Developer representative Bear presented design revisions for 602 West Buffalo and asked the committee for guidance on several open items, including which entry should function as the primary access for residents and visitors, how to reconcile accessibility with flood-elevation constraints, and how to screen parking and mechanical equipment.

Board members repeatedly flagged the corner monumental staircase as problematic if it is relegated to egress only while Buffalo Street is treated as the main entrance. Emily Petrino said she was "gravitating towards your Buffalo Street entrance as the main entrance," and asked the team to consider reworking that corner so it does not continue to read as the primary access. Members suggested alternatives that could retain the carved corner experience while clarifying a single primary entry point.

Accessibility and circulation were focal points. Bear described two possible approaches — keeping the raised entry with a lift or pursuing ramp solutions — and noted code constraints: he said from a code perspective a lift is treated as an exception and that the team has to demonstrate technical infeasibility for standard solutions if they pursue the lift route. Board members and staff asked for circulation diagrams that show visitor/retail access, how deliveries and drop‑offs will operate without on‑street parking, and whether visitor parking will be available under the buildings.

The committee also discussed several streetscape and public‑realm items: transformer siting and how prominent equipment may be enclosed or relocated, preservation or replacement of existing street trees in coordination with the city forester, bicycle parking counts and the visual treatment of parking screens, and existing DOT‑owned bollards that could be cleaned or cosmetically improved. Rob Shepherd of the Ithaca fire department asked to meet with the project's lead designer to review aerial access and other fire operations concerns.

The team said it will refine the submitted materials — providing clearer elevations that annotate screening versus brick, updated renderings, a circulation diagram, and notes about the transformer — and will submit the design review worksheet and updated imagery ahead of the planning board review. PRC did not take a formal vote; it provided the developer with a list of follow‑up items to bring to the planning board packet.