When we last spoke, it was Halloween, and we were on the eve of our first zoning board of appeals and preservation board hearings. It’s now March and we’ve been to two hearings for each board, and spoiler alert, we’ve received approval(s) from each. Yay! But now that we’re here, let’s take a look at the process and all the fun we had…
Posts Tagged ‘zoning’...
Filling In: 37 Eagle Street Part 4
Tuesday, March 29th, 2016Tags: 37 Eagle Street, City of Rochester, Corn Hill, Filling In, government, infill development, Matt Denker, Matthew Denker, preservation code, preservation district, Rochester Preservation Board, zoning, Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA), zoning code
Posted in Architecture, Urban Development | 2 Comments »
Filling In: Zoning Part 5, What Next?
Sunday, February 28th, 2016
And now for the final chapter of our little zoning adventure. This is the part where you, the gentle reader, are given the opportunity to read a final few hundred words about the kinds of zoning changes that would really make a difference in Rochester. If that sounds terrible (it might be), don’t click on.
Tags: City of Rochester, Filling In, form-based code, Matt Denker, Matthew Denker, Rochester, Rochester NY, zoning, zoning code
Posted in Architecture, Urban Development | 4 Comments »
Filling In: Zoning Part 4, All the Other Zones
Thursday, November 5th, 2015
Well, it had to come to this – a whirlwind article about everything else in Rochester. We’re going to run the gamut from Industrial, to all the Center City District (CCD) zones to Open Space, and everything inbetween. Buckle Up…
Tags: City of Rochester, Filling In, Matt Denker, Matthew Denker, Rochester, Rochester NY, zoning, zoning code
Posted in Architecture, Urban Development | 5 Comments »
Filling In: Zoning Part 3, Commercial
Wednesday, October 7th, 2015![The Flatiron Building - The highest of the highs in C-1. [IMAGE: Mike (M J M), Flickr.com]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/flatiron-building-night-01.jpg)
Goodbye houses, hello something more! Having already discussed the city’s 3 residential zones, it’s time to talk about its 3 mixed-use zones. In one of the many progressive moves in the 2003 re-zoning, Rochester moved away from pure commercial use zones by adding mixed use and residential uses to the (formerly) commercial zones. The narrative descriptions changed, but the letter designations did not. Anyway, ditch the bowtie, grab a monocle and let’s go…
Tags: development, Filling In, Matthew Denker, Rochester, Rochester NY, urban development, urban planning, zoning, zoning code
Posted in Architecture, Urban Development | 4 Comments »
Filling In: Zoning Part 2, Residential
Tuesday, September 22nd, 2015![34 Atkinson Street - An utterly illegal house to build today. [IMAGE: Google]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/denker/zoning/34_Atkinson_St.jpg)
Hope your heart is still racing from our introduction to Zoning last week, because this week we’re talking about residential zoning in Rochester!
Contrary to common knowledge, residential zoning isn’t exclusively for residences (nor is commercial zoning exclusively for commercial – it’s a good place to build apartments, in fact). That said, Rochester has 3 specific residential zones that we’re discussing here. Grab your bow tie and let’s go…
Tags: City of Rochester, Filling In, Matt Denker, Matthew Denker, Rochester, Rochester NY, zoning, zoning code
Posted in Architecture, Urban Development | 34 Comments »
Filling In: Zoning Part 1, Introduction
Thursday, September 10th, 2015![Current Rochester Zoning Map [IMAGE: City of Rochester]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/denker/zoning/Rochester_Zoning_Map.jpg)
Well readers, this is it. The series of articles you’ve been waiting for your entire life without even knowing it. That’s right, we’re going to talk about zoning, and more specifically, zoning in Rochester. I’ve been known to refer to zoning as the last bastion for the wicked, and over the next few weeks, I look forward to pleading my case.
Tags: City of Rochester, Edward Bassett, Filling In, form-based code, Matt Denker, Matthew Denker, New York City, Rochester, Rochester NY, Village of Euclid (Ohio) v. Ambler Realty Co., West Palm Beach FL, zoning, zoning code
Posted in Architecture, Urban Development | 18 Comments »
Double Jeopardy for Historic Rochester Church
Monday, July 14th, 2014![The Zoning Board will decide AGAIN whether or not to allow the former Westminster Presbyterian Church at 660 West Main Street to be demolished. [PHOTO: RochesterSubway.com]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-westminster-church-660-west-main-01.jpg)
“Double Jeopardy” wasn’t invented by Alex Trebek. It’s actually a procedural defense in our system of justice that forbids a defendant from being tried more than once for the same (or similar) charges. Unfortunately this rule doesn’t seem to apply with historic preservation in Rochester. Because the very same owner of this historic church at 660 West Main Street 
will, for a second time, ask the Zoning Board for permission to demolish the structure to make way for a discount store.
Dawn Noto is president of the Susan B. Anthony Neighborhood Association. She was concerned about the demolition plans in March of 2013 when the Zoning Board blocked them the first time. This time Dawn says the conditions are no different and the City should be working with the owner on a plan to rehab the church building instead of entertaining his plan for a second time…
Tags: 660 W. Main Street, Dawn Noto, demolition, Designated Building of Historic Value, development, development plans, Marvin Maye, Rochester, Rochester NY, Susan B. Anthony Neighborhood, urban design, Westminster Presbyterian Church, zoning, Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA), zoning code
Posted in Rochester History, Rochester News, Urban Development | 31 Comments »
Honeoye Falls Community Will Appeal Drive-Thru Zoning Change
Monday, March 24th, 2014
The Honeoye Falls Community Association says they have filed an Article 78 Petition to invalidate the February 17th code change allowing drive-through restaurants in the General Commercial District.
A similar petition was submitted in November 2013 to invalidate an identical code change passed in October 2013. In response to the first petition, the Board of Trustees rescinded the code change in December 2013. The Board then passed the code change again on February 17th, 2014…
Tags: chain restaurant, city planning, drive-through, drive-thru, Dunkin Donuts, Honeoye Falls, zoning, zoning code
Posted in Rochester News, Urban Development | No Comments »
Dear Honeoye Falls… Drive-thru’s Are Unnecessary and Costly
Thursday, October 3rd, 2013
The following is a guest post submitted by Rob Maurer.
Submit your story today.
Within a 30 minute drive of downtown Rochester, beyond the suburban development surrounding the city, is the Village of Honeoye Falls. Honeoye Falls is not a typical crossroads village though. Like Rochester, it was settled due to the location of the waterfalls to provide power to mills in the early 1800s. Unlike Rochester though, it never grew large enough to lose the majority of its Main Street to large suburban plazas, malls, and ‘big boxes’.
Dunkin’ Donuts is interested in constructing a new location with a drive-thru, in a section of the village which currently has a small concentration of commercial development, but the village code currently disallows drive-thru restaurants. The Mayor and some members of the Village Board are supporting a proposal to change the code to allow Dunkin’ Donuts to build a drive-thru even though the village is in the midst of updating the Comprehensive Plan. Convenience and an additional source of revenue for the village government may come at a high cost though if a drive-thru is allowed…
Tags: chain restaurant, city planning, drive-through, drive-thru, Dunkin Donuts, Honeoye Falls, Rob Maurer, zoning, zoning code
Posted in Opinion, Reader Submitted Stories, Rochester Destinations, Rochester News, Urban Development | 21 Comments »
Judgement Day for an Old Church, and an Unbuilt “College Town”
Sunday, March 17th, 2013
Two important cases will go before the Zoning Board this Thursday: the ongoing saga of one historic church on Main Street, and design concerns regarding the future College Town. Salvation for the church, as well as the promise of a pedestrian-friendly College Town, may hang in the balance.
First, if you’ve been following the story of the little white church at 660 W. Main Street, owner Marvin Maye will make one more appeal to challenge the building’s status as a Designated Building of Historic Value. If he succeeds, he could have a clear path forward to demolish the 140-something-year-old church.* And in its place would go a Dollar General store…
Tags: 660 W. Main Street, Celebration Drive, College Town, Collegetown, demolition, design standards, Designated Building of Historic Value, development, development plans, Elmwood Ave, Marvin Maye, Mount Hope, Rochester, Rochester NY, Stacie Colaprete, street design, Susan B. Anthony Neighborhood, University of Rochester, UofR, urban design, Westminster Presbyterian Church, zoning, Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA), zoning code
Posted in Opinion, Rochester News, Urban Development | 34 Comments »
Susan B. Anthony Asks for Your Help to Save Church
Thursday, November 1st, 2012
About a month ago, someone set up a petition in opposition to a plan to demolish 660 West Main Street (formerly Westminster Presbyterian Church) and to prevent the building of a Dollar General in its place. The owner of the petition is using “Susan B. Anthony” as an alias. And this week “Susan B. Anthony” sent me a plea for help via email…
Tags: 660 W. Main Street, church, City of Rochester, Dawn Noto, demolition, Designated Building of Historic Value, Dollar General, Main Street, Marvin Maye, petition, Rochester, Rochester NY, Susan B. Anthony Neighborhood, Westminster Presbyterian Church, zoning
Posted in Events, Rochester News, Urban Development | 15 Comments »
Battle Over Main Street Church Heating Up
Saturday, September 15th, 2012
RochesterSubway.com has learned that Marvin Maye, owner of 660 W. Main Street, is making a renewed push to demolish the historic church. And one local theatre group has expressed interest in saving the building…
Tags: 660 W. Main Street, Bread & Water Theatre, church, City of Rochester, Dawn Noto, demolition, Designated Building of Historic Value, Dollar General, J.R. Teeter, Main Street, Marvin Maye, New York State Historic Preservation Office, Rochester, Rochester NY, Susan B. Anthony Neighborhood, Westminster Presbyterian Church, zoning
Posted in Rochester News, Urban Development | 2 Comments »
Mayor Richards Launches a Full Scale Assault on Preservation
Monday, July 30th, 2012
It had been assumed among some preservationists that Mayor Thomas Richards was directly responsible for pressuring the Zoning Board and Planning Commission prior to their respective votes to allow the demolition of the historic Cataract Brewhouse. That was the unofficial word coming from people inside City Hall, and it’s no secret that big business executive types like to stick together. Now, after the dust from that battle over preservation has finally settled, and the rubble has been cleared away, the Mayor is affirming those assumptions and declaring all out war on preservation.
Tags: Cataract Brewery, city council, demolition, Marcia Barry, Mayor Thomas Richards, preservation, zoning
Posted in Rochester News | 10 Comments »
Susan B. Anthony Neighbors Unite to Save Old Main Street Church
Wednesday, July 18th, 2012
Dawn Noto, President of the Susan B. Anthony Neighborhood Association says this section of the city is in the early stages of a renaissance. But the turn around of West Main and the Susan B. Anthony neighborhood isn’t happening by accident. Years of planning, community involvement, public and private investment, and careful preservation of valuable historic assets have been key factors. Noto knows this progress is fragile. That with one short sighted development decision, years of work could begin to unravel.
Tags: 660 W. Main Street, Bret Garwood, Caitlin Meives, City of Rochester, Dawn Noto, demolition, Dollar General, Landmark Society of Western New York, Main Street, Marvin Maye, Rochester, Rochester NY, Susan B. Anthony Neighborhood, Westminster Presbyterian Church, zoning
Posted in Rochester News, Urban Development | 6 Comments »
Preservation v. Progress: Rematch on Main Street
Monday, June 25th, 2012
The church shown above sits vacant at 660 W. Main Street . It’s on the City’s list of historic buildings and potentially eligible for the National or State Register of Historic Places. Unfortunately the building’s owner is itching to demolish it… to clear the way for a new Dollar General store…
Tags: 660 W. Main Street, City of Rochester, demolition, Dollar General, Main Street, Rochester, Rochester NY, Susan B. Anthony Neighborhood, Westminster Presbyterian Church, zoning
Posted in Rochester Images, Rochester News, Urban Development | 8 Comments »
Gas Stations Pose Urban Design Challenge
Saturday, May 16th, 2009
On Monday evening, June 8, 2009, the Rochester Regional Community Design Center 
I’ll talk more about those “urban design standards” and how you can help. But first, there’s a virus spreading across America…
Tags: architecture, Center City, city, city planning, design, design standards, downtown Rochester, Exxon Mobil, eyesore, fast food restaurant, franchise, gas station, infrastructure, Main Street, McDonald's, mixed-use, Monroe Avenue, Monroe County, multi-use construction, ordinance, Pittsford, Rochester Regional Community Design Center, Roger Brown, RRCDC, sidewalks, suburbs, sustainability, urban design, urban planning, urban renewal, Walmart, Webster, zoning
Posted in Rochester News, Urban Development | 2 Comments »
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