300 Euclid Block building project follow up

Dear Neighbors,

Thank you for signing our previous letter; we were able to collect over 130 signatures of support. The Planning Commission decided to postpone their decision regarding applications R-22-11 and PR-22-02 until Monday May 16th.

UNPA, SEUNA, and WNA are partnering to submit the following letter for the Planning Commission. If you agree with the content of the letter, please click on the button below and add your name supporting our letter by midnight May 15th.

Warm regards,

Maribel

Maribel Arce

UNPA Executive Director

Click here to support the letter

May 12, 2022

Planning Commission

City of Syracuse

201 East Washington, Room 500

Syracuse, NY 13202

Re: Applications R-22-11 and PR-22-02.

Dear Members of the Planning Commission:

This is a joint letter from the Boards of the University Neighborhood Preservation Association (UNPA), the Southeast University Neighborhood Association (SEUNA) and Westcott Neighborhood Association (WNA). We, and those who have signed in support below, urge the Commission to deny application R-22-11 and, subsequently, application PR-22-02.

These applications propose a single, block-long apartment building that would be vastly out of scale with the many one- and two-family homes nearby, including the 30 single-family homes just to the south on the same block. This entire block, with the exception of the three parcels facing Euclid Avenue, is zoned RA-1, the city’s most restrictive single-family zoning category.

Lot Size. On its own, the lot with the former brick sorority house on the southeast corner of Euclid and Ostrom is already the largest lot on Euclid Ave. Approval of the proposed applications would result in a 38,428 sq ft lot, interfering with the medium density residential development of this area and setting the precedent for incremental changes to the fabric of the built environment within this gateway neighborhood.

Density. The proposed structure would have 38 apartments: 16 with two bedrooms, 21 with three bedrooms, and one with four bedrooms. That would total 99 beds and, potentially, 99 cars added to a neighborhood that is already saturated with vehicles. The submitted plan would provide 38 onsite parking spots. Where would the 61 other potential new cars park?

Precedent. The design of the apartment buildings suggested in this application have no relationship to our neighborhood in style, size, or historic significance. Development here could be the "canary in the coal mine" for the rest of the neighborhood and the city, specifically where RB Zoning is designated. There are three other nearby blocks with the same RB zoning. If the City Planning Commission allows this type of out-of-scale development here, can we also expect it on the remaining nearby blocks? Will it also be allowed in RB zoned areas city-wide, including parcels near the Burnet Park Zoo, the Stone Throwers' Monument on Tipperary Hill, the entirety of Euclid Ave, and Ostrom Ave. between E. Adams and Madison St., directly across from Thornden Park?

Pending National Historic Designation. These three properties are included in a much larger application that is in the final stages of approval with the New York State Department of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation. Once approved, this will be one of the largest historic preservation districts in the state. Homeowners and landlords alike will benefit from the preservation tax credits that will become available with historic designation, providing an enormous financial incentive for revitalization of the neighborhood. But these tax credits will only be available for projects that follow the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for historic preservation. Once demolished or significantly altered, the buildings at issue in these applications would no longer be eligible for such tax credits. Demolishing eligible properties puts the entire neighborhood at risk for losing vital rehabilitation resources.

The building at the corner of Ostrom and Euclid, 302-314 Euclid, was constructed in 1911 for sorority Phi Beta Phi, and was sold in 1925 to fraternity Zeta Beta Tau, during which time it underwent significant, but sympathetic, alterations.

Zoning

As we will explain, these two proposals are not only inconsistent with current zoning, but they also would not be allowed under the new zoning proposed by ReZone Syracuse.

Current Zoning

The three Euclid Avenue properties in question are all zoned "Residential District, Class B" (RB).

Below are the stated purpose and intent of RB zoning:

The general purpose of this residential district is to provide for areas within the City of Syracuse which permit high density residential development consisting of a mixture of single-, two-, three-, four- and multiple-family dwellings, and other compatible land uses that are characterized by a similar high land use intensity.

In promoting the general purpose of this Ordinance, the specific intent of this Article is:

a. To encourage the construction of, and the continuous use of the land for single-, two-, three-, four and multiple-family dwellings; to encourage the development of recreational, religious and educational facilities required for, and compatible with a balanced high density residential neighborhood;...

RB zoning encourages a mix of housing types from single-family to multifamily. These three existing structures on Euclid – a pair of two-family houses and a multi-family dwelling – are already consistent with the variety of housing types envisioned under RB. It would be a mistake to replace this diversity at the northern end of the block with a single, block-length structure that would endanger the viability of owner-occupancy in the many single-family homes to the south.

Even the local precedent for institutional housing - the Oren Lyons Hall dormitory at the northeast corner of Euclid and Livingtson Avenues– does not approach the proposed scale the development in question. By contrast, Oren Lyons Hall sits on a single parcel and is only three stories tall.

ReZone Syracuse

ReZone Syracuse is the city's first, wholesale zoning revision in more than 50 years. It has not yet been adopted by the city, but it can be useful as an indicator of the city's current thinking regarding areas like this.

Under the most recent draft of ReZone, the three parcels in question would all be zoned "MX-1". This MX-1 zoning was cited by some speakers at the last Planning Board meeting who seemed to assume it would be more accommodating to these applications than would the current zoning. As you will see, that is not the case.

Like the other five MX categories (MX-1 to MX-5), MX-1 is primarily intended to allow mixed-use – that is, limited commercial development within existing residential buildings. The intent is not to encourage the destruction of existing buildings or the creation of even larger structures. Rather, it is form-based code – using existing structures in new ways. Of the five MX categories, MX-1 maintains the lowest density.

Here is the intended purpose of MX-1 zoning as described in the latest ReZone draft document (emphasis added).

Purpose

The MX-1 district is established to provide for a pedestrian-friendly, transit-supportive mix of low- to medium-density residential and small-scale, low-impact nonresidential uses. This district allows new residential and nonresidential development that maintains the physical character of the surrounding low- to medium-density neighborhoods. Redevelopment of residential structures into compatible nonresidential uses is allowed if the residential building form and design is maintained.

The graphic below from the latest draft ReZone document illustrates the type of development envisioned under MX-1 zoning. Notice the low density, individual buildings, and open space between buildings.

MX-1 goes on to establish limits on the dimensions of the parcels and structures allowed in such areas.

As you can see, under MX-1, buildings could be no higher than 3 stories. The proposal before the Planning Commission is for a building of 4 stories.

More importantly, the maximum lot size for all uses under MX-1 would be no greater than 10,000 square feet. Combining the three parcels, as requested under the current proposals, would result in a lot of 38,828 square feet, almost four times the maximum lot size allowed under MX-1.

The largest of the three existing lots, 302-314 Euclid, is already 25,360 square feet, more than double the size allowed for a new lot under MX-1.

The two smaller lots, 309 Euclid Avenue (7,524), and 313 Avenue (5,544), are below the maximum square footage allowed under MX-1. But combining just these two smallest parcels into one would result in a new parcel of 13,068, well over the maximum lot size allowed under MX-1.

For all the reasons listed above, we request that the Planning Commission reject applications R-22-11 and PR-22-02.

Sincerely,

Heather Schroeder

President

University Neighborhood Preservation Association

Michael Stanton

President

Southeast University Neighborhood Association

Galyn Murphy-Stanley

& Samuel Gruber

Co-Presidents

Westcott Neighborhood Association

University Neighborhood Preservation Association | 315-476-5228 | director@unpa.net | www.unpa.net