Syracuse University is pursuing an expansion of its Planned Institutional District for a number of properties it owns around Syracuse in response to a large-scale city rezoning plan.

The city’s “ReZone Syracuse” project aims to update Syracuse’s zoning ordinance to better accommodate “smart growth,” transit and neighborhood development.

SU’s rezoning would take properties currently zoned as residential, industrial or commercial properties and place them under a uniform Planned Institutional District.

The university plans to rezone lands close to the SU’s Main Campus and near Skytop on South Campus, including addresses along University Avenue, Harrison Street and East Colvin Street.

“As part of SU’s review of our zoning districts amidst the City’s ‘ReZone Syracuse’ zoning update process, it became apparent to us that PID zoning is more appropriate in these particular locations; thus, the proposed rezonings,” Assistant Director for Campus Planning Jennifer Bybee said in a statement.

SU has no building or redevelopment plans for the locations it’s rezoning, Bybee said. Petition filings to the city’s Planning Commission confirmed that SU has no plans for those locations, as of Tuesday.

SU will also pursue new zoning classifications for undeveloped land near South Campus, including in wooded areas close to East Colvin Street.

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Syracuse’s zoning department defines a Planned Institutional District as a zone that encourages “the orderly, cooperative and flexible development and expansion of institutional land uses.” It can be used to ensure compatibility and functionality for buildings throughout the district, as well as to help traffic flow through the space.

Planned Institutional Districts can be used by schools, hospitals and clinics, religious institutions, charitable organizations, daycares and fraternities and sororities, according to the current zoning ordinance.

Bybee said city zoning officials support SU’s rezoning efforts, and that they have worked with university representatives to determine best practices for rezoning.

Officials from the city’s Department of Zoning could not be reached for comment on this article.

The rezoning would also create additional sub-districts within SU’s Planned Institutional District. Those new sub-districts would encompass the Steam Station, near Interstate 81, South Campus and the Ainsley Campus, Bybee said. The University Physical Plant, University Commissary, Campus Planning, Design and Construction and other accessory uses are at the Ainsley Campus, located near East Colvin Street.

City planning commissioners approved two of SU’s zoning petitions related to its Planned Institutional District at a meeting Tuesday night. The petitions called for the rezoning of properties on University Avenue.

Ten other petitions were introduced at the meeting by SU, but they could not be voted on because they also need to be approved by the Onondaga County Planning Board. The two approved SU petitions were able to be voted on because the area noted in the petitions is located at least 500 feet away from county- or state-owned properties.

Syracuse residents at the Planning Commission meeting expressed concerns about some of SU’s petitions. They said they were worried about additional roads being built near South Campus and about what SU would do with the land if the rezoning was approved.

Gloria Sage, a founding board member of the Outer Comstock Neighborhood Association, said she’s worried about development on a parcel of land off of East Colvin Street near South Campus that’s currently in residential zoning.

“I don’t trust anything that SU would do with this lot,” Sage said.

Published on February 19, 2019 at 11:38 pm

Contact Kennedy: krose100@syr.edu | @KennedyRose001