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The city of Syracuse is rezoning for the first time since 1967 under the initiative ReZone Syracuse, which will adjust codes for housing, property development and land use after a period of demographic shifts in the region.

The draft of the rezoning ordinance advocates for affordable housing requirements and development standards that meet the city’s need for more affordable housing, as well as modernized language, members of the Syracuse City Common Council said.

After six years of work to overhaul the city ’s zoning ordinances, on Feb. 1, the City Planning Commission released its final draft of the new ordinances. Mayor Ben Walsh said in his 2023 State of the City address — delivered just before the draft’s release — that he’s working with the planning commission and the city’s Common Council to finalize the update early this year.

Councilor Patrick Hogan, who serves as the chair of the council’s economic development committee, said the zoning process has faced delays because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He said the new zoning ordinance is set up to increase affordable housing across the city via incentives for developers, low income tax credits and plans for workforce housing development.

Hogan said the commission prioritized affordability because many working people in Syracuse — like young families, immigrants and students — can’t afford housing costs at current rates. He said implementing workforce housing will diversify the city economically.

“In Syracuse, where you have people that live in a city, like your bartenders, your waitresses, your construction workers, the people that clean the buildings downtown, a lot of city workers, a lot of county workers who make maybe $40,000 or $50,000 a year can’t afford to live in the city sometimes,” Hogan said.

Aside from affordable housing, the new draft updates the city’s design and development review standards. Under the new ordinance, development project proposals will be split into “major” and “minor” categories based on size and significance. Historical preservation project reviews will also include appeal options for maintenance, alterations and demolition.

Councilor Jimmy Monto spearheaded an effort to change the language of the zoning ordinance to be inclusive and accommodating to LGBTQ families and other marginalized communities. The 1967 ordinance includes a definition of a “family” that Monto called “troublesome” for its exclusion of non-traditional family characteristics.

Monto, who is Syracuse’s first openly LGBTQ Common Councilor, said he’s working to implement a consistent definition for households that encompass modern views of families.

“As someone who is LGBTQ, I have been with my husband for nearly 22 years. There’s part of the population in this country that doesn’t believe that the two of us constitute a family, and that goes for several other groups that are seen as non-family units that should be seen as family units,” Monto said.

Monto said there’s still more work to be done to ensure the ordinance reflects the changed demographics and modern values of the city before the ordinance is completed.

“We need to be respectful of the idea that how we zone can affect underserved populations and can affect marginalized populations, and we need to be careful that we are addressing them,” Monto said.

Monto also pointed to public engagement as another reason for the rezoning process’ length. Hogan estimated that the planning commission has held 100 meetings since the initiative began in 2017.

Residents have raised concerns about historical landmark preservation, development of abandoned properties and the future of I-81 at those meetings, Monto said. He said the fact that the ordinance hasn’t been changed in over 50 years means it needs as much public input as possible.

“We want to get it right,” Monto said. “The voters, the constituents, they have the right to weigh in and what they think about it, and some neighborhoods are impacted much differently by a zoning ordinance than other neighborhoods.”

Regarding the I-81 project, which plans to remove the highway viaduct and replace it with a community grid structure, Hogan said he’s concerned that the new rezoning could allow for Syracuse University to take over the property that will be left open once the viaduct comes down.

“I would like to see that put itself to use as far as with affordable housing certainly, and maybe some retail use, but I would like to see it produce some tax revenue,” Hogan said.

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The new ordinance also includes expanded housing options through attached and accessory dwelling units to expand housing choices. These units can range from converted garage spaces to apartment additions that can house extra family members like in-laws and grandparents, Hogan said.

These types of additional housing units fall under the subset of “missing middle” housing, which refers to housing unit types that fall between single-family homes and apartment buildings, like duplexes and townhomes.

Now, with a lack of affordable “missing middle” housing options, some families and groups in the city live in houses with a number of people that surpass legal levels, Hogan said. The deficiency specifically affects college students who live in houses together and members of immigrant communities who live with several family members, he added.

There is currently no set date for when the planning commission will vote on the ordinance. After the commission votes, the ordinance will go to the Common Council for consideration at which point the commission can offer input on the ordinance, but cannot change it. The Common Council will eventually take a vote following the input period.

Though the timeline is uncertain, the council did move forward with legislation during its Monday meeting to approve funding for a new affordable housing construction in the Southside area, through the Division of Neighborhood and Business Development.

The final rezoning ordinance draft and accompanying map are currently available online to the public. Despite its duration, Hogan said, the commission’s work and public feedback has helped finalize the process.

“We’ve been working hard to create a zoning that is certainly flexible and nimble so we can anticipate what’s going to happen in the future, but also a zoning situation where we can amend as situations arise,” Hogan said. “We’re not going to let this stay stagnant like it did since 1967.”

Published on April 12, 2023 at 12:05 am

Contact Stephanie: spwright@syr.edu