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Syracuse ReZone Plan Passes Syracuse ReZone Plan Passes

By Saral Khare

Kennedy Houston:The Syracuse Rezone voting is happening today. Our Saral Khare has more on what’s happening in City Hall.

Saral Khare: Thank You guys the Syracuse rezone plan finally got passed with it being passed unanimously. The rezone plan will affect a multitude of areas in Syracuse but the one thing it’ll have an impact on is housing and the type of housing that will get built.

Khare: One of the Syracuse Rezone top objectives is to make housing more affordable. The Rezone plan will expand the type of housing in Syracuse whether it’s granny flats, accessory dwelling units and making a percentage of apartments in large complex buildings affordable for tenants.
With accessory dwelling units homeowners can have second residences on their homes and can rent them out. With apartment buildings city officials could have 10% of apartments must be rented to people who are income qualified at below market-rates.
In addition the rezoning plan would also allow for more businesses to develop. In certain neighborhoods like Erie Boulevard East there would be shops and restaurants convenient for residents who don’t have cars.

Khare: The rezone plan will take place on July 1 and city officials say the rezone district will cut the different zoning districts by half and have a more simple streamlined process. Karl and Kennedy back to you guys.

SYRACUSE N.Y. (NCC News) — The Syracuse ReZone Plan passed unanimously by the Common Council today. At the meeting a lot of the counselors expressed how important it was the ReZone gets passed because of the impact it can have on housing.

Councilor Patrick Hogan at the meeting said with Micron coming to Central New York it was important the ReZone get passed because more and more people would come to Central New York, which would mean more of a need of housing.

“We have 4,000-5,000 housing vulnerable people in the city right now but with the advent of Micron and the ancillary companies that come in following Micron we’re expecting 50- to 60,000 more residents.”

Another way the rezoning plan will affect Syracuse is with growing businesses. Hogan expects it will be easier to navigate through the city for growing businesses.

“We’ve had parking requirements for business which is very onerous,” said Hogan. “And it’s not exactly fitting for urban lifestyle for small businesses of the world or big businesses of the world. We’re going to have a walkable, accessible city.”

While some councilors are happy about the decision of the ReZone plan getting passed, there are some residents who aren’t happy about it — especially residents who live near Lafayette Street who are concerned about their homes being torn down.

Mayor Ben Walsh was asked about those residents and he said plans in the rezoning document can change.

“We don’t want to do it haphazardly, but we want to do it thoughtfully, and if we didn’t get certain things right we want to go through the appropriate process, do the right due diligence, engage with the community, and make changes where they’re needed,” Walsh said.

The ReZone Plan is set to take effect July 1.

 

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