Varna rezoning proposal spurs debate at Dryden Town Board meeting

Community members argued the pros and cons of the Varna rezoning proposal in a public hearing on the topic during the Dryden Town Board’s meeting on July 16. The rezoning proposal involves the amending of Articles III, IV, VII and XI of the Dryden Zoning Law by the Town Board, but the vote on the proposal was delayed until the town board’s Aug. 20 business meeting as a result of Tompkins County’s delayed filing of paperwork.

The rezoning proposal includes guidelines on building density and definitions of a variety of terms – for example, “condominium,” “green space,” “town house” and “story.” The proposal originated with the Dryden Planning Board, according to Dryden Town Supervisor Jason Leifer.

Twenty-six people signed onto the public Zoom meeting, though not all spoke to the rezoning proposal.

One of the goals of the rezoning proposal is limit the possible population increase for which the previous zoning plan allows, according to David Weinstein, member of the rezoning subcommittee and the Dryden Conservation Board. That zoning plan allowed for a 700% increase in Varna’s population, an increase that far overshot the goals of the Varna Plan, which was drafted in 2012.

The new proposal aims for around a 50% increase, according to Weinstein.

“The whole idea to dial back to make it more in line with the Varna plan,” Weinstein said.

Several members of the public pushed for the allowance of greater density of development of apartments and homes. Some of these calls for greater density were founded on an association between lower density zoning – in particular, single family homes – and neighborhoods less inviting to diverse renters and homeowners.

These claims alluded to the historical precedent of the systematic use of housing laws to bar members of certain groups – often black people – from a given neighborhood, under the guise of maintaining the character of a neighborhood.

“I’m finding it difficult to understand why people who call themselves progressives are advocating for this change in the Varna zoning law, which is calling for lower density, larger lot size and less development,” said Buzz Dolph, founder of Tiny Timber, a construction business. “Historically, zoning has been used to separate white, economically privileged people from people of color and the less advantaged classes.”

Dolph also cited the environmental benefits of high-density housing, the possibility that higher density development in Varna could help alleviate sprawl in other areas of Tompkins County as well as the higher development capabilities in Varna as a result of preexisting water and sewer systems, and easy access to public transportation.

Martha Robertson, Tompkins County legislator for the western portion of the town of Dryden, took a similar stance.

“There’s a real need to invite all kinds of people into Dryden,” Robertson said. “I hope we can embrace that. When we welcome folks, they want to stay and commit their lives and energies to the community.”

Dryden resident Charles Geisler was also concerned with the issue of housing accessibility.

“Not all high-density means bedroom communities full of students and strangers,” Geisler said. “For me, the litmus test for each of tonight’s amendments is this: do they enhance housing accessibility and affordability in Varna?”

Leifer, after the meeting, agreed with the concerns that lower density development can be exclusionary, adding that “density brings all kinds of people into the neighborhood.”

But, according to Leifer, the Planning Board had thought-out reasons to place a limit on the possible density of development in Varna: few developers are currently interested in developing in Varna, high-density zoning runs the risk of dissuading many developers from building in the area, and lower density zoning invites a wider range of developers.
After the discussion, Town Board member Jim Skaley was skeptical of the arguments for higher density because of the extant proposals from developers Trinitas and Mayfly.

“What’s going to happen, if this new zoning fails to be put in place, is that that leaves the situation for Trinitas development and Mayfly to proceed, and we end up with a hamlet that is one more than double in size population wise but is diminished in terms of diversity both in terms of a socioeconomic perspective and an income level perspective,” Skaley said.

According to Skaley, the rents in these proposed developments would be around $1,850 a month for a two-bedroom apartment, an unaffordable rent for many low income workers.

“These projects do not provide opportunity for the workforce,” Skaley said. “We very much want to see affordable housing put in the area, in such a way that would have a mix of income levels in the community because those are the kinds of things to provide for sustainability.”

Skaley added that town officials should try to be more forward looking in which developers they attract.

For Skaley, another concern of high-density developments is that more condensed development is unlikely to bring with it widespread amenities, such as restaurants and other small businesses.

According to Skaley, Varna is in need of an improvement scheme, such as the Varna Plan. In the 1950s, Varna was previously home to a wider array of businesses, community spaces and amenities, such as a restaurant, hotel, school and post office, Skaley said.

But, over the decades, these features of a healthy community have disappeared, according to Skaley. He added that the Varna Community Center has persisted in providing support for community discussion, voting and other forms of civic engagement.

“It’s taking considerable effort centered around the community center to begin to try to build programs that begin to bind the community back together,” Skaley said.

The community center supports several small catering businesses and an afterschool program for families in need and has remodeled the center to add a commercial kitchen and playground without expense to the town.

Skaley stressed that to evolve, these important community structures need the active and invested residents that the rezoning proposal seeks to draw into Varna.

In addition to making arrangements for building and community development in the area, the town has applied to two programs through the New York State Department of Transportation in order to receive funding for the redevelopment of Route 366. The funding aims to upgrade Route 366 into a “safe and accessible multi-modal corridor,” according to the text of the Varna Plan.

The application to the NY DOT also included a request to build sidewalks alongside the Varna section of the road, as part of the Town Board’s broader vision to turn Varna into an area more active with pedestrians and amenities, Skaley said.