Council reviews South Side form-district draft, issues recommendations on parking, roof pitch and height

Ithaca Common Council members on June 11 debated a proposed ordinance to establish South Side form districts and then voted a package of recommendations for planning staff rather than adopting the ordinance in final form.

The measure as drafted would amend chapter 325 of the city code to create four form districts (traditional residential, residential transition, medium‑density mixed use and urban mixed use) for portions of the Greater South Side neighborhood. Planning staff briefed council members and answered questions about parking, setbacks, green‑space requirements and the draft form standards that implement the 2019 neighborhood plan.

Planning department staff told the council the team kept minimum parking requirements in the “traditional residential” category to maintain consistency across the city and because parking rules will be reviewed as part of the comprehensive zoning rewrite. “Parking requirements are something that we plan on addressing over the next 2 years as we draft our zoning rewrite,” said Jared, planning department staff. He added staff is open to changes if council prefers removing requirements for the South Side now.

During public comment, Teresa Alt of 206 Eddy Street urged eliminating minimum off‑street parking in neighborhood zones, saying the requirement “is a lost opportunity to allow more housing for people rather than requiring it for cars.” Resident Scott McCasland described how the size and shape of newer additions near his block affect neighborhood livability and raised noise concerns from dumpster pickups.

Council members pressed staff on specific tradeoffs: how parking requirements interact with floodplain construction (one staffer noted ground floors in parts of the neighborhood may need to be raised about seven feet,…