Some zoning plans for two Ithaca neighborhoods. From the Ithaca Journal.
Ithaca zoning proposals meet skepticism
Collegetown, waterfront plans questioned
Written by
Liz Lawyer
elawyer@gannett.com
The City of Ithaca Planning and Economic Development Committee has made progress on the city's Collegetown Urban Plan and changes to waterfront zoning.
The committee on Wednesday made itself the lead agency on the Urban Plan and held three public hearings -- on the Collegetown Urban Plan, changes to waterfront zoning along Cayuga Inlet, and on the 2011 Ithaca Urban Renewal Agency Action Plan and Housing and Urban Development Entitlement Program.
About 25 people attended, with most of them speaking on the Urban Plan.
Collegetown planSeveral elements of the Collegetown plan were discussed Wednesday, including rezoning of certain areas, establishment of an overlay height incentive district, a change to a parking overlay zone, and a new design review ordinance. Residents and business owners in Collegetown said they needed more time to absorb the implications.
College Avenue resident Neil Golder said, "Speaking ... from the perspective of someone who has lived on College Avenue for 39 years, having gotten the letter three weeks ago, I feel there hasn't been enough time to really study it. It seems complex and far-reaching in its impact."I'm worried about severe negative impact on the neighborhood, an increase in traffic congestion, and I'm worried about the aesthetic consequences," he said.
Longtime Collegetown resident and rental proprietor Anna Steel asked the committee to delay moving forward with the plan until residents could "put together an adequate argument."
Other concerns included resident Josh Lower's statement that an amendment to an existing parking overlay zone would help solve the parking problem in Collegetown, but would cause longer-term issues. Under the proposed ordinance, a property owner within the parking overlay zone could make a payment of $10,000 per space in lieu of providing all or some of the property's required off-street parking.
"I believe the plan exposes the high cost of parking but will continue undermining (the development) of low-impact transportation," Lower said.
Committee members discussed waiting on taking any action on the plan to give Collegetown residents time to review it.
Waterfront changesThe committee is proposing a new waterfront zoning district to include Inlet Island and the east side of Cayuga Inlet. Among the goals are maintaining public waterfront access, creating a dense area on the water, increasing property values, and protecting views to and from the waterfront.
Several business owners expressed concern with the changes, including a requirement that new buildings have a minimum of three stories and a maximum of five, except for buildings used for water-dependent activities; that property along the inlet have a 15-foot setback; and that the first 10 feet of any building along the inlet be only two or three stories high.
Paul Carubia, who owns properties along Taughannock Boulevard, said the three-story minimum on new construction puts a burden on builders in the area, especially with narrow lots along the inlet, made even narrower by the 15-foot setback.
"I'm looking at people who have to put lots together to make buildings longer rather than deeper," Carubia said. "It will probably make development harder."
Another property owner in the area, Bruce Lane, said he favors waterfront development but wondered about justification of the height rules. Requiring more stories would be an economic hardship, he said.
The committee will discuss the waterfront zoning district at its April meeting.
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