At a Sept. 10 meeting, the Ithaca Common Council reviewed staff recommendations for the South Side form district and took separate votes on five linked items that staff had proposed as part of a form-based rezoning package.

Staff presentation and survey: Megan, the deputy director for zoning, said staff circulated a three-week survey and received 66 responses (57 from South Side residents) and recommended several revisions to a draft form district. Items on the table included removing certain CBD-100 parcels from the form district, eliminating off-street parking requirements in the district, changing maximum building heights in the urban mixed-use zone from five to seven stories, removing a pitched-roof requirement, and reducing or removing minimum lot size and width requirements.

Council actions and votes:
- CBD-100 parcels: Council accepted staff’s recommendation to keep existing CBD-100 parcels as currently zoned (staff recommended not rezoning these parcels). The council’s ad hoc resolution to accept staff’s recommendation carried unanimously.
- Off-street parking: Council voted to remove proposed off-street parking requirements within the South Side Form District and recommended staff carry a similar approach into the citywide zoning rewrite; that motion carried unanimously. Staff said elimination of the requirement means property owners could choose whether to provide off-street parking; it would not prohibit parking but would remove a mandatory minimum.
- Maximum building height (urban mixed-use): A motion to increase the maximum allowed height from five stories to seven stories along the Meadow Street segment of the district failed on a 3–7 vote; alderpersons Kumar, Kiel and Letterman voted in favor while a majority opposed. Staff had recommended maintaining the five‑story maximum pending further design and contextual study; council members expressed concerns about sidewalk width, shadows on adjacent properties and lack of specific design guidelines for taller buildings.
- Pitched-roof requirement: A motion to remove the pitched-roof requirement failed 2–8 (Kumar and Kiel in favor). Staff said the pitched roof requirement had been part of the neighborhood plan and that survey responses were split; several council members said the neighborhood’s stated preference for pitched roofs should be respected.
- Minimum lot sizes and widths: Council debated whether to reduce or eliminate minimum lot area and width rules. Staff recommended a reduction that would bring most lots into compliance while retaining some requirements to address fire and emergency access. After a sequence of motions and amendments, council accepted staff’s recommendation as presented for the South Side and also directed staff to research the citywide elimination of minimum lot area and width as part of the forthcoming comprehensive zoning rewrite. Council approved that directive in a final vote (the body recorded votes and several procedural amendments during the debate).

Why it matters: the South Side form district packages are an early application of form-based zoning and could change development standards along Meadow Street and adjacent neighborhoods. The parking vote removes a local parking minimum, which staff said could reduce barriers to housing development but may shift parking demand to on-street spaces. The height and roof votes show council caution on certain visual and livability impacts; the minimum-lot-size directive signals an interest in rethinking lot-based limits during the citywide rewrite.

Public input and next steps: staff reported the 66 survey responses and noted broad community interest; several council members urged more and broader outreach. Staff will bring ordinance language and detailed design standards back to the council for public hearing and formal adoption steps, and the comprehensive rewrite will address citywide policy questions including lot size.