but it’s] hard to feel as if we can have much impact or do much about it.” According to Navias, the groups participating in Earth Week are joining together to encourage each other, learn from each other, and hold each other to a higher standard. “We know that we, and all the communities around the world, need to do an amazing job of cutting our carbon footprint,” he said. “With all of us working together, some people will take little steps, and some will take giant steps forward. Coming out of these last troubled years, there is a real desire to come together and work together on what is truly important.” This year’s celebration is focused on three major themes — moving away from fossil fuels and towards electric, understanding and protecting Cazenovia’s freshwater resources, and applying creativity and ingenuity to finding better ways to reuse, recycle, and reinvent trash. Earth Week will officially kick off on Monday, April 18, from 7 to 8 p.m., at Carpenter’s Barn with “Our Environment: Moving Forward,” a presentation and community conversation facilitated by Sherburne “Shere” Abbott, Jocelyn Gavitt, and Lauren Lines. Abbott is the director of environment, sustainability and policy in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. Prior to her current appointment, she was a senior advisor to President Barack Obama (confirmed by the US Senate on April 30, 2009, as the associate director for environment and energy in the Office of Science and Technology Policy, Executive Office of the President), serving as a deputy to the president’s science advisor. She has also served on the board of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority since 2014. Gavitt is a landscape architect and planner who specializes in community engagement, planning, and design. She earned degrees from Cornell University and SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, and she has extensive experience in master planning, site design, and recreational planning. Lines is the executive director of the Cazenovia Area Community Development Association (CACDA), an independent non-profit organization representing a broad cross-section of stakeholders in the Greater Cazenovia Area. CACDA helps local organizations, governments, and residents accomplish their goals and objectives through consensus building, planning, coEarth Day l Page 13
Correction
In a letter to the editor in the March 16 edition of the Cazenovia Republican written by Anthony Mercado, the date of the town board meeting his letter was Nov. 8, 2022.
WORK BUY SELL TRADE GET IT DONE
Insight into ‘Plan C’ Former councilor discusses option for town offices By kate Hill Staff Writer
On April 26, the Cazenovia Town Board will hold a special meeting to consider the future of the town offices, which have been housed in the historic Gothic Cottage at 7 Albany St. for over half a century. The town board began exploring the options of either renovating the Gothic Cottage or relocating the town offices over a decade ago. During the upcoming special meeting, the board will begin weighing the advantages and constraints of both “Plan C” — the town’s preferred plan for remaining in the Gothic Cottage — and building new offices at an offsite location, such as along Route 20 or in New Woodstock. Town offices l Page 13
Submitted photos
On April 26 the Cazenovia Town Board will hold a meeting to discuss the Gothic Cottage.
Tax credits Town board continues to seek public input on proposed solar law available By kate hill Staff writer
On April 11, the Cazenovia Town Board sought additional public input regarding a proposed local law titled “A Local Law to Amend Chapter 165 (Zoning) of the Town Code of the Town of Cazenovia with Respect to the Town of Cazenovia Solar Regulations.” If enacted, the law would enable the town to address potential negative impacts of large-scale solar projects by providing additional protections related to agricultural resources, town roadways, decommissioning, and uniform solar guidelines for such projects. The proposed local law would also provide clarification regarding the requirements of the Payment in Lieu of Tax (PILOT) Agreements and Host Community Benefit Agreements associated with such uses. The proposed local law was introduced on Feb. 14, 2022, following an in-depth review of the current solar law and regulations by the Town of Cazenovia Solar Subcommittee, which has been meeting every two weeks for over six months. A public hearing on the draft law was conducted on March 14 and continued to April 11. As a result of the March public hearing and the written comments submitted to the town, the board decided to revise and amend the proposed local law to provide better clarification as to access road permeability and the allowable height for commercial solar facility panels and fencing, to require annual inspection of commercial solar facilities, and to make other changes. During its April 11 regular monthly meeting, the board sought public input on the revised and amended version. Ballina Road resident Gerald Mehlbaum addressed three specific sections of the proposed local law. He first requested clarification regarding the use of the word “contiguous” in the
minimum lot area description. “[The language] says a minimum lot area of 50 contiguous acres under single ownership,” Mehlbaum said. “Having looked at some definitions of contiguous, I would just ask the board to clarify the intent, as the definition of contiguous sometimes refers to common borders, actual contact, close proximity without touching, or actual touch or contact.” He next suggested that every application for a commercial solar project, and perhaps for other large-scale solar projects, include a document signed by neighboring property owners indicating that they have been contacted and are aware of the proposed project. “These are the people most likely to be impacted by the project, and their voices should be considered at the beginning of the review process, not just at the end after all the reviews and decisions are nearing completion,” he said. Lastly, Mehlbaum proposed that negotiations and approval of PILOT Agreements and Host Community Benefit Agreements be delayed until the full project scope and potential impact mitigation plans have been determined by the Town of Cazenovia Planning Board and/or the Town of Cazenovia Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA). After hearing from Mehlbaum, the board adopted a resolution stating that it will further revise and amend the draft law. The resolution also set a public hearing as to the enactment of the further revised and amended draft local law for May 9, 2022, at 7:30 p.m. According to Town Attorney John Langey, the latest revisions are related to townowned properties. Langey explained that the solar subcommittee has suggested the removal of one sentence relating to town-owned properties to ensure that every project must be reviewed and approved by the planning board and ZBA. Board l Page 2
In 2021, Cazenovia was designated a “qualifying census track”, allowing an owner of a property in the village’s National Register Historic District or a property individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places to be eligible for federal and state tax credits for the rehabilitation of historic structures. For residential properties, this is a 20% NYS tax credit up to $50,000 per year. For income producing/commercial properties, there is a federal tax credit of 20% plus a 20%-30% State tax credit. This is not just for major projects – projects can begin as low as $5,000. This is the first year in which Cazenovia is eligible for this program. Cazenovia Heritage has invited representatives from the State Historic Office of Preservation (SHPO) to speak to Cazenovia property owners. They will conduct a live videoconference call on Tuesday, April 19, at 7 p.m. to review the program and answer questions. The link to the Webex is on the home page of the Cazenovia Heritage website, cazheritage.org. If a property is not on the National Register but is over 50 years old, it is eligible to apply for a National Register listing. Application requirements for this program also will be reviewed during the videoconference. All Cazenovians are welcome to join the call to learn more about the programs and whether their projects and properties can take advantage of these programs.
Volume 213, Number 15 The Cazenovia Republican is published weekly by Eagle News. Office of Publication: 35 Albany St., Second Floor, Cazenovia, NY 13035. Periodical Postage Paid at Cazenovia, NY 13035, USPS 095-260. POSTMASTER: Send change of address to Cazenovia Republican, 2501 James St., Suite 100, Syracuse, NY 13206.
community news: Cazenovia Forum to welcome Marc Polymeropoulos.
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sports news: Coleman nets 10 goals in Laker lacrosse team’s win.
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Editorial ��������������������� 6
obituaries ������������������ 3
history ������������������������ 7
PennySaver ���������������� 8
letters ������������������������ 6
Sports ������������������ 14-15