Planning commission recommends zoning text amendments but holds off on PID language after Syracuse University objections

The Syracuse Planning Commission on July 28 recommended that the Common Council consider a broad package of zoning text amendments but attached a condition that the city and Syracuse University reach agreed language addressing Section 2.15 (planned districts, or PIDs) before the legislation moves forward.

The commission also adopted a negative declaration under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQR) for the package, concluding the text changes are unlikely to have significant adverse environmental impacts.

Syracuse University representatives and counsel urged the commission to keep the public hearing open and delay action, saying the city posted the full proposed text late Friday and that the 300-plus-page draft was not available in a redlined format that would let reviewers quickly identify substantive changes. Greg Foshay, attorney for Syracuse University, said, "We request that the commission keep the public hearing open and not act on the proposed changes until the full text or equivalent descriptions of the proposed changes are published and a meaningful opportunity is provided to us…