City staff outline comprehensive zoning rewrite funded by state grant, timeline and early steps

City staff told the Ithaca Common Council on Sept. 10 that the city has executed a New York State grant to support a comprehensive rewrite of the municipal zoning ordinance and outlined a multi-step timeline and initial tasks.

"As you all know, we have received a grant from the New York State's North Grove Communities program to do a comprehensive update to the city zoning ordinance," Megan, the deputy director for zoning, told council members. She said the city’s zoning ordinance was last adopted as a new ordinance in 1977 and has been amended repeatedly since then; the rewrite will reorganize and modernize the code to remove barriers to housing, improve usability and codify neighborhood plans.

Staff summarized immediate actions: a technical assessment of the current code is complete; a request for proposals for consultant services was being drafted with issuance planned in September and consultant selection in October; the internal staff team and a zoning advisory committee of community members will be established; the consultant and committee kickoff is expected in November; the first public outreach phase is expected in 2026; and the final code adoption is anticipated 18 to 24 months after kickoff, with interim deliverables.

Megan asked council to identify policy priorities early — for example, off-street parking requirements, single-family district rules and minimum lot sizes — so the consultant can craft drafts that reflect council direction. Staff said council can also pursue targeted, interim amendments to the existing code before the full rewrite is complete.

Why it matters: a comprehensive rewrite affects land use, housing capacity and local regulation across the city. Staff emphasized that many existing provisions are cross‑referenced across the ordinance and that a broad rewrite is necessary to resolve internal inconsistencies and achieve the policy goals the council sets.

What’s next: staff plans to release the RFP in September, select a consultant in October, form the advisory committee and begin phased public outreach; council members were invited to propose priority issues for early study and to assist public engagement through their neighborhood outreach.