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Ithaca planning board backs citywide PUD allowance, asks council to revisit after zoning rewrite
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Summary
The Ithaca City Planning and Development Board voted to recommend allowing Planned Unit Developments (PUDs) citywide while asking common council to reevaluate the policy after the ongoing zoning rewrite, citing guardrails in the process and a desire to protect neighborhood fit.
Ithaca, N.Y. — The Ithaca City Planning and Development Board on April 28 recommended that common council allow Planned Unit Developments citywide while urging a formal reevaluation after the city's zoning rewrite is complete.
Lisa Nicholas, director of planning and development, told the board that a PUD creates site-specific zoning that must be compatible with the comprehensive plan and deliver long-term, measurable community benefits. She said the common council retains sole discretion to adopt PUD zoning and that the planning board becomes lead agency for environmental and site-plan review when a PUD application advances.
"A PUD is for a specific project," Nicholas said, explaining the difference from variances and why the process typically involves intense review and public engagement.
Board members agreed the tool can secure benefits that standard zoning does not guarantee, citing past projects such as Founders Way (adaptive reuse and permanently affordable units), Cayuga Park (a permanent site for the Ithaca Community Gardens) and Southworks/Chainworks (environmental remediation and mixed-use development).
But several members raised concerns about opening the process citywide. Peggy Tully said she supported the concept but was "not sure about expanding it citywide" without seeing all implications; others worried a citywide option could be used for controversial infill projects that are incompatible with neighborhood frameworks.
A compromise emerged: the board will recommend support for permitting PUDs citywide while asking council to include a commitment to reevaluate the citywide allowance after the zoning rewrite is completed (board members discussed an interim review window). "We could make a recommendation like that, and maybe the recommendation would be to come and revisit once the zoning rewrite is done," Chair Max Pfeffer said as members coalesced around the language.
Nicholas also told the board that common council is scheduled to vote on the proposal at its May 6 meeting, giving staff and board members a short window to provide formal comments.
The board asked staff to draft a recommendation that records the differing member positions — some offering full support for a permanent citywide allowance, others favoring the time-limited or reevaluation approach — and to circulate it to members for comment before submission to council.
The planning board's role if a PUD advances would include environmental review and detailed site-plan negotiation, Nicholas said, giving the board leverage to shape final site-level outcomes even after an initial conceptual approval by council.
The board's recommendation will be submitted to common council ahead of next week's vote. No vote tally of the board's recommendation was recorded on the transcript; staff said they would prepare and circulate a written recommendation reflecting the discussion.
The planning board adjourned after completing its agenda.
