We, the undersigned, are asking the City of Ithaca Board of Zoning Appeals to deny two of the requests for zoning variances for the proposed building development at 210 Hancock Street. The first of the requests is to exceed the allowed building height requirement and the second is to provide less parking than required by the current zoning law.

The proposed construction needs a height variance because it exceeds zoning standards - four stories with parking on the ground floor. This building is out of scale with the neighborhood and creates an almost solid wall along a full block facing First Street.

The proposed parking variance would provide only 76% of the required parking - there are too many units with too little parking. The project claims to provide 64 on-site parking spaces. The city code requires 84. The result will be constant overflow to the surrounding neighborhoods. The proposal notes “on-street parking is readily available” for peak times. New residents will need to park in front of your house.

The proposal includes 12 townhouses along the creek with green space on all sides, and a high-rise building complex with 54 apartments and two retail spaces. The high-rise apartments will have very little green space, certainly no place for a barbecue, a picnic or even a few lawn chairs. A tiny token park is proposed. Is this an environment conducive to families? There is no safe place for children to play. This project is three times as dense as the surrounding blocks.

There currently is a push in Ithaca for higher density to provide more housing for our citizens. The extreme high density development proposed in this project is not suited to the scale of the Northside/Fall Creek neighborhoods and would be detrimental to the quality of life of all residents. We are already balanced mixed-use neighborhoods with one-family homes, many small businesses, and a scattering of apartment complexes. This is why Ithaca is desirable. This is why we live here.

In addition to signing this petition, to make your views known, you can attend two meetings: the Planning Board on Tuesday, June 23 at 6pm in the third floor of CIty Hall, Council Chambers; and the Board of Zoning Appeals on July 7 at 7pm, also in the Council Chambers, third floor, 108 E. Green Street.

You can speak for three minutes at either meeting, but you have to come early to sign up to speak.  You can send messages to the board by writing to JoAnn Cornish, Director, Planning and Development at CIty Hall, 108 E. Green St.  <jcornish@cityofithaca.org> or James Pyott at cpyott@cityofithaca.org.