Yippee, some progress on this project at last.
(From the Ithaca Journal):
City reverses on Novarr re-zoning
Developer agrees to re-design project; Committee drops zoning change
By Krisy Gashler •kgashler@gannett.com • July 21, 2010, 10:51 pm
Collegetown Terrace Apartments developer John Novarr and some Ithaca city officials have agreed to a deal that they believe will protect neighbors' interests without a contentious re-zoning and likely legal challenge.
Novarr told Common Council's planning committee Wednesday night that he has agreed to re-design the portion of his project along East State/Martin Luther King Jr. St. to include 13 structures instead of the three originally proposed. In public hearings on the project, many residents have opposed the design of a few large buildings, which some described as looking like a "wall," "prison," or "fortress."
Alderwoman Ellen McCollister, D-3rd, said she and several other city staff members and officials have been talking with Novarr over the past few weeks, and the group felt the compromise would satisfy their concerns without having to re-zone Novarr's property.
After more than an hour of debate, the planning committee voted 3-2 to remove all of Novarr's properties from their citywide re-zoning plan. Voting in favor were McCollister and Aldermen Svante Myrick, D-4th, and Eric Rosario, I-2nd. Voting against were Jennifer Dotson, I-1st, and Dan Cogan, D-5th.
The vote was the latest step in a months-long back-and-forth on the project and the city's response to it: a sub-committee established by Mayor Carolyn Peterson to examine the zoning issue recommended this spring that Novarr's property not be re-zoned.
In May, McCollister proposed that the easternmost block of Novarr's property should be re-zoned, to reduce building density and protect nearby single-family residences. The planning committee had voted 4-0 in June on a plan that included one block of Novarr's proposed 16.4-acre development.
Public hearings since then have been packed with residents -- and with up to five attorneys hired by Novarr.
"It's not about stopping a project; it's about making it work for everyone," McCollister said. "When possible, I'd rather try to reach a set of solutions agreeably rather than disagreeably. It's really no more complicated than that."
Myrick praised the work to find a "much-vaunted third way."
"Although it may seem like we like to fight up here, we really don't," he said.
Peterson questioned the decision to remove Novarr's property from the re-zoning list.
"This property may not stay in this person's hands forever," she said. "Another developer could, for example, knock this down and put a wall up."
Dotson agreed, saying zoning should be based on the neighborhood, not any particular development or developer.
"Zoning is a longer-term action; it lasts longer than any project," she said.
McCollister emphasized that the re-zoning proposal would have impacted only the 900 block of East State, whereas Novarr has agreed to break up the facade of his development on the 900, 800, and 700 blocks, which she said would provide more benefit to the city.
With the change, the city will have to hold another public hearing, which has not been scheduled. The next regular meeting of the planning committee is 7 p.m. Aug. 18 in City Hall, 108 E. Green St.
Here's the link:
http://www.theithacajournal.com/arti...varr+re-zoning