Business owners on University Hill are waiting to see how the city of Syracuse’s new administration handles the sprawling ReZone Syracuse project, as officials push to finalize a draft of that plan this year.

ReZone Syracuse, which was started in 2015 by former Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner, aims to update building policy and regulations across the city, including in areas surrounding Syracuse University’s campus.

Mayor Ben Walsh, who was elected last year, in his recent “state of the city” address said the city will finish the project in 2018. The project could streamline the development review process, helping Syracuse generate more revenue, Walsh said.

“Zoning is a topic not often covered, but really shapes how cities grow and develop over the next 20, 30, 40, 50 years,” said Owen Kerney, assistant director of city planning. “The work we’re doing will help shape that.”

A consolidated draft of the entire rezoning plan will be released next month, Kerney said. At present, there’s currently three “modules” of the project. Those will be combined into one document, Kerney said. That draft will be presented to the public for comment and revisions before it’s published again in the summer, he added.

Once finalized, the draft will be reviewed and approved by the city’s Common Council and Planning Commission. The last zoning ordinance for Syracuse was completed in 1967. Zoning districts dictate what business owners and residents can do with their properties.

“There’s parts of it that are outdated,” Kerney said of the city’s current zoning ordinance. “We want something that makes it easier for people to invest and live and stay in our community.”

Developers in the student-popular Marshall Street and South Crouse Avenue area say the project could have several effects, and they’re waiting to see how Walsh’s team handles the plan.

“There’s a lot of certain things (a new business) has to go through, and possibly by the rezone, it might make that process easier,” said Jerry Dellas, owner of Faegan’s Cafe & Pub and Varsity Pizza. “But in the same breath, the rezone also limits what can be done within the area.”

Building height, the minimum and maximum number of parking spaces and exterior building facade colors can be limited by the rezone, all depending on a property’s new zoning district, according to the plan’s module two.

Dellas and a team of developers have considered reconstructing Varsity Pizza and Faegan’s Cafe & Pub in a 10-story residential and commercial building on South Crouse Avenue, according to Syracuse.com.

Both Varsity and Faegan’s would be incorporated into that building with their original themes, Dellas said. Under the first draft map of ReZone Syracuse, the Varsity Pizza property would be considered MX-4, a mixed-use zoning district.

Kerney said that specific zoning district would limit building height to seven to eight stories. That would affect the possible 10-story residential and commercial project Dellas has discussed.

“A business owner would be upset if (the rezone) limits what the potential for their property is,” Dellas said. “I’d be upset.”

But overall, both Dellas and Jared Hutter, a real estate developer who’s a partner in the The Marshall luxury student housing project on South Crouse Avenue, said they want to see where ReZone Syracuse goes under Walsh’s new administration.

Walsh was previously part of the ReZone’s advisory committee before taking office and has been receiving updates regarding the status of the project, Kerney said.

“Syracuse has great leadership in front of them at City Hall,” Hutter said. “We’re certainly optimistic that any decision made, whether it has to do with University Hill or downtown Syracuse, will be done with the guidance … that development is a course to help spur the economy.”

Dellas, who’s president of the Crouse Marshall Business Improvement District, agreed with Hutter. The CMBID is a group of businesses located in the South Crouse Avenue/Marshall Street area partnered to improve business in the district.

“It’s really a great thing. We do what the city of Syracuse used to kind of provide, but they provided a very small amount,” Dellas said. “I just have to follow (the rezone) closely and see where we’re going with it. We have a new mayor now and let’s see what direction he wants to take the city.”

Published on February 14, 2018 at 10:02 pm

Contact Jessi: jmsopori@syr.edu