Public hearing held for Water's Edge at 683 Third Street; board hears environmental and circulation updates

The Planning and Development Board opened a public hearing April 22 on the proposed Water's Edge development at 683 Third Street and heard a detailed presentation from the applicant team on design updates, environmental testing, stormwater management and site circulation.

The public hearing was opened on a motion by Elizabeth Godden and seconded by Basil (motion recorded on the public record). No in-person public commenters were present, and the board received two written comments and one remote public speaker. Jan Rhodes Norman, president of the Ithaca Farmers Market board, spoke in support of the project and said the market welcomes the new neighbors. "I'm Jan Rhodes Norman. I'm a vendor at market. I'm also the president of the farmers market board. So I wanted to, speak in favor of the Water's Edge project," she said.

Applicant Crystal Ross (Widom Planning and Design) and the project team described several updates since their last submission: a revised private entry road with additional street trees and sidewalks; elimination of several parallel parking spaces to make room for street trees and lighting, which reduced on-site parking from 215 to 210 spaces; designation of 25 spaces as public, unrestricted parking; and clarified pedestrian and drop-off circulation in a curbless plaza intended for mixed uses (food trucks, ride-hail, staging). The team noted the plan includes a 60-foot turning area in the plaza for vehicles and service operations.

The presentation also addressed environmental investigation and remediation. The applicant said multiple soil and groundwater investigations (more than 80 samples since 2020, with 38 samples in the last 12 months) identified two areas of concern (AOC): AOC 1, where contamination is presumed to be petroleum from a former fuel island; and AOC 2, where soil samples had SVOC levels attributed to road paint striping. Groundwater was reported at approximately 7 to 8 feet below ground surface. The applicant said remediation measures would be carried out if impacted soils are encountered during demolition and would include excavation, staging, testing, off‑site disposal and backfill with clean material; the applicant emphasized these procedures were being proposed as voluntary measures rather than mandated remedial orders. The project team said the proposed stormwater treatment approach was changed from underground infiltration chambers to a closed hydrodynamic (vortex) separator to prevent mixing stormwater with groundwater and to manage petroleum and suspended solids prior to discharge.

Board members queried circulation and retail access, particularly winter access for building residents to micro-retail spaces and the relationship with the waterfront trail. Member Max Pfeffer pressed the team to study alternative access that would improve year-round pedestrian connections to on-site retail, citing economic viability concerns for businesses that would otherwise rely on summer trail users. Several board members emphasized the undeveloped northern portion of the parcel: the team said the salt barn would remain and that disturbed areas used for staging would be restored to lawn, and that they already submitted a subdivision plan for the northern parcels with an expected discussion next month.

Other issues discussed: bicycle and pedestrian safety where the waterfront trail passes close to the plaza and building edges; tree removals (the project will remove four deciduous trees >8-inch trunk diameter and propose more than 40 new large deciduous trees); soil management plan (SMP) and site monitoring per New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) guidance; phasing and temporary parking to support the Ithaca Farmers Market during construction (through July 2025); and visualization viewpoints to be presented to the board in June.

The public hearing was closed on a motion by Elizabeth Godden and seconded by Andy Roman; the board voted unanimously to close the hearing. Board and staff asked the applicant for a follow-up submission addressing the demolition plan (tree species and sizes to be marked), more detailed plaza and pedestrian diagrams showing access to the micro-retail, additional stormwater and SMP details to reflect the updated hydrodynamic separator proposal, and proposed subdivision materials for the northern parcels.

Votes and motions recorded: public hearing opened (mover Elizabeth Godden; second Basil); public hearing closed (mover Elizabeth Godden; second Andy Roman) — both motions carried unanimously.

Proponents and opponents: Jan Rhodes Norman (Ithaca Farmers Market board) spoke in support; no public opposition was recorded at the hearing.

Sources: Presentation by Widom Planning and Design and consultants; public written comments submitted to the Planning and Development Board; public hearing record, April 22, 2025.