West Side Neighborhood Association of Binghamton, NY, Inc.

Housing Commission Report 2009

April 30, 2009

In Spring, 2008, the Mayor of Binghamton appointed a citizens’ Commission on Housing and Home Ownership to study how to increase homeownership, promote healthy neighborhoods, maintain and improve our housing stock and create more good, safe and legal student rentals.

The diverse and inclusive Commission - Homeowners, Landlords, Officials, Community Members and University representatives – listened to community voices, surveyed how other cities and towns have addressed the same issues and presented their recommendations.

We support the Commission’s recommendations. What’s good for the entire City is good for the West Side! The current economic crisis in the rest of the United States is an opportunity for a smaller, safe, stable City like Binghamton to become an even better place to study, to raise a family, to retire – in short, to live a full life.

By adopting the Report’s recommendations, we’ll be soundly on the path to a brighter future. We recommend that City Council start with this package of three recommendations:

  • Rental Registration to make enforcement of housing and zoning laws fairer and more efficient

    Currently, some landlords operate businesses by renting homes in residential neighborhoods, often to changing groups of unrelated individuals, such as students. The City has building codes, zoning laws and inspection capabilities in order to see that these structures are safe for their intended uses and comply with the laws. Rental registration will enable the City to better regulate these businesses. We support a reasonable law that will also protect the interest of homeowners who are not conducting rental businesses but may be involved in a rental to a family member, etc.

  • Reform of R-1 Zoning to preserve low-density family neighborhoods

    Like most communities across the U.S., Binghamton has zoning laws that designate land for industry, commercial uses and different residential zones for the needs of different residents: ranging from low-density neighborhoods of single-family homes to higher density neighborhoods designed for urban living. In an R-1 zone, only one dwelling unit is allowed per building. The Report proposes to make enforcement of zoning laws easier by establishing a rebuttable presumption that more than three unrelated persons living together in an R-1 zone are not the "functional equivalent of a family" for zoning purposes. Zoning laws protecting other residential areas will remain in place and should be enforced.

  • Academic Overlay District to stabilize and support safe and legal student housing on the West Side

    There are some 4,000 Binghamton University students living in the City of Binghamton and contributing to its economy and lively cultural life.  A cluster of student housing already exists in the historic St. John tract [1] on the West Side. We support the report’s proposal for a special "overlay zoning district" (with rules in addition to - or "overlaying" - current zoning rules) to allow and encourage this housing, while regulating it for safety, quality of life, and maintenance of buildings, lawns and gardens.

Summary of Legislation and Initiatives Recommended by the Housing Commission

The Housing Commission report recommends legislation and initiatives that will have a significant impact on the preservation and livability of West Side Neighborhoods.


Proposed legislation includes:
 
  • Establishing a rental registration, licensing, and inspection program applicable to all rental properties in the city.
  • Establishing a presumptive limit of three unrelated renters in the R-1 residential district.
  • Setting safety-based limits, based on the size of building, rooms and lots, on the maximum number of individuals allowed to congregate in or on residential and commercial properties.

Proposed initiatives include: 

  • Programs that would provide loans to first-time buyers and to owner occupants to rehabilitate in designated areas  
  • Establishing Neighborhood Preservation Overlay Districts where single-family rental housing is maintained at no more than a specified percentage.
  • Providing incentives to City and State workers to buy homes in the City, including a program to allow police officers and firefighters to live rent-free and eventually purchase homes in redevelopment areas in return for community service focused on crime prevention

The complete work product of the Commission on Housing and Home Ownership is available below as PDF files. To open PDF files you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer. It is available for free from Adobe.com.

How You Can Help!

You can make a change.  Please consider doing one or more of the following:

  • Call your City Council representative - their phone numbers are listed below - and suggest that your friends and neighbors do the same.  This Report applies to the entire City of Binghamton.  Everyone will benefit from its proposals and every Council member will be involved in these important deliberations.  One good conversation can be worth a thousand e-mails!
  • Write your City Council representative. Your letter doesn’t have to be long – just let them know you support the package of three proposals – Rental Registration, R-1 Zoning, Academic Overlay District
  • E-mail your City Council representative - their addresses are listed below.
  • Join your neighbors who are already members of WSNA.  If you live on the West Side and agree to carrying out and supporting  the purposes of the organization, you can become a member.
  • Attend City Council hearings and meetings.  The City Council business meeting and work session  schedules are available on the City of Binghamton website.
  • Write a letter to the editor of the Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin.  You can even do it online.  Again, it need not be long - just say why you support the package of three proposals - Rental Registration, R-1 Zoning, and the Academic Overlay District, for a better future in Binghamton.

Contact Information

For your convenience, the contact information for the Mayor of Binghamton, as well as the City Council representatives, is shown below.  If you are unsure of who is your representative, a map is provided on the City of Binghamton website which shows the city council districts.

Matthew T. Ryan
Mayor
38 Hawley Street, 4th Floor
Binghamton, NY  13901
(607) 772-7001
(607) 772-7079 fax

Jerry Motsavage
Council Member, 1st District
(607) 772-7200


Joseph Mihalko
Council Member, 2nd District
(607) 772-7232


Teri Rennia
Council Member, 3rd District
(607) 772-7165


Lea Webb
Council Member, 4th District
(607) 772-7236


Chris Papastrat
Council Member, 5th District
(607) 772-7134


John Matzo
Council Member, 6th District
(607) 772-7237


Bill Berg
Council Member, 7th District
(607) 772-7234


  1. Lewis St. John came to Binghamton from Connecticut in 1811 and purchased a farm from Daniel Leroy (for whom Leroy Street is named), a tract comprising more than 107 acres, for $20 an acre.  He lived at the corner of Front Street and Riverside Drive. St. John Avenue marked the western boundary of his estate. Vincent Street, to the south of and parallel to Riverside Drive, is named for his son. The St. John Estate was mapped in 1882 and St. John Avenue appears in the 1885 Atlas of the City of Binghamton.

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