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Planning board discusses Critical Environmental Area designation for Smith Woods, considers 50-foot buffer
Summary
The board debated designating Smith Woods as a Critical Environmental Area to add protections for roughly 32 acres, explored legal tools including buffers and easements, and asked staff/lawyer to research implementation options. No formal board vote to designate was recorded at the meeting.
The Town of Ulysses Planning Board spent the bulk of its Aug. 4 meeting debating a proposal to designate Smith Woods as a Critical Environmental Area (CEA) to augment protections around roughly 32 acres of woods and trails. Chair Cara Plakowski described the move as a way "to help, you know, add buffer to protect that 32 acres more if if any development actually begins to occur out around it."
Board members questioned whether a CEA would materially change existing protections (several noted steep-slope protections apply elsewhere) and discussed ownership and adjacency issues with land held by an organization repeatedly referred to in the transcript as "Grassroots." Members explored options including a 50-foot buffer along the south side of Smith Woods, the use of easements with restrictions, or a targeted ordinance for the narrow neck of land that abuts the woods. Committee member (speaker 4) noted that imposing a buffer that extended onto private property could be legally complex and that a deed restriction or easement may be the practical path.
Discussion also covered physical site conditions: board members referenced a small wetland near the grocery-store parcel and described trail needs in the south end of Smith Woods, suggesting the town might seek professional help to clarify stream and wetland boundaries and to rewrite zoning language for clearer guidance. Chair Plakowski indicated she would "see how Neil's how we would pass it on" to the town board, signaling staff or legal review before any formal municipal action.
No final decision to formally designate Smith Woods as a CEA was recorded in the transcript; the board concluded the discussion with next steps focused on legal and mapping clarification rather than immediate adoption.
