Canandaigua officials spent the week looking at two versions of the city’s future: one focused on where people will live, and another on what the city’s commercial corridors and historic downtown will look like as businesses grow, rebrand and move.
The discussions stretched across a City Council Planning Committee and Finance Committee meeting Monday, followed by a Planning Commission meeting Wednesday. Together, they touched on possible zoning changes near Jefferson Memorial Park, broader pro-housing code updates, a Sands Family YMCA expansion, new Roseland Waterpark signage, downtown sign proposals and repairs to critical water and sewer infrastructure.
Housing changes move into public discussion
The biggest policy conversation came Monday, when the Planning Committee reviewed a package of zoning recommendations aimed at creating more room for housing in Canandaigua.
The proposals center on the Jefferson Park area, where city officials are considering whether vacant and underused land now zoned mostly for manufacturing or residential-office use should be opened to more residential development. Director of Development and Planning Rick Brown said the area includes some of the last large undeveloped or underused parcels in the city.
“There is quite a bit of just kind of vacant or underutilized property over there,” Brown told committee members, adding that the land borders Jefferson Memorial Park and could be an attractive site for denser housing.
The idea grew from the city’s comprehensive plan and a local housing and zoning committee. The goal is to allow more housing types beyond detached single-family homes on large lots, including townhouses, multifamily housing, duplexes, triplexes and other patterns that could support workforce housing.
Brown said the city has seen nearby communities add projects that Canandaigua’s current zoning would not allow in many areas.
“There’s projects that are attractive in the region that are not possible or not even permitted by zoning in our community,” he said.
Committee members did not vote to rezone the area immediately. Instead, they agreed to keep the discussion moving and notify property owners before any formal action. Officials said they want residents, landowners and nearby stakeholders to have a chance to respond before the proposal reaches the full City Council.
Several committee members said that outreach matters, especially because the area includes active businesses, existing homes, floodplain issues, suspected wetlands and properties with possible environmental contamination from past industrial uses.
Brown said the city is not trying to force current property owners or businesses to change what they are doing.
Mayor Thomas Lyon made a similar point, saying the zoning change would open future options if property ownership or use changes.
“This is to allow for future use if that ownership or use ever changed,” Lyon said.
The committee also discussed whether the study area should be expanded farther south and east, including other vacant or underused parcels near Saltonstall Street and the former Chapel’s junkyard area. Members agreed there was no downside to widening the conversation and notifying more property owners before the next Planning Committee meeting.
The broader housing package also moved forward. Those recommendations include eliminating the city’s R-1A large-lot single-family zoning district, reducing minimum lot sizes in some areas, allowing townhouses in more residential districts, permitting accessory apartments in detached structures, easing some restrictions on senior housing, and reducing minimum apartment sizes to align more closely with state building code.
Brown described the changes as incremental, not a wholesale rewrite of the city’s neighborhoods.
“None of these, I think, would be dramatic to change the character of a community,” Brown said. “It’s more of a housekeeping thing.”
Still, some committee members raised concerns about parking, density, senior-only housing and how denser development could affect city services. Members also questioned whether making senior housing easier to build could work against the city’s goal of adding housing for families and workers.
Brown acknowledged that concern, saying it would be a problem if Canandaigua added hundreds of senior apartments without also adding places for families.
The committee voted to forward the broader zoning package to the full City Council. Brown said the process would likely take at least two to three months, with referrals to the Planning Commission and Ontario County Planning Board, a public hearing and environmental review.
YMCA expansion wins approval
On Wednesday, the Planning Commission approved a major addition at the Sands Family YMCA at 351 North St.
The project calls for a 4,600-square-foot building footprint, but because it is two stories, it will add about 9,220 square feet of usable space. The addition will bring the facility from 88,675 square feet to about 97,895 square feet.
Representatives for the YMCA said the expansion was anticipated when the facility was originally approved in 2021, but was not built at the time because of budget constraints. The project now moves forward as the YMCA continues fundraising and responds to strong membership demand.
The first floor will include community room space that can be divided or opened into a larger room, a conference room, storage, bathrooms and lounge space. The second floor will expand wellness space and include exercise equipment. The building will remain 33 feet tall, matching the existing structure, and will use similar materials, including bronze panels, silver panels, masonry and dark bronze storefront elements.
No one spoke during the public hearing, and officials said no written comments were received.
The commission unanimously affirmed that the project remains consistent with the earlier environmental review and then unanimously approved the site plan and architectural review.
Roseland Waterpark signage approved
The commission also approved additional signage at Roseland Waterpark at 280 Eastern Blvd.
The new signs will be added to the existing roadside sign structure and will advertise the different businesses and attractions operating on the property, including Roseland Wake Park, the miniature golf course and the brewery. The signs will be internally illuminated but only during each business’s hours of operation.
Ryan Fuller, Roseland Waterpark’s director of operations, said the added signage is needed because several businesses sit far back from Eastern Boulevard and are difficult to see from the road.
“It very much makes it difficult to kind of poke your hand out and say, hey, we’re back here,” Fuller said.
Commission members acknowledged the need but also raised broader concerns about Eastern Boulevard’s visual character. Some questioned whether the sign package could look too much like a plaza or strip-mall directory.
The Planning Commission approved the signage with a condition that it be lit only during operating hours. Structural review will be handled through the building permit process.
Historic downtown sign proposals get mixed responses
Downtown signage took up much of Wednesday’s meeting.
The commission approved a new sign for the Canandaigua Guest House at 193 North Main St. The sign will be a small, unlit freestanding sign near the driveway, featuring the business logo. Owner Valerie Puchades said the guest house is in its third season and currently uses only a flag to help guests find the property.
The commission also approved signage for Alice’s Red Rose Boutique, which is moving from 183 South Main St. to 202 South Main St. The business will reuse its A-frame sign, add window signage and install a round, unlit wooden projecting sign using an existing bracket from a prior tenant.
A larger debate came over Canandaigua National Bank’s proposed sign replacement at 72 South Main St.
The bank is updating its branding and proposed several new signs, including internally illuminated signs in red and white on or near the historic building. Commission members were uneasy with the color, lighting and fit within the city’s historic downtown.
Members questioned whether bright, illuminated signage belonged on a historic Main Street building, especially where residences sit nearby. The commission tabled the application and asked the applicant to return with revisions, including possible gooseneck lighting, different colors or non-illuminated options more consistent with downtown character.
Latitude 43, the restaurant planned for the former Nick’s Chophouse space at 5 Beeman St., received conditional approval for new signage after a long discussion about the building facade.
The proposal includes removing the existing awnings, installing a new Main Street-facing sign and allowing a temporary banner for up to 60 days. The permanent sign cannot be installed until the Planning Commission approves a facade restoration plan.
The commission made clear it did not want a new sign placed over a deteriorated facade without a plan to clean up the building’s appearance.
Eastern Boulevard standards still under review
The Planning Commission briefly discussed future architectural standards for Eastern Boulevard but postponed a full conversation because one of the members leading that effort was absent.
Planning officials said the city may need to decide how far it wants to go in reshaping the corridor’s appearance. Options could range from modest design improvements to more traditional standards that encourage buildings closer to the street, parking behind buildings and less highway-oriented architecture.
Brown said Eastern Boulevard has long served as the place for drive-throughs, auto-oriented businesses and heavier commercial uses, partly to protect downtown and lakefront areas. But he said the corridor is also a gateway into Canandaigua.
“For a lot of people that come from the east or the west, this is the gateway to the community,” Brown said.
Commission members said they want background materials and examples from other communities before deciding whether stricter standards are realistic.
Infrastructure repairs advance
During Monday’s Finance Committee meeting, city officials also advanced two capital budget amendments for water and sewer repairs.
The first would use about $35,000 from the Water Treatment Plant capital account to replace a 30-inch flow meter damaged during a March brownout. Staff first expected to replace only the electronic transmitter for about $7,000, but later learned the entire meter must be replaced.
The second would move $18,000 in sewer capital funds to repair three valves at the Roseland Pump Station, which serves the water park, brewery and mini-golf course. Officials said the valves help keep one of the station’s two pumps from losing prime and need to be replaced before the pump is damaged.
Both items were moved forward by the Finance Committee, chaired by Donna Cator.
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