Planning board reviews Water’s Edge subdivision and site plan; residents press for interim treatment of northern parcel

The City of Ithaca Planning and Development Board on May 27 opened a public hearing and heard detailed presentations on the Water’s Edge subdivision and the related site plan, including traffic, parking and design work for waterfront micro‑retail. The applicant presented a sketch subdivision to create four parcels and said the current site plan focuses on parcels A and B while preserving easements for future development of parcels C and D.

Why it matters: Water’s Edge sits adjacent to the Ithaca Farmers Market and the Waterfront Trail; decisions about interim landscaping, access and wetlands on the northern parcels will affect trail users, market patrons and the visual character of the waterfront for years while the broader project phases proceed.

Presenters from the project team—Scott Widom and Crystal Ross of the consulting team, Jacob Von Mecow of the applicant’s design group and engineers from Arnett and ECA—walked the board through a sketch subdivision they called a “long‑term” configuration rather than a carve‑up tied only to phase 1. The plan establishes private property lines, a north–south private access drive, and easement areas intended to preserve legal access while allowing the parcel footprints to remain flexible for a future phase.

Resident Cheryl Swank urged the board to press the applicant for interim improvements to parcels C and D, saying, “I was disappointed so far not to see any plans for those c and d…