The Environment
Goals and
Strategies
The fragile
features which form the natural environment – steep slopes, shallow soils,
karst topography, wooded ridges and hilltops, major stream corridors, rich
agricultural soils, wetlands, stream corridors, flood plains, and groundwater
– must be protected from physical, chemical, biological, and aesthetic
degradation to preserve the Town’s main natural and economic resources.
Recognizing the
special nature of the Finger Lakes Region requires that a coherent and
sustainable approach to development be implemented which provides special
protections for surface water and groundwater quality, woodlands, wetlands, and
agricultural soils.
The rural
quality of the Town should also be preserved by maintaining a landscape where
the predominant feature is the natural environment and the intrusion and impact
of development is minimized.
Natural Resource
Protection
In order to
preserve the rural character of the Town and the natural resource base upon
which our community depends, important natural resources must be identified and
conserved and land conservation and stewardship promoted. The Town should
develop and maintain an inventory of natural resources which identifies areas of
steep slopes, erodible soils, karst topography, agricultural and poor soils,
unfragmented woodlands and forest, wetlands, aquifers, streams and floodplains,
open fields, habitat for rare or threatened or endangered species, and other
biotic, scenic, and outdoor recreational natural resources. It should identify,
quantify, and describe the quality of surface and groundwater resources.
The critical
natural resources identified must be reflected in Town planning through the
development and maintenance of an Open Space Index, which identifies undeveloped
lands for protection and establishes the pattern of future land use in the Town,
and a Town Open Space Plan, which defines specific measures to make conservation
of these priority natural resources possible. Town zoning ordinances,
development guidelines, planning activities, and other initiatives must clearly
reflect the identified natural resource protection priorities.
Ecosystem Health
and Biodiversity
Local
ordinances, government initiatives, education programs, and other measures that
encourage the protection and enhancement of the health and biodiversity of our
natural resource base will be developed and promulgated. The use of native
plants in landscaping, development, and land use should be encouraged with
guidelines designed to foster the use and success of native species and to
minimize the risk of introduction or increase of exotic invasive species.
Populations of species facing declines due to loss of habitat should be
protected through local measures as well as existing state and local laws.
Management and stewardship of wooded lands to maintain healthy, productive
forests resilient to catastrophic events such as pest infestation, windthrow,
and fire should be encouraged. Development and planning guidelines will take
into account and incorporate the requirements of maintaining ecosystem
functions.
Air Quality
Protection and
improvement of air quality is an important part of public health and
environmental protection. It is a necessary part of Town planning and will be
ensured through education, ordinances, practices, and incentives that promote
high quality air and deter air pollution. These should include encouraging the
use of low-emission vehicles and discouraging open barrel burning, especially in
residential areas, discouraging engine idling, and controls on
emissions-producing heating systems or other sources.
Waste Management
and Recycling
Appropriate
management and disposal of waste is critical to maintaining public health, the
natural beauty of the landscape, and protecting community resources. Recycling
and responsible disposal of waste should be promoted and facilities structured
and operated to maximum benefit and minimum negative impact. Residents and
businesses should be encouraged to select and work with disposal and removal
contractors with practices that meet high health and environmental standards.
The discarding of refuse outside of designated facilities should be curtailed
and responsible waste management principles publicized and encouraged.
Responsible
Resource Use
Responsible use
of water and energy resources by Town residents and businesses can help to
ensure the future quality and viability of our community. Water recycling
systems, technologies that minimize unnecessary water and energy consumption,
and renewable and clean energy sources should be promoted and incentives for
their use created wherever possible.
Erosion Control
New development
and activities on steep slopes can increase erosion unless proper erosion
protection measures are taken during construction and incorporated into final
design. Development plans in these sensitive areas must include erosion
protection plans, and, in some more susceptible areas, development may be
precluded. Banks of streams should be stabilized to prevent further erosion
where public or private property or safety or natural resource integrity are
threatened and eroded banks repaired, using recognized best management practices
and techniques that minimize damage to the natural and visual environment.
Recreational Use
of Fish and Wildlife Resources
Recreational
uses of natural resources include consumptive uses such as fishing, trapping,
and hunting, and non-consumptive uses such as hiking and walking, boating,
swimming, biking, horseback riding, wildlife photography, bird watching, nature
study, and the like. The availability of outdoor areas for recreation is a
community asset and valuable characteristic of the Town. Recreational use of
resources such as parks, woodlands, and waterways will be promoted where
appropriate in terms of public safety, public health, and resource conservation.
Outdoor recreation should also be used to promote understanding of the natural
environment and the development of a land stewardship ethic among recreational
users. Recreational use must ensure the protection of flora and fauna and
ecosystem function, and also take into consideration other assets provided by
these resources such as the protection of air and water quality, promotion of
public health, and economic uses of natural resources such as agriculture and
forestry.
Wetland
Preservation
Zoning
requirements and review of subdivision and site plans will be used to shield
designated and other freshwater wetlands and their associated drainage basins
from the adverse effects of development. Adverse effects include erosion,
sedimentation, pollution, damage to wildlife habitats, destruction of
hydrological function, and similar affects. In order to better protect wetlands
additional strategies may be employed, such as requiring impact mitigation
through creative approaches to offsets that are designed to avoid fragmentation
of contiguous wetland areas, rather than simple replacement. Some seasonal
wetlands or those falling outside the protections afforded by federal and state
law may need protection on the local level, particularly under circumstances
where such habitats are being used by rare, threatened, or endangered species,
or where the wetlands provide essential water recharge services for a connected
aquifer.
Scenic Resource
Protection
Siting and
design guidelines should be used to insure maximum protection of the Town’s
important scenic resources and ridge lines of the Bristol Hills, the natural
scenic vistas created by unfragmented forests and old fields, undeveloped
spaces, and agricultural lands.
Target areas
are critical for scenic resources preservation and a process for open space
planning must be developed that requires a more comprehensive approach to
protect scenic resources. The Town should develop a comprehensive Open Space
Index that identifies the Town’s most important scenic resources. Following
that the Town should prepare an Open Space Plan (created with community
involvement), that recommends a specific action program. A variety of measures
exist, including purchase of development rights, conservation easements, local
land use ordinances, such as zoning and subdivision ordinances, and conservation
development guidelines. An expanded Open Space Plan is needed that addresses the
Town’s scenic resources in a comprehensive manner and recommends specific
measures in specific areas. It is of critical importance for the Town to possess
this type of tool for land use planning and planned development purposes. The
action program should involve the development and implementation of guidelines
for building in scenic areas.
Each
development situation is unique, and the guidelines will have to be applied
accordingly and consider both the scenic resource and the Town’s development
objectives and priorities.
Control of
Quantity and Quality of Runoff
Stormwater
runoff can significantly affect adjacent properties and water quality in
streams, wetlands and reservoirs. To avoid adverse impacts the release of
stormwater runoff from a developed area should not exceed predevelopment
conditions unless drainage analysis recommends otherwise and stormwater control
can be addressed through adequate structural means. The impacts of the “first
flush” should be controlled in stormwater management plans because most
runoff-related water quality contaminants are transported from land –
particularly impervious surfaces – during the initial stages of a storm event.
Town ordinances
and design guidelines will promote the goal of minimizing new impervious
surfaces (paving, expansive parking lots, and other surfaces) that act as
collectors and conduits of runoff. Alternatives to standard pavement and
drainage structures will be evaluated and adopted as appropriate for maintaining
high quality surface water and groundwater and to addressing the renovation of
impaired surface water and groundwater quality.
Lighting and
Illumination
The vast
expanse of unobstructed night sky and constellations is a significant feature in
the rural environment. Necessary lighting should be shielded, directed downward,
and limited in intensity to prevent light spillage that diminishes views of
stars and planets or casts glare toward roads or adjacent properties.
Promote
Conservation Design
Many of the
objectives set forth above can be accomplished by establishing a design process,
particularly for major subdivisions, which arranges development on each parcel
as it is being planned to preserve and protect sensitive natural and cultural
features and environmental resources. This process, known as “conservation
design” provides a density-neutral method of preserving streams and wetlands,
natural habitats, flood plains, steep slopes, prime agricultural land, historic
sites, scenic viewsheds, etc., in permanently protected open space while
allowing development of the least sensitive lands. As opposed to conventional
subdivision designs, this process allows the creation of linked systems of
conservation land.
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