The Binghamton City Council is considering revamping its zoning rules to make it easier for new housing to be built in the city.
The zoning reform would loosen requirements for developers who want to build housing. In some city zone districts, the changes would allow developers to build closer to the street and allow more housing units to be built on one lot.
Developers also would not be required to build parking for each unit of housing they create. Under the proposed rules, the city’s planning commission could waive up to 75% of parking requirements for housing projects. For senior or low-income housing, developers wouldn’t be required to build any parking.
The zoning reform legislation also would loosen some requirements for multi-unit residential buildings, townhouses, accessory dwelling-units, and condos.
Binghamton Mayor Jared Kraham said the zoning changes would let developers build more dense, affordable housing, faster. When he introduced the new legislation over the summer, Kraham, a Republican, said that would help address a significant shortage in housing.
“We're going to make it easier for people to build housing in Binghamton. We're going to make it cheaper for people to build housing in Binghamton,” Kraham said. “And we're going to make the approval processes, which are already very fast in comparison to other cities in upstate New York, we're going to make it even faster.”
Several residents and members of the city’s Commission for Conservation of the Environment spoke in opposition to the zoning changes during the city council’s last business meeting.
“Senior citizens and low-income residents are targeted to bear the burden of parking-reduction goals,” said Richard Jannaccio, a member of the commission. “The proposed changes do not show that any consideration was given to walkability or access to public transportation.”
Democratic Councilman Nate Hotchkiss said he understands that some residents may be concerned about changes to parking requirements. But he said developers will likely choose to continue building some parking, even with the changes.
“They ultimately want it to be marketable and well-suited to the needs of whoever is going to be living there,” Hotchkiss said. “However, if you're catering to seniors, and let's say 60% or 80% of them don't drive and they get rides from people, or they do take public transit, there's not a reason to have a huge parking lot that is never utilized.”
Cities across the country have implemented similar changes to zoning rules, waiving parking requirements and loosening decades-old restrictions that critics say exacerbate housing shortages and prevent growth.
Proponents of zoning reform say in cities that have eliminated their parking requirements and loosened restrictions on building multi-unit housing, rents have stabilized. Advocates for the reform also say with less reliance on parking, some neighborhoods have become denser and more walkable.
The Binghamton City Council is set to vote on the zoning reforms Wednesday during its business meeting.