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In Syracuse, zoning ordinances are the only documents which actively define the concept of family. But because the city has not been rezoned since 1967, Syracuse City Common Councilors Jimmy Monto and Patrick Hogan want to pass a new ordinance with new and changed definitions to ensure they’re inclusive.

“I don’t think these definitions reflect the way things are in a 21st century America,” Hogan said.

Syracuse’s next rezoning is under way through an Onondaga County Planning Agency and Common Council project named ReZone Syracuse. According to a 2020 report by the Center for American Progress, language in laws nationwide does not accurately reflect what families can look like in America today.

The ReZone Syracuse project aims to implement of the Syracuse Land Use & Development Plan 2040, which was created in 2012. The plan has five goals based on preserving and enhancing land use patterns through sustainable practices and using high-quality urban planning design throughout the city.

Although a zoning ordinance was issued in December 2019 that defined family in three different ways, there hasn’t been an actual rezoning.

One of the current family definitions, according to Syracuse zoning documents, defines individuals related by blood, marriage or adoption, and another qualifies a family as headed by one or more people responsible for providing care for a “reasonable” number of individuals. Both definitions require that the individuals comprising a “family” share a kitchen and live in a “family-like arrangement.”

A final definition qualifies a group of no more than five unrelated adults who occupy a premises and live together as a single housekeeping unit. The issue with defining family is the vagueness of the term, Hogan said.

“I also worry about codifying (into) law anything that might be construed as the city making decisions on what a family unit is,” Hogan added. “It doesn’t even make sense.”

Despite an unclear definition, Monto still said he thinks there should be a number limit on family units included in the language of the upcoming ordinance because having no outline creates a lack of consistency.

“The details are not the problem. The problem is that the language definition of a family feels to me like we are overstepping,” Monto said. “We’re saying something that we don’t need to say.”

Monto also said that if the family definition doesn’t have a number attached it could result in unsafe housing practices. Still, both councilors said the language cannot be amended until ReZone Syracuse goes through the final approval process.

Following the approval of the ReZone Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement describing possible environmental impacts and solutions regarding the proposed zone changes and solutions, Monto said the next steps for rezoning the city will be to pass a new ordinance.

A series of committee meetings, public meetings and a public comment period will involve diving into problems – such as the language – people have with the older ordinance, Monto said.

“Some people may think it’s semantics — I don’t personally think it’s semantics,” Monto said. “I need to change that term.”

Published on December 1, 2022 at 1:01 am