Syracuse Planning Commission Meeting – January 12, 2026
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Syracuse Planning Commission Meeting – January 12, 2026
The Syracuse Planning Commission held its first meeting of the new year on January 12, 2026, at approximately 10:56 PM. The meeting began with approval of the minutes from December 15, 2025, followed by action on two subdivision applications: a resubdivision at 920–22 Willis Avenue in Essex and a three‑mile‑limit subdivision in the Town of Onondaga. Both applications were approved with specified conditions.
Consent Calendar
- No items were considered under a consent calendar.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No members of the public spoke in favor of or in opposition to either application.
Discussion Items
- Approval of Minutes (December 15, 2025)
Commission members discussed a previously imposed condition requiring an easement on a prior application. It was noted that the easement had arrived by mail the day after the December meeting, satisfying the condition. The minutes were approved unanimously. - R‑25‑62 – Resubdivision at 920‑22 Willis Avenue, Essex
Staff explained that the property has always contained two residential structures (built in the late 1890s, pre‑zoning). The owners, the Shire family (since the 1970s), wish to sell one structure, requiring division into two lots. The proposed subdivision map was adjusted for lot size, frontage, and setbacks in consultation with the city zoning office. Commission members noted non‑conformities that could not be eliminated due to continued residency and a comment from finance about unpaid taxes (January and April 2025). The chair clarified that the tax issue was not relevant to the subdivision. A question was raised about a bald‑eagle reference on the environmental assessment form; staff explained that the State EAF mapper automatically includes such references without specific site‑level data. No public comments were received. The commission issued a negative declaration under the State Environmental Quality Review Act and approved the resubdivision with three special conditions: (1) file the subdivision map in the Onondaga County Clerk’s Office within 62 days; (2) remove the two asphalt driveways shown on the map that create illegal front‑setback parking; (3) remove a fence encroaching on Essex Street from 922 Willis Avenue. - 3S‑25‑21 – Three‑Mile‑Limit Subdivision at 4885 Buxton Drive and 4822 Cedarel Road, Town of Onondaga
Land surveyor Glenn Mee Hall, representing owner Lennon Regina Montreal, presented the application. The city engineer’s office had already approved the subdivision. No questions were raised by commission members. The application was approved as presented without additional conditions.
Key Outcomes
- Minutes of December 15, 2025 – Approved unanimously.
- R‑25‑62 – Approved (motion carried by voice vote, no dissent) with three conditions related to map filing, driveway removal, and fence removal.
- 3S‑25‑21 – Approved (motion carried by voice vote, no dissent) as presented.
- Adjournment – The meeting adjourned shortly before 11:00 PM; the next meeting was scheduled for February 2, 2026.
Meeting Transcript
And welcome to this first meeting of the new year of the Syracuse Planning Commission. We have a very full agenda. And after we take care of our minutes, we'll get to both items. Minutes from the last meeting of 2025 have been distributed distributed in advance of tonight's meeting. That was our meeting on December 15th. Are there any corrections or revisions to those minutes? Otherwise, a motion to accept would be in order. Thank you. Shop city. So I'm not sure how we want to take care of noticing that in the record. If we want to make an adjustment in the minutes, or if we want to deal with it as old business tonight. So you guys told them to do an easement, or they were we approved it with a 30-day condition that the easement had to be completed within 30 days because it was the assumption that the usement was on its way, but the easements completed now. It arrived the next day in the mail. Okay. Yeah, it actually came in that evening. But we weren't aware of that until the next day, but it's shocking how we brought it up and then it got responsible. End of story. So it stands. Yes. Yeah. Okay. All right. Thank you. Any other discussion on the motion for the minutes. If not, all in favor, please indicate by saying aye. Aye. Those opposed, say nay. Any abstentions? The minutes of our last 2025 meeting are approved. We move into new business. By way of process, uh, for those who might be unfamiliar with our process, as each application is announced by a member of the staff. We ask that the applicant or the representative come forward to the podium in the center of the room, provide their name and address for the record, and then a brief summary of the application involved. Following questions from the commission members, um, we will offer an opportunity for the public to speak in favor of the application and likewise an opportunity to speak in opposition to the application. Where comments are offered in opposition, the uh applicant will be uh encouraged to return to the podium to address the comments made in opposition. So those are our uh rules of procedure, if you will. So with that, I think we're ready for our first item of new business. Yes, R-25-62, a resubdivision at 920-22 Willis Av in Essex. This is in the R1 zone district. As far as we know, and with research that the city zoning office has conducted, this property has always existed in its current configuration with two residential structures on the lot. They were built in the late 1890s prior to zoning regulations coming into effect. So Mr. Shire and his family have owned this since uh the 1970s, and now they wish to sell one of the residential structures, which is necessitating the need to divide it into two lots so that each structure sits on its own individual lot. We worked with the city zoning office with respect to lot size, frontage, and setbacks, which is why you see the irregular shape, as well as elements that were in the right of way. And all of that feedback was incorporated into the resubdivision map shown and prepared by land surveyors. Thank you. Are there questions from the commission members regarding the application? It seems pretty straightforward what we're trying to do here. We have some non-conformities that can't be gotten rid of, but because we have continued residency, that's not a problem. We have some other nonconformities that we are getting rid of. Driveway problem, the fence problem that seems all good.
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