Syracuse Planning Commission Meeting - June 29, 2026
Syracuse Planning Commission Meeting - June 29, 2026\n\nThe Syracuse Planning Commission met on June 29, 2026, to consider several land use applications, including street abandonment, major site plan reviews, a planned development district amendment, and a three-mile limit subdivision. The meeting began with approval of the June 8, 2026, meeting minutes and included public comments on two items. The commission issued negative SEQR declarations and approved all action items with conditions.\n\n### Consent Calendar\n- Minutes of June 8, 2026: Approved unanimously.\n\n### Public Comments & Testimony\n- Street Abandonment SA-2026-01 (West Florence Ave): Carl Belcher, owner of 3316 Midland Avenue, spoke in favor, stating his family already maintains the land and the abandonment would codify existing use and add the property to the city's tax roll. No opposition speakers.\n- Major Site Plan Review MASPR-2026-33 (115 South Gettys Street – parking lot for public safety facility):\n - Rick Destito, owner of the Gear Factory and board member of Friends of Light Art Park, expressed concern that the project was presented as a temporary, potentially shared-use lot but now features a 8-foot security fence and electronic gate. He requested removal of fencing on the south and east sides to allow public use during certain times. He emphasized hundreds of volunteer hours invested in the site (formerly a pump track) and hoped for a collaborative outcome.\n - Steve Stellef, representing Nick Realty at 20 South Gettys Street, raised concerns about the driveway access location near the intersection of Fayette and Gettys Streets, citing hazards from fire hydrants, traffic signals, and pedestrian safety. The applicant clarified the driveway is approximately 300 feet from the intersection.\n\n### Discussion Items\n- Major Site Plan Review MASPR-2026-33 (115 South Gettys Street): Project engineer Brian Bouchard (CHA Consulting) presented a 72-space secure parking lot for police and fire department personnel, to be built on city-owned Light Art Park land and leased railroad property. The lot includes stormwater management, snow storage, bike parking, secure fencing, and a temporary pedestrian bridge over an old railroad bridge. Security fencing was discussed; applicant noted a 6-foot fence may suffice. The commission considered but did not modify the design.\n- Major Site Plan Review MASPR-2026-18 (119 Simon Drive): Vincent Ryan (Captain Jerry Freeman Associates) presented an 8,000-square-foot building with two drive-throughs: one for a cannabis dispensary (hours 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., ID verification required, no orders at window) and one for an undisclosed tenant. Four employees planned. Questions addressed bike parking (nine spaces, shown on site plan), ADA sidewalk from store to Simon Drive (discussed but not required by DPW for private parcel), and tenant change procedure (land use approved, but new tenant needs business certificate of use).\n- Planned Development District Amendment Presentation (1405 East Genesee Street): Brian Bouchard presented a proposal to amend an existing PDD to allow a mixed-use building on a corner lot (Pine and Genesee). The site (three parcels, just over 1 acre) currently has a vacant former pharmacy. The proposed building would have 246 dwelling units (primarily studios and one-bedrooms, with some two- and three-bedrooms), ground-floor retail (minimum 1,500 sq ft), basement parking, and step-back design (appearing 5 stories from Genesee Street, 6 from the north). The PDD amendment is needed because the site does not comply with adjacent MX2 zoning due to lot size. Applicant also discussed historical significance (Reverend Germain Logan, Underground Railroad) and will coordinate with preservation staff regarding archaeological study. No action taken; formal public hearing to follow.\n- Three-Mile Limit Subdivision Review (5839 Bowman Road, Town of Manlius): Approved as presented (3S-2026-10).\n\n### Key Outcomes\n- Street Abandonment SA-2026-01: Motion to approve with affirmative recommendation to Common Council carried unanimously.\n- Major Site Plan Review MASPR-2026-33: Approved with three conditions: (1) comply with general site plan conditions, (2) snow storage on-site and not encroaching on public right-of-way or adjacent properties, (3) obtain access agreement between 115 South Gettys Street and 900 West Fayette Street for vehicle access. (Vote: unanimous). Negative SEQR declaration issued.\n- Major Site Plan Review MASPR-2026-18: Approved with six conditions: (1) comply with general conditions, (2) ensure easements for sewer access, (3) snow storage on-site, (4) any ground-floor tenant must obtain appropriate approvals, (5) hours of operation 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., (6) maintain active certificate of use for cannabis dispensary. (Vote: unanimous). Negative SEQR declaration issued.\n- Resubdivision for 303/307 Emerson: Not heard; applicant absent. Will be placed on a future agenda.\n- Meeting adjourned until the third week of July.\n\nNote: All votes were unanimous unless otherwise indicated.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening, everyone. And welcome to this meeting of the Syracuse Planning Commission. Begin with our public hearings momentarily. But before we do that, I just want to double check for any last minute adjustments to the agenda in case someone's here for something that isn't going to go forward for this evening. So Jake, can you just give us a quick update? Anything that is changed in terms of our agenda. Anybody here for that this evening, we apologize, but we expect to have that on our later agenda. So if we can maybe um come back to that, hopefully they'll show up here in the next few minutes. Sure. All right, thanks for that update on the agenda. And and for the first item, when it does reappear uh per request of the applicant, the regular notification process will be followed, right, with the postcards and so forth. That's correct. Uh so there will be notification on that one. So uh first of all, our first item of business uh would be action on the minutes of our meeting on June 8th earlier this month. Those minutes have been distributed in advance to the commission members. Uh and it would be appropriate at this time for action on those minutes. Is there such a motion? Move to approve the minutes. Thank you. Second. Thank you. Discussion on the motion before us for the minutes of the June 8th meeting. If not, all in favor of that motion, please indicate by saying aye. Aye. Those opposed, please say nay. Any abstentions? Our minutes are approved. And as we begin the public hearings for this evening, just a word of uh process for those who might be unfamiliar with this procedure. As each application is announced, we ask that the applicant or the representative come to the podium in the front of the room here, provide their name and address for the record, and then a brief summary of the application involved. Following questions from the commission members, uh, we will invite uh members of the public who wish to speak in favor of the application to do that, and then likewise an opportunity for those who wish to speak in opposition to the application to do that as well. Where comments are offered in opposition, we will encourage the applicant to return to address the comments made in opposition, and we ask that all speakers, either for or against, uh, hold their comments uh to about three minutes so that everyone has an opportunity to weigh in. So, with that, we will skip over the uh second item on the agenda, the resubdivision, in the hopes that the applicant will be here later on in the course of the meeting, and we'll move to the next application after that. First up is a street abandonment uh project, SA-2026-01 uh on West Florence Ave, owned by the City of Syracuse. Um before we uh turn this over to I believe Michael from Assessment, um a street action is a review by this body um with a recommendation to council like any other street action. Um this will be reviewed in the form of a major site plan review for the mechanism to come before this body and then be uh referred to council with your recommendation. So uh common council has final uh decision as the governing body for this but with that it's also labeled as major site plan review 2026-30 great thank you thank you, good evening. Uh Michael Lehman, Deputy Commissioner of Assessment, City of Syracuse, uh applicants 233 East Washington Street, Syracuse, New York. Um, as Deputy Commissioner DeShaw just described, uh, we're petitioning for an abandonment of a portion of West Florence Avenue, um, where it's adjacent to Midland Avenue, immediately south of the residential property at 3316 Midlands. Um, the purpose of the abandonment would be to uh sell the property to the owner of 3316 Midland Avenue. Um briefly as an extension of their property to be used for residential recreational purposes. Are there any questions? Please just say and this won't affect this won't affect the walkway over to the school and the little league fields, correct? It will not, yes. Um the way it will work if you see the the walkway there as indicated. Um there's a buffer of approximately six feet to the south. Uh there'll be the same buffer remaining after there was subdivision and potential disposition. So it isn't um making it any shorter than it is on the other side. Okay, thank you. Yeah, and just to clarify for people who are listening, there's there's no filet requirement until the resub is actually completed with the property owner that wants to proportion by that portion of the uh property. Is that correct?
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