Ithaca BZA approves variance for 228 Dryden Road, allowing five‑story classification and higher lot coverage

The Ithaca Board of Zoning Appeals on June 2 approved a variance for 228 Dryden Road that allows the site to be treated as a five‑story building under the city’s current measurement rules and permits the applicant to exceed the 50% maximum building coverage. The board voted 5–0 and staff will draft the written decision.

Megan Wilson, staff to the board, told members that the project had received a variance in 2022 but the approval expired after the developer did not move forward; after the original filing the Common Council revised the city’s zoning definition of building height to align with New York State code, a change that causes a previously exempt basement to now count as a story. “After the applicant applied for the variances in the fall of 2021, Common Council amended the zoning ordinance to align the definition of building height with the New York State code definition,” Wilson said, noting that the change makes the project now measured as five stories under both building code and zoning.

Bear Smith of Hull Architects, representing developer Visom, said the project’s physical design has not changed from the previously approved plans but that how the city now measures height creates the need for a fresh variance. He described slope and grade‑plane calculations that expose about 12 feet or more of basement wall at one point and explained how average‑grade calculations can trigger an additional story classification. Smith also told the board the applicant’s current site plan proposes roughly 58.8% lot coverage (building footprint plus balconies) compared with a 50% maximum in the College Town form district and that economics and steep topography shaped the design choices.

The board heard a written public comment from Pastor Jason Churchill of St. Luke Lutheran Church, which urged the board to deny the request and cautioned that repeated variances can bypass the public legislative process. Staff read the letter into the record and the board discussed the neighborhood concern: "When exceptions become commonplace, the integrity of those regulations is diminished," the letter stated.

During deliberations board members referenced the topography of the parcel and the fact that neighboring recent buildings along Dryden Road have similar non‑conforming conditions under the current measurement, a factor some members said justified a variance in this case. Members also noted the applicant’s project meets minimum green‑space requirements and that redesign to eliminate the basement level would likely reduce unit count and threaten the project’s economic feasibility. One member summarized the balancing test by saying the ask is substantial numerically but the impact on neighbors was not substantial given the local context.

The board’s motion grants two variances: an adjustment to lot coverage to allow the proposed footprint (the applicant cited 58.8% coverage in staff materials) and acceptance of the current five‑story classification for the structure under the city’s updated definition. The chair said staff will write up the decision and deliver it to the applicant.

What’s next: staff will draft the written decision reflecting the board’s findings, which the applicant said they will need to keep the project on schedule. The decision will include the board’s reasoning that topography and neighborhood context, combined with the code‑definition change, support the requested relief.

Speakers quoted: Megan Wilson (staff); Bear Smith (Hull Architects, applicant representative); Pastor Jason Churchill (St. Luke Lutheran Church).