Zoning Board of Appeals
The Zoning Board of Appeals is a panel of appointed residents that decides when a property owner can get an exception to the city’s zoning rules. That usually means a variance or a special use permit. The board also hears appeals from people who disagree with a ruling by the city's code enforcement office. It meets on the first Wednesday of each month at City Hall when there's an application to consider, and it can vote to approve or deny each request.
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Short on time? These are the three Zoning Board of Appeals threads that you need to know about in Rome Right Now.
Rome's big vacant buildings are coming back to life, and the board is saying yes to the major ones.
The two most consequential decisions of the year were both approvals of long-empty landmark buildings. In May, the board cleared the former Rome Catholic School on Cypress Street to reopen as a public pre-K, leased to the Rome City School District. In June, it approved converting the former Rome Cable office building on South Jay Street into roughly 40 apartments with ground floor commercial space. This is an estimated $8 million, state backed housing project, and the largest item the board took up all year.
Development is again the headline. Along with two hotels (Home2 Suites and Woodspring Suites) being built on the base, it is clear that development in Rome is ongoing. The decisions made now will leave a lasting impact on Rome for decades to come, so make sure to be engaged with the process in the coming months and years.
The Board Approves A New Warehouse, But Draws The Line At A Gravel Driveway.
The board took up two requests from the same local contractor on South Doxtator Avenue, a short dead-end street that runs toward the canal, and answered them differently. First, it approved a use variance letting him build a small warehouse the code doesn't normally allow in that commercial zone. However, his second request to leave the new driveway as gravel instead of paving it, split the board 3-2.
City rules require a hard, all-weather surface like asphalt or concrete, and several members said they'd held other applicants to that standard and didn't want to set a precedent. Going forward, watch to see if the board maintains this position or if it evolves with future development.
Two New Hotels Win Approval To Build Higher Than The Rules Allow At Griffiss Park.
At its July 1 meeting, the board approved two height variances that let Rochester-based developer Indus Hospitality Group build a pair of four-story hotels (a Home2 Suites and a Woodspring Suites) on the Griffiss Business and Technology Park, near the roundabout where Hill, Geiger, and Ellsworth roads meet. That part of the park is capped at three stories and 35 feet, so each hotel needed permission to go taller. Both were approved 5-0.
The two hotels, roughly 90 and 100 rooms, are part of a larger project that also includes a small commercial building with room for a restaurant. The city's Planning Board had already signed off on the site plan back in May, on the condition that these variances were granted, so the board's vote clears the last major hurdle, adding to the steady wave of development at the former Air Force base.
