Landmark Status For All Of Cobbs Hill Park
This page describes UMNA's efforts to enhance the future of Cobbs Hill Park including extending historic landmark site status in the Park and the potential of developing a Cobbs Hill Park master plan.
This page is organized like a blog with the most recent information at the top. Please see the bottom of this page for background information.
UPDATE AS OF JULY 17, 2025
A representative group of coalition members met with City staff in City Hall to coordinate next steps and deadlines on a new application to secure a Preservation District to cover all of Cobbs Hill Park.
July 17, 2025: Applicants for Landmark site status will request a "hold" of their application.
July 21, 2025: Applicants will appear before the City Planning Commission at the scheduled public hearing to answer questions about the request to hold.
July 24, 2025: Draft of the new application to be completed provided to the group for review. Submission of letters of support to City staff from the applicants to be included with the application;
July 30, 2025: Submission of the application to the Rochester Preservation Board and simultaneous referral/submission to City Planning Commission;
August 20, 2025: City Planning Commission application due date – (Submitted on July 30.)
September 3, 2025: Rochester Preservation Board - Hearing & decision
September 15, 2025: City Planning Commission - Hearing & decision
September 24, 2025: Rochester Council Public Hearing and Council Meeting (vote)
UPDATE AS OF JULY 15, 2025
At a meeting in City Hall late in the afternoon of July 10th representatives of the City administration proposed an alternative strategy for covering all of Cobbs Hill Park in a Preservation District (similar to the districts found all over Rochester) rather than as a Landmark Site. There are some technical advantages to this strategy that have become apparent through the application process; not least of which being that minor maintenance and "in kind" replacements would not require Rochester Preservation Board oversight. This as compared to Rochester Preservation Board review of individual activities in the park (a relic of the current city code language related to preservation of landmarks that does not adequately account for natural landscapes vs. buildings).
This approach was not undertaken at the outset because Rochester City Code for designating Preservation Districts does not allow citizen applicants to initiate the process. Only the city administration can do so. On the other hand, citizens may identify a property they do not own in an Landmark application. The ramifications only became apparent late in the process.
The group of applicants, feeling a bit frustrated at some advice provided by city staff early on and having committed over one year in the current process, evaluated the suggestion at a meeting of the group on July 15th. In short (and paraphrasing) the group decided the following...
The coalition supports a landmark district application strategy for all of Cobbs Hill Park led by the City administration and agrees to "hold" (not withdraw) the current Landmark application now before the City Planning Commission PROVIDED: the current Landmark status now covering Cobbs Hill Reservoir and related grounds remains in full affect; the coalition members receive certain assurances about support for the effort from the City administration; the coalition members confirm the City's Department of Environmental Services is an appropriate agency to represent the City on the new application; expedited action relative to the review and approval process of the new application is assured; and the process concludes before a date certain (TBD). Separately, the members of the coalition offer their strong support for any future effort to update the current code relative to Landmark preservation using a "best practices" approach that would update the current code language either under the auspices of the Zoning Alignment Project or a separate effort.
After communicating this information to City staff by email a follow-up meeting was scheduled for early morning on Thursday, July 17th at City Hall to identify the path forward as partners.
UPDATE AS OF JUNE 25, 2025
On June 23, 2025 the City Planning Commission (CPC) voted to hold the application to extend Landmark site status (to those areas of Cobbs Hill Park not already covered) to allow relevant city departments more time to review certain implications and submit comments to the CPC. This despite city departments having been fully aware of the application for approximately a year; after city department representatives had met with the applicants on more than one occasion and after the Rochester Preservation Board held two public hearings and approved the application unanimously earlier this year.
Since the Rochester Preservation Board approved the application unanimously, the City Planning Commission was/is considering only three criteria:
The proposed designation will be in harmony with the City's Comprehensive Plan and overall planning program of the City;
The proposed designation will not adversely impact the growth and development of the City; and
The proposed designation will not adversely impact any scheduled public improvement or renewal project.
In their "Hold" notice members of the CPC indicated their satisfaction with the first two items during their deliberations after the first public hearing on June 23rd. They focused their attention on item #3 in allowing city departments more time.
A new hearing date has been set for Monday, July 21 at 6:00 pm in City Hall. Details Below.
Members of the public are STRONGLY encouraged to submit their personal thoughts, observations and opinions to the City Planning Commission by Friday, July 18th at 5:00 pm by email and/or attend the public hearing on July 21st in City Hall at 6:00 pm.
How to comment on a current CPC case
Submit written comments by email, mail, or deliver them to City Hall.
Email: [email protected]
Mail: Zoning Office c/o Planning Commission, 30 Church St. Rm. 125B, Rochester, NY 14614
Written comment submission deadline: close-of-business, the business day before the hearing by 5:00 P.M.
Written comments must include the project address and the commentor's, first name, last name, address, and contact information.
Speak at the public hearing.
Location: City Hall, City Council Chamber, 30 Church St. Rm. 302-A, Rochester, NY 14614.
Comments may not exceed 3 minutes in length or 10 minutes for neighborhood associations.
UPDATE AS OF JUNE 17, 2025
The Upper Monroe Neighborhood Association submitted the following letter of support for the application now pending before the City Planning Commission. A hearing has been scheduled to decide this issue on Monday, June 23, 2025.
Information about the hearing and instructions on how to submit a letter to the City Planning Commission is below the embedded letter.
UPDATE AS OF MAY 23, 2025
The coalition prepared an application information package in support of extending Landmark Site Status was delivered to the City Planning Commission on Tuesday, May 20, 2025. The public hearing before the City Planning Commission has been scheduled for Monday, June 23, 2025. A copy of the application, hearing agenda and a list of instructions on how to comment on this application are all listed below.
UPDATE AS OF MAY 8, 2025
On May 7, 2025 the Rochester Preservation Board (RPB) approved the application to extend Landmark Site status to those portions of Cobbs Hill Park that are not currently covered with a unanimous vote.
What's next...
The City Planning Commission will hear public comments and review the application at it's meeting on June 23, 2025.
The Landmark designation standards that the City Planning Commission will consider are as follows:
The proposed designation will be in harmony with the City's Comprehensive Plan and overall planning program of the City.
The proposed designation will not adversely impact the growth and development of the City.
The proposed designation will not adversely impact any scheduled public improvement or renewal project.
UPDATE AS OF MARCH 6, 2025
On March 5, 2025 the Rochester Preservation Board (RPB) held a public hearing on the application to extend Landmark Site status to those portions of Cobbs Hill Park that are not currently covered. (Application and staff report are below.)
At the public hearing the Upper Monroe Neighborhood Association, the ABC Streets Neighborhood Association, the Indigenous Peoples Day Committee, the Rochester Olmsted Parks Alliance, the Cobbs Hill Historic District Committee, the Park Meigs Neighborhood Association, the Landmark Society of Western New York all spoke in favor of the application. Each speaker addressed a different element of the application. One individual resident of Rochester spoke in opposition to the application. A city employee charged with overseeing the management of Cobbs Hill Park also spoke at the hearing.
RPB members asked questions. One or another of the co-applicants rose to respond to those questions. Staff for the RPB offered guidance on various elements of the exchange.
Following the public hearing the RPB deliberated in open session but without participation with the public. The RPB took two votes following their deliberations.
In the first instance the board voted unanimously to sponsor the application in accordance with zoning code section 120-193A(4)(a)[2]. This approval allows the applicant to make the landmark designation proposal, despite the applicant not being the City Council, the Planning Commission, the Preservation Board, or the property owner. Although this was more of a technical matter the board could have quashed the application with that vote.
In the second instance, the Board voted to "hold" the landmark designation for further review. They requested a set of relevant characteristics that would more specifically define what was to be protected so future Rochester Preservation Board members would have a clearer guidance.
UMNA adopted a goal a to pursue ideas supporting Cobbs Hill Park in the 2024 UMNA Work Plan
Last updated
Was this helpful?