Last Thursday, the Collegetown Neighborhood Council met to discuss plans for the future development of Collegetown. The Council deliberations centered on the Collegetown Urban Plan & Design Guidelines, a report produced by consulting firm Goody Clancy to determine the best methods for future development of Collegetown.

Instead of accommodating the unbiased and thoughtful analysis of the Goody Clancy plan, the Ithaca City Council is proposing to reject Goody Clancy’s bold vision for a rejuvenated and developed Collegetown. Their myopia endangers the quality of housing and off-campus social life for future generations of Cornell students, and is a decision that we as students must fight against.

17 months ago, Ithaca placed an 18 month moratorium on construction in Collegetown. The purpose of the ban was to allow for a strategic study — the plan completed by Goody Clancy —to determine the best policy changes for construction and development in Collegetown. As the major stakeholders, Cornell and Ithaca jointly funded the study to the tune of $90,000 each. Students, Collegetown business owners, University representatives and community members all participated in the development of a plan that addresses the concerns of every stakeholder. Now, with the moratorium about to expire, the City of Ithaca is finally deciding on how it wants to deal with these policy issues.

Housing issues in Collegetown are something we struggle with continuously, from noise ordinance violations to poor living conditions to predatory and monopolistic landlords. Cornell is unable to provide housing for all undergraduates and nearly all graduate students live in off campus housing.

There’s been much discussion around the idea of “preserving communities.” Families and permanent residents in the Bryant park community, for example, (directly east of the central part of Collegetown) are worried about student housing expanding further into their communities.

We don’t blame them; they’re absolutely correct.

The size of Cornell classes is increasing as the University seeks to bridge its budget shortfall, so there will be many more students living in Collegetown in four years than live there today. Increased demand without new construction and development will force students further and further away from campus and increasingly living next door to families. Noise ordinance violations and student-resident tensions will only increase with the absence of change.

The pressure for more Collegetown housing needs to be appropriately relieved in a way that compliments the preservation of surrounding Ithaca communities and an increase in the quality of life for student residents in Collegetown. There is only one way to ensure these priorities: the promotion of density and development in the central Collegetown area.

The Goody Clancy plan recognizes these issues and seeks to address them head on. The plan proposes the creation of a “mixed use core” centered on the block between CTP and CTB. Specifically, the plan calls for the maximum zoned height of buildings in this area to be increased from 60 ft., the current height of buildings on the 400 block of College Ave., to 90 ft., though with numerous design caveats such as setbacks on higher floors to preserve a small town feeling for the core of Collegetown. From this student-centered core, Collegetown would radiate outward with heights becoming progressively more restrictive and blending gradually into residential housing. These proposals would keep students contained closer to campus and enable permanent residents and families to maintain the integrity of their neighborhoods on the periphery.

Development in the main areas of Collegetown is already hamstrung by oppressive regulations and restrictions leading to infrequent construction and renewal of old buildings. Yet, while the status quo is poor, the proposal of the Ithaca Common Council is even worse. Instead of accommodating the Goody Clancy plan and promoting development of Collegetown, the Common Council, concerned about the aesthetics of Collegetown under the plan, is calling for further restrictions of building heights at the intersection of Linden and Dryden from 40 ft. to 35 ft. and similar changes on the land between Dryden and Oak. Not content with merely impeding progress, the City Council decision will regress Collegetown in the future.

We are outraged that the plan, developed through the cooperation of all parties, has been unilaterally overturned by the Common Council. Alderman Svante Myrick ’09 is the sole student voice on the Common Council and although he spoke and voted against the proposed changes, his vote for our interests is in the minority against the votes of permanent residents. Even though over 95 percent of Collegetown residents are students, our concerns are being ignored. We must stand up together and make our voice heard. Collegetown is and will always be “South Campus” of Cornell, and the most urban center of the City of Ithaca. Goody Clancy and the majority of stakeholders involved recognize these facts and have made the right decision to support the further development of Collegetown. It’s about time our city government did the same.

The City’s perspective on Collegetown development is shortsighted. In seeking to preserve the Collegetown aesthetic, the Council will only accomplish stagnation. Instead of the modernization of Collegetown, old buildings will fall further behind. Join us, Alderman Myrick, and other students this Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. at the Ithaca Common Council meeting at 108 East Green Street to help us protect Collegetown for future generations of Cornell students.