At least they didn't totally stop everything. From the Ithaca Journal:
Hearing planned on West Hill projects
Town board considering moratorium on construction
7:06 PM, Jun. 14, 2011
Written by
Rachel Stern
A public hearing has been set regarding a potential building moratorium on West Hill in the Town of Ithaca.
The Town Board scheduled the hearing Monday for 6 p.m. July 11 in the town hall, 215 N. Tioga St. After the hearing, the board will most likely vote on the moratorium, Town Supervisor Herb Engman said.
"The moratorium would be for 365 days and would be a portion of West Hill," he said. "During that time, we would conduct a study of the area to better inform us how development should take place on West Hill."
Unless an abundance of new information is presented at the hearing, the board would likely vote on the moratorium afterward, he said. A map of the proposed area was not yet available.
Under current moratorium language, three West Hill projects would be exempt, Engman said.
The Holochuck Homes project would be excluded because the planning board granted preliminary site plan approval. The Conifer senior living facility would be excluded because senior housing is needed for the town and the developer must start applying for grants in the summer, Engman said. Also exempted is the Waldorf School's plan to temporarily move into the old Biggs building.
"I would call it a limited moratorium for West Hill," Engman said. "It is a smaller area than originally discussed. That is primarily because you have to be very concise in setting an area and to make a map match up with the language and rationale; it gets to be a delicate balancing act."
On Monday night, the board scheduled a public hearing for July 11 regarding amendments to the zoning law that would ban gas drilling in the town, Engman said. The board will likely vote on those amendments after the public hearing.
Here's the link:
http://www.theithacajournal.com/arti...text|FRONTPAGE