CJ Randall, director of planning for the Town of Ithaca, told the Ithaca City Common Council during a Nov. 12 special meeting that the town is exploring a joint historic preservation program and a shared Ithaca Landmarks Preservation Commission to extend preservation services across the two jurisdictions. “My name is CJ Randall, and I'm the director of planning for the town of Ithaca,” Randall said while outlining prior outreach and the town’s interest in sharing staff and costs.

City councilmembers described both interest and caution. Alderperson San Perez said he was “very excited about possibility of this furthering collaboration,” and called joint work a potential cost-saver for residents who sometimes do not know whether they live in the city or the surrounding town. By contrast, Alderperson Letterman said he was “personally not supportive” of extending the ILPC in its current form, arguing the commission can create barriers to housing and tends to favor property owners with significant means.

Council members asked for more detail on implementation and membership. Questions included whether noncity residents would have voting authority on city designations and how the commission’s charge might be rewritten. Randall said the town’s planning office includes five staff in addition to the director and emphasized the town’s prior public outreach work, including homeowner webinars on historic tax credits.

The council did not vote on a joint ordinance at the meeting. Mayor and councilmembers said the item will be taken up again through an existing government-to-government working group and that staff will follow up with additional information and options for how membership, voting authority and the commission’s charge might be structured.