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3.02 3.2 Lake Sunnyside—Set Public Hearing—Aquatic Plant Growth Control District—8-6-12 ORDER SETTING PUBLIC HEARING CONCERNING PROPOSED LAKE SUNNYSIDE AQUATIC PLANT GROWTH CONTROL DISTRICT RESOLUTION NO.: ,2012 INTRODUCED BY: WHO MOVED ITS ADOPTION SECONDED BY: WHEREAS, the Queensbury Town Board (the "Town Board") is considering forming the Lake Sunnyside Aquatic Plant Growth Control District (the "District") in accordance with Article 12-A of New York Town Law for the purpose of controlling milfoil and other non-native, invasive aquatic plant species in Lake Sunnyside, and WHEREAS, the Town Board adopted a Resolution authorizing the preparation of a map, plan and report for the purpose of analyzing the formation of the District, and WHEREAS, a Map, Plan and Report (the "Map, Plan and Report") has been prepared by VISION Engineering, LLC, concerning the proposed District, and WHEREAS, the Map, Plan and Report has been filed in the Queensbury Town Clerk's Office and is available for public inspection, and WHEREAS, the Map, Plan and Report describes the boundaries of the proposed District, the proposed aquatic plant control plan and method of operation, the maximum amount proposed to be expended for the plan, and the cost of the proposed District to the typical property and, if different, the typical one or two family home, and the proposed method of financing to be employed, if any, and WHEREAS, establishment of the proposed District has been determined to be an Unlisted Action under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) and a SEQRA Short Environmental Assessment Form (EAF) has been prepared for the proposed District, NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED: 1. The boundaries of the proposed Water District are as set forth in the Map, Plan and Report and as follows: All that certain piece or parcel of land situate, lying and being in the Town of Queensbury, County of Warren and the State of New York, more particularly bounded and described as follows: BEGINNING at the intersection of the northerly bounds of Sunnyside Road with the southerly bounds of Sunnyside Road North; thence running westerly along the northerly bounds of said Sunnyside Road to the point in the southerly bounds of tax map parcel 290.5-1- 59 that lies on the northerly side of said Sunnyside Road; thence running southerly on an extension northerly of the easterly bounds of that portion of tax map parcel 290.5-1-59 that lies south of said Sunnyside Road and continuing southerly along that easterly bounds to the southeasterly corner thereof, thence running westerly along the southerly bounds of said tax map parcel 290.5-1-59 to the easterly bounds of Rockwell Road; thence running northerly along the easterly bounds of Rockwell Road to the intersection of the southerly bounds of said Sunnyside Road; thence running westerly along the southerly bounds thereof to the northeast corner of tax map parcel 290.5-1-2; thence running southerly, westerly and northerly along the bounds of tax map parcel 290.5-1-2, to the southerly bounds of said Sunnyside Road; thence running westerly along the southerly bounds thereof, to the northeast corner of tax map parcel 290.9-1-4; thence running southerly along the easterly bounds thereof to an angle point for a corner thereof, thence running easterly still along said tax map parcel 290.9-1-4 to the westerly side of Rockwell Road;thence running southerly along the same to the intersection with Overlook Drive; thence running westerly along Overlook Drive to an angle point in said tax map parcel 290.9 -1-4; thence running westerly along the southerly bounds of said tax map parcel 290.9-1-4 to the southwesterly corner thereof; thence northerly along the westerly bounds thereof to the southerly bounds of said Sunnyside Road; thence running easterly along 2 the said southerly bounds of Sunnyside Road to the northwest corner of tax map parcel 290.5-1-3; thence running southerly, easterly and northerly along tax map parcel 290.5-1-3, to the southerly bounds of said Sunnyside Road; thence continuing northerly on an extension of the easterly line to said tax map parcel 290.5-1-3 to the northerly bounds of said Sunnyside Road; thence running westerly along the northerly bounds of said Sunnyside Road to the southwest corner of tax map parcel 289.8-1-48; thence running northerly along the westerly bounds thereof and easterly bounds of tax map parcel 289.8-1-47 and an extension thereof to the northerly bounds of Sunnyside Road North; thence running easterly along the northerly bounds thereof, to where the angle point in the road running north; thence running northerly along the westerly bounds of Sunnyside Road North to the most southwesterly comer of tax map parcel 279.17-1-1; thence running northerly, northeasterly, easterly and southerly along the bounds of tax map parcel 279.17-1-1 to the northeast corner of tax map parcel 279.17-1-2; thence running southerly along the easterly bounds thereof to the northwest corner of tax map parcel 279.17-1-3; thence running easterly along the northerly bounds thereof and the northerly bounds of tax map parcel 279.17-1-22 to the northeasterly corner thereof,thence running southerly along the easterly bounds thereof to the southeasterly corner thereof, thence running westerly along the southerly bounds thereof to the northeast corner of tax map parcel 279.17-1-23; thence running southerly along the easterly bounds thereof and a continuation southerly thereof, crossing said Sunnyside Road North, to the southerly bounds of said Sunnyside Road North; thence running southeasterly, easterly and southerly along the said southwesterly bounds of said Sunnyside Road North to a point opposite the northwest corner of tan map parcel 290.5-1-39; then crossing said road and running along the northerly bounds of tax map parcel 290.5-1-39 to the northwest corner of tax map parcel 290.5-1-42; thence continuing easterly along the northerly bounds thereof to the northeasterly corner of said tax map parcel 290.5-1-42; thence running southerly along the easterly bounds thereof and an extension southerly thereof crossing Sunnyside Road North to a point in the southerly bounds thereof, thence running easterly along the southerly bounds thereof to the point and place of beginning. EXCEPTING AND RESERVING therefrom that portion of Sunnyside Road that lies within the bounds of the above described parcel. EXCEPTING AND RESERVING that portion of Lakeview Drive that lies within the bounds of the above described parcel. EXCEPTING AND RESERVING that portion of Sunnyside Road North that lies within the bounds of the above described parcel. Containing 152.48 acres of land and water to be the same more or less. 3 2. The Town Board will operate and be the governing body for the District and intends to appoint a District Advisory Board to provide recommendations on various matters relating to the District. The proposed aquatic plant control plan consists of a three year treatment program that includes annual Lake assessments, annual water quality testing, triennial aquatic vegetation surveys, hand harvesting and aquatic herbicide treatment. Hand harvesting will be completed by a contractor hired by the Town and the Town Highway Department will assist in disposal of the removed vegetation at one of the Town's facilities. The application of aquatic herbicide will also be completed by a contractor hired by the Town. The Town's contractor will be responsible for obtaining all permits required prior to the application of the aquatic herbicide. Following the aquatic herbicide treatment, a full aquatic survey of the Lake will be performed once sufficient time has elapsed for the herbicide to be effective. The results of this survey, in conjunction with previous observations, will be used to determine areas of primary and secondary concern for treatment the following year. The capital improvements proposed for the District include the construction of improvements necessary to create an adequate boat launch access drive area along the Lake to function as an access point for hired contractors to implement the annual district management activities planned including hand harvesting and herbicide treatments. Currently the Town does not own land adjoining the lakeshore; however, a shoreline property owner has agreed to an easement which will provide the required lake access. In return for the easement the District will be required to pay the land owner $2,000 upon recording of the easement in addition to waiving the yearly District tax for the encumbered parcel. 3. The maximum estimated cost of formation of the proposed District is approximately $14,330, including engineering, survey, legal, and miscellaneous costs and fees. To reduce initial impacts to the parcel owners within the District, the Town of Queensbury has agreed to pay the capital improvement and formation costs on behalf of the District, with the District repaying such expenses back to the Town in five equal yearly installments plus interest at an annual interest rate of one percent. The maximum cost associated with the capital improvements is estimated to be approximately $1,000. Initially a boundary survey will be completed to clearly mark and identify the lake access parcel boundaries. In addition, the removal of a tree which may interfere with direct access to the shoreline and other minor improvements will be necessary for continued long-term use of the access location. Other associated potential 4 costs with the lake access could be incurred or necessary in the future depending on the scale of the treatments and types of equipment required to perform treatment activities. Costs for future possible expenses related to lake access are budgeted in the yearly operations costs. These costs would likely include; maintenance of the shoreline, re-vegetation and repairs to the existing lawn, and site improvements to provide an improved permanent staging area to allow treatment activities to take place. To reduce initial impacts to the parcel owners within the District, the Town of Queensbury has agreed to pay the capital improvement and formation costs on behalf of the District, with the District repaying such expenses back to the Town in five equal yearly installments plus interest at an annual interest rate of one percent. The yearly costs associated with operation and maintenance of the District will vary depending on the size of the treatment areas and the treatment method scheduled to be utilized that year. These costs, based on a schedule of two years of hand harvesting followed by a year of aquatic pesticide application, will be approximately $9,612 in the first and second years of the triennial treatment program and $21,712 in the third year. Therefore, the typical three-year cost associated with operation and maintenance activities is estimated to be approximately $40,936. The District costs will be amortized over the three year treatment cycle to maintain a District fund balance and relatively equal assessments each year. Upon repayment of the formation and capital improvement costs back to the Town, the cost would reduce simply to the O&M costs in 2018. The benefit assessment formula (BAF) has been developed on the basis of a "benefit unit." The basic benefit unit for the proposed District is a lakefront parcel of land with one residential dwelling unit, being a typical one family home, and constitutes the majority of properties in the District. The major factor evaluated in deriving the recommended BAF was lakefront vs. non-lakefront lake access parcels. In addition, consideration must be given for properties of land with more or less dwellings units located upon them. These properties will have varying impact on the lake due to a more or less intense use of their property, and alternatively will receive proportionate benefit from the District management activities. The benefit units will be assessed, in addition to or in lieu of the one benefit unit based upon proportionate ratios for lakefront vs. non-lakefront lake access parcels and the number of dwelling units present on the parcel. 5 Benefit Unit (BU) Determination and Criteria: BU Variable One: Each parcel of land within the District = 0.5 Plus BU Variable Two: Lakefront (LF) Parcel= 0.5 Non-Lakefront Lake Access (LA) Parcel= 0 Plus BU Variable Three: Dwelling Unit Factor (DU) = 1.0 per DU The total benefit units for each parcel in the District have been calculated and are listed in Appendix E. Based upon the above benefit unit assessment criteria developed, there are a total of 179 Benefit Units within the District, excluding the lake access parcel to be utilized by easement for treatment activities. The Total BU calculated would be multiplied by the Benefit Tax per Benefit Unit to determine the yearly cost for each parcel. The costs that will be distributed to each property on a benefit basis are the district formation costs, capital improvement costs, and annual operation and maintenance costs of the District. 4. All of the properties within the proposed District will be benefited and the method proposed to tax based on the degree of benefit will be a fair and appropriate way to pay for the District's expenses. 5. As noted above, the capital improvement costs will be distributed to each property on a benefit basis annually, so there will be no debt service costs related to the proposed District. 6. A typical property located within the District would be considered a lakefront property with a single family dwelling upon it. The estimated annual cost of the District to the typical property in the District will be approximately $188 for years one through five. Upon repayment of the formation and capital improvement costs back to the Town, the cost would reduce simply to the O&M costs and would be approximately $152 for year six and beyond. 7. A detailed explanation of how the estimated costs of the District were computed is included in the Map, Plan and Report which has been filed with the Queensbury Town Clerk and is available for public inspection. 6 8. The Town Board hereby determines to conduct uncoordinated SEQRA review of the proposed District establishment. 9. The Town Board shall meet and hold a public hearing at the Queensbury Activities Center, 742 Bay Road, Queensbury at 7:00 p.m., on Monday, August 20th, 2012 to consider the Map, Plan and Report and to hear all persons interested in the proposal and to take such other and further action as may be required or authorized by law. 10. The Town Board hereby authorizes and directs the Queensbury Town Clerk to duly publish and post this Order not less than ten (10) days nor more than twenty (20) days before the public hearing date, as required by Town Law §209-d, and complete or arrange for the securing of two (2) Affidavits of Publication of Notice and two (2) Affidavits of Posting of Notice of the Public Hearing required hereby and to file a certified copy of this Order with the State Comptroller on or about the date of publication. Duly adopted this 6th day of August, 2012,by the following vote: AYES NOES ABSENT: 7