ITHACA, N.Y. — Years of efforts to revise the zoning code in Ithaca’s Southside neighborhood came to fruition Wednesday night when Common Council voted to approve and enact a new form-based code into law.

The vote marks the culmination of planning and community meetings. Southside’s Neighborhood Plan framework was drafted in 2018 and formally adopted in the fall of 2019. However, just as the implementation work began in the form of revised laws and zoning, the COVID-19 pandemic arrived and delayed any further progress for some time.

Much to the chagrin of many neighborhood residents, this delay allowed the contentious Squeaky Clean Car Wash project to move forward. Although it was discouraged by the Neighborhood Plan guidelines, the revised zoning was nowhere close to ready, so the city couldn’t legally reject a project that complied with existing 1990s-era zoning.

As previously noted, the new form-based code creates four zoning types, which mandate more traditional residential features like pitched roofs for the lower-density zones, while the more urban zoning along South Meadow Street requires a minimum of three floors, with no parking requirement. Existing permitted uses, like gas stations, repair shops, car washes and dealerships would be allowed, and existing establishments are grandfathered in under the new code.

Since being introduced to the Common Council in June, the zoning has undergone some significant tweaks. At the urging of some council members, the parking requirement for the lowest-density “Traditional Residential” (TR) zone, which covers much of the neighborhood, was removed, making parking spaces optional in a neighborhood that was largely built out before every John and Jane Ithacan had a set of car keys.

The lower-density zones were also revised to allow a slightly smaller minimum lot size — 2,000 square feet, down from 2,400-3,000 square feet — and the removal of lot width requirements along West Green Street. Meanwhile, a strip of properties along South Cayuga Street north of Six Mile Creek was removed from the new zoning.

Several residents spoke in favor of the rezoning, describing it as a good initial step and lauding the removal of parking minimums.

“We know that Ithaca has a housing affordability crisis. […] This rezoning proposal, while not a comprehensive solution, is an important first step,” said local resident Sam Poole.

“This is a very good first step, and it’s an appropriate balance of making big changes but not making Southside too big of a target for development right now,” added Taylor Moon. “The density adjustments are somewhat minor, but acceptable.”

County planner David West, speaking as a longtime Southside resident during the public comment period, commended the city for its consideration of community feedback.

“It’s implementing the Comprehensive Plan, it’s doing the things that will make it easier for people to improve their existing homes, and to add homes to the neighborhood,” West said. “A lot of what this code does is legalize what has existed in Southside for 100 years. The lot sizes, the removing of mandatory minimum parking requirements, the density increases, they reduce the number of non-conforming lots in the neighborhood.”

Council also received an architectural lesson from Ithacan John King, who noted that while the form-based code is well-intentioned, its regulation of roof pitch and other details does create some conflict with some of the local vernacular and historic architectural styles. He walked the council through a Queen Anne-style home in the neighborhood that would be non-compliant under the new zoning and could use some revision.

The overall sentiment was clear. Removing parking requirements was broadly supported by the audience as a step towards a greener, more affordable Ithaca, and the revised zoning encouraged middle-density housing, like small apartment buildings and condos, without throwing the gates open to towering structures.

Despite the broad support in public comment, when the time came to debate the zoning, some members of council made clear their opposition to the reasoning.

Alderperson Patrick Kuehl of the Fourth Ward said he would be voting against the rezoning, saying that the measures did not go far enough.

“We moved many suggested changes to the Southside rezoning, one of which was removing the pitched roofs requirement,” Kuehl said. “I really appreciated the speaker who came up and spoke about the non-conforming buildings that would be included in this, many of which are quintessential to the Southside neighborhood. I’m continually frustrated by the city’s reliance on not meeting best practices, for example, getting rid of minimum lot sizes, as well as other changes. I think we could be doing more.”

In contrast to Kuehl, other council members spoke quite favorably of the proposed rezoning.

“I am actually quite happy with how this turned out,” said Third Ward Alderperson Pierre Saint-Perez. “Should this have been passed in 2020 or 2021? Yes, but there was a pandemic, and here we are. It is better to get this in and have it on the books before we do the comprehensive zoning rewrite.”

First Ward Alderperson Pheobe Brown similarly opined that the city should have followed through on the measures sooner, even considering the pandemic-related delay.

“I don’t only think about the design of a place, I think a lot about the people who have been pushed out of that area,” Brown said. “Maybe if we had this in place a while ago, many of the people who were pushed out wouldn’t have been.”

With that, the vote to enact the new zoning passed 8-1, with Kuehl opposed. Most projects don’t hinge on zoning code nuances, so don’t expect any sudden changes, but Wednesday’s decision will affect life in Southside for years to come.

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