November 11, 2010

Library construction, zoning discussion

The Ithaca Journal had a nice piece on the expansion of the Southworth Library, and posted a photo gallery of the current state of things.

There's also an article on last night's zoning conversation. It starts by focusing in on the sound regulation that came up at the end of the meeting, which is meant to target continuous or regular noise, like compressors used in natural gas extraction. It also looks at the broader conversation, pointing to discussion of the Commercial zone and the addition of a Neighborhood Residential zone.

When they post the latest draft, I'll update my comparison charts, but in general the Neighborhood Residential is more restrictive residence-only zoning for established neighborhoods, while Rural Residential becomes a more flexible zone. I'm very very pleased to see that change.

The other feature of last night's meeting that's worth pointing out is that attendance continues to climb. The September meeting had just me and a reporter from the Journal in the audience. October had six or seven, while last night had twelve to fifteen (depending on whether you count Participation in Government students visiting). There was also much freer conversation last night, and not just about definitions and details. The appeal and amendment processes got some discussion as well as the missions of zones described above.

The next zoning discussion will be at the Town Board's December 8th meeting.

(If you're here looking for information on Dryden zoning because of the mention of this site in the Journal, the best place to start is the planning and zoning archive.)

There was also a one-car rollover on Route 13 between Lower Creek and 366. The driver was hospitalized.

Posted by simon at November 11, 2010 9:12 PM in , ,
Note on photos