Rezoning to regulate type of housing

Council gave its support to plans for a historical district.
By STEPHEN SIFF
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
CORTLAND -- Only single-family homes will be permitted on Anthony Circle and Laura Lane under a zoning change unanimously approved on first reading by city council.
The change, requested by 27 homeowners on the streets, must be approved at two additional council meetings before going into effect. Their proposal to rezone the streets from service, a designation that allows stores and gas stations, was endorsed by the city planning, zoning and building commission in May.
At the council meeting Monday, residents said they wanted the neighborhood's zoning designation to reflect its actual use. They also expressed concern that four undeveloped lots on the streets could be used for apartments.
"Once you start doing that, you have a large population of people in buildings and you don't know who is coming, who is going," said Carol Hoffman, who is rearing two children on Anthony Circle. "Our desire is our neighborhood remain stable and secure and aesthetically the same."
The owner of the undeveloped plots, WAE Corp., was not represented at the meeting and had not signed the residents' petition.
Other action
In other business, council approved a $186,760 contract with Butch and McCree Paving Inc. of Hillsville, Pa., for the city's 2004 paving projects.
Streets to be repaved under the contract this summer include Wakefield, Debra, Wendy, Deer Creek, Portal, Hillman, Natale and Lakeview.
Curbs are also to be replaced on Wakefield and from Lakeview to Argali.
Council also passed a resolution stating its intention to move ahead with the creation of a downtown historical district and to apply for certification through a National Parks Service program.
Certification would make it easier for the city to get grants for the historical district, said Ed Jakubick, chairman of a committee studying the issue.
Officials have not yet developed proposed rules for property owners in a historical district. The committee is recommending a district that would be one mile square, centered around the opera house.
Individual outlying buildings could also be included, Jakubick said.
Residents will be informed of the plan at a Strawberry Social on the lawn of the Viets Museum from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday. Additional public presentations will be held through the summer and fall, said Councilwoman Deidre Petrosky.