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Valuing street trees in street and sidewalk maintenance - By Alex Lawson City Hall is wrapping up its annual project of clear cutting blocks of street trees to the detriment of all our quality of life. This unfortunate outcome is entirely avoidable, but City Hall does not avoid it because they do not value mature street trees when it matters most: during street and … Continue reading Valuing street trees in street and sidewalk maintenance 
The Post-Standard Editorial Board’s democracy problem - By Zach Zeliff by Alex Lawson When the Post-Standard’s Editorial Board declined to endorse either Mo Brown or Shawn Fiato in the race for the 129th Assembly District, they revealed how little they actually care about voters. The problem wasn’t the non-endorsement itself. That’s fine, they don’t have to endorse anyone, and while we disagree … Continue reading The Post-Standard Editorial Board’s democracy problem 
Don’t require special use permits for housing - By Zach Zeliff One small but important tweak Syracuse can make to its zoning ordinance is to get rid of special permits for housing. Our previous post touched on the issues with special use permits in relation to Syracuse’s new class-based residential zoning, but really, housing should never need a special use permit. Special permits … Continue reading Don’t require special use permits for housing 
Class-based zoning for 1- and 2-unit houses - By Alex Lawson The City of Syracuse’s decision to discriminate between tenants and homeowners in its zoning code has created an extremely strange problem: physically identical residential buildings maybe be considered different uses—and therefore be subject to different zoning regulations—according to the history of their ownership and renovation, and depending on the economic class of … Continue reading Class-based zoning for 1- and 2-unit houses 
Discriminating between renters and homeowners in zoning - By Alex Lawson When isn’t a house a home? When it’s occupied by renters, according to the City of Syracuse’s zoning code. In every other municipality in New York State, the single-unit houses, duplexes, townhouses, apartments, and condos where people live are considered to be ‘residential’ uses for the purposes of zoning regardless of when … Continue reading Discriminating between renters and homeowners in zoning
