Syracuse residents are making their voices heard as the years-long effort to overhaul Syracuse’s decades-old zoning ordinanceheads toward the finish line. Several spoke at Tuesday night's public hearing hosted by the planning commission, and comments were mixed. Mary Salibrici says current zoning laws favor single family homes to the exclusion of other models.
"Through rezone in Northside neighborhoods, where homeownership is so hard for so many, mixed income housing will allow for more flexibility of land and property use more tenant protections and more efforts to reduce lead poisoning," Salibrici said. "In short, given the deterioration that I and my neighbors on the north side have watched happen over the years, specifically the unfair and inequitable favoring of single family homes over other affordable housing models, rezone is very, very long overdue."
Andrew Schuster works for Ashley McGraw architects, but spoke as a resident in support of the new zoning ordinance.
"The current zoning is out of date. It's out of touch. It reflects the legacy of urban renewal and exclusive zoning and it's highly segregated by use, economy, and keeps people far away from their jobs," Schuster said. "It requires waivers for simple common sense development approaches. It's difficult to navigate, and only only people with really deep knowledge of the current system are really able to get anything done in the city. The current zoning discourages the best kind of development."
Others see it differently. Deka Dancil spoke on behalf of the New York Civil Liberties Union. She commended the effort to change the zoning designation of communities adjacent to I-81, but says Rezone doesn't include stronger requirements for more affordable housing.
"Prompting investment in areas with low land values is intrinsically connected to our most vulnerable residents. And we know that without providing protection, residents in those neighborhoods will be forced out," Dancil said. "Here's how: Rezone ignores the past racist zoning policies that contributed to Syracuse having some of the highest rates of segregation and concentrated poverty in the country and it does nothing to desegregate neighborhoods."
Stacy Marris represents property owners on Lafayette Road on the city's far southern end who are concerned that zoning changes threaten the residential character of the area.
"Rezoning will alter the low density neighborhood that this particular area with mixed use of commercial other high density spaces,"Marris said. "That just is clear from the changes that the designation along Lafayette Road will detract from that current low density character."
Rezone Syracuse also includes updates to land uses that support community gardens and so-called accessory uses that will allow some farm animals like hens, rabbits, and bee colonies. This pleased Maura Ackerman, who spoke on behalf of the Syracuse Onondaga Food Systems Alliance.
"We want to celebrate the inclusion of two key changes in particular that are focused on enhancing agricultural opportunity within the city's boundaries: One is updated allowances for community gardens and urban agriculture that will support both residential and commercial food production within the city; And second, the clarification around the keeping of small animals in residential zones to ensure that there's consistent enforcement and positive relationships among neighbors."
The planning commission meets Monday, but it’s not clear if they’ll vote to adopt the new zoning ordinance. Once approved, it moves on to the common council, where there will likely be another opportunity for the public to weigh in before a vote.
