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.
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.
What's next...
The co-applicants (including UMNA) will work together to supply members of the RPB with the additional information the RPB requested.
A second RPB review will be scheduled once the information has been obtained and supplied to the RPB. If the RPB votes to support the application, the application will be forwarded for review by the Rochester Planning Board.
The Rochester Planning Board will consider the application with a focused interest on the economic impacts associated with Landmark Site designation as well as any burdens the city will experience if the designation is granted.
BACKGROUND AND UPDATES
Over the years visitors to Cobbs Hill Park have witnessed a trend of incremental developments on Park grounds. Projects large and small have accumulated in the Park with little apparent consideration of the overall impact on the Park experience and on the Park itself. Each well intended project has had its benefits and justifications. The cumulative effects of these projects sparked a conversation among some neighbors to explore ideas in support of a long term vision for the Park.
Early in 2024 neighbors of Cobbs Hill Park became aware of applications for two pavilions proposed for construction in Cobbs Hill Park. One application required review and approval by the Preservation Board of Rochester and the other did not. Curiosity around this situation revealed a decision in the early 1970s that removed landmark site status for some of the Park. Subsequent research indicated the legal rationale for reducing the landmark boundaries in Cobbs Hill Park have since been revised and may now allow landmark site status for the entire Park, if desired. Please See The Backstory: Two Pavilions, Two Standards for more details.
Running in the background of the abovementioned pavilion applications, City property owners immediately east and northeast of the Cobbs Hill Park borderline initiated an effort to recognize their residential neighborhood in a federally recognized historic district to be known as the “Cobbs Hill Historic District”. The proposed “Cobbs Hill Historic District” application was designed to include a distinct section apart from the developed residential neighborhood covering all of Cobbs Hill Park. If the historic district application is eventually approved, it would recognize Cobbs Hill Park as historically important but without the imposition of any restrictions, rules or oversight. Said another way, any federally recognized historic district covering Cobbs Hill Park would bestow only honorific benefits. Federal recognition begs the question: If all of Cobbs Hill Park is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, should the Park be recognized as a landmark site at the local level?
Incidental exchanges around these topics led representatives of the ABC Streets Neighborhood Association, the Nunda Boulevard Neighborhood Association, and the Upper Monroe Neighborhood Association to gather informally at Village Bakery in The Armory on Culver Road to chat about Cobbs Hill Park and share ideas about how to help support the Park. Some of those present happened to also be active in the Olmstead Parks Alliance. Megan Klem from the Landmark Society of Western NY was engaged as a resource but did not participate in the initial informal conversations. Later, some of these neighbors and a relevant array of City representatives shared ideas and perspectives. From the outset it was clear, broad public engagement around any ideas affecting the Park would be essential and warmly welcomed.
Not long after these events, the exploration expanded to include outreach to The Friends of Washington Grove. Neighbors immediately adjacent to Cobbs Hill Park in the Highland Heights Homeowners Association and members of the Cobbs Hill Village Tenants Association also expressed a strong desire to engage and collaborate. Efforts to expand outreach even further have since been undertaken.
After over a year of discussion, exploration, research, outreach and collaboration the six organizations exploring the extension of landmark site status to all of Cobbs Hill Park have completed and submitted an application to the City of Rochester.
A copy of the application may be found on this page.
To explore landmark site status for all of Cobbs Hill Park in collaboration with and under the auspices of City government. If the exploration reveals expansion of landmark site status to all of Cobbs Hill Park is desirable, to collaborate in the development of an application.
EXPRESSION OF VALUES
Supporting public engagement throughout these explorations and during any formal processes is essential and warmly welcomed.
Supporting appreciation of Cobbs Hill Park's long history covering all time periods beginning with the geological formation of what is know known as Cobbs Hill Park, covering all aspects of the natural environment as well as certain worthy elements of the built environment and all interactions between humans and the area across the epochs up to the present moment.
Expanded public engagement through Interpretive programs, wayfinding & related components
Supporting passive Park experiences & the appreciation of natural beauty and wildlife
Expanding public engagement through Interpretive programs, wayfinding & related components
Supporting Park care and maintenance activities performed by City employees and performed by caring citizens in collaboration with City government
Respecting residents and property owners living adjacent to and in proximity to the Park
Supporting organized and casual physical activities including: running; walking; playing frisbee; fishing; hiking; basketball; tennis; softball; volleyball; yoga; tai-chi; photowalks; bird watching; working out on fitness equipment; kite-flying; biking; playing on the playground equipment, and other additional active recreational activities and programs that may be presented or take place in the Park from time to time.
Supporting smaller-scale private social gatherings (picnics, birthday parties, etc.) that take place on Park grounds as well as in Park lodges
Supporting larger-scale community-wide activities on Park grounds
Supporting and building on the racial, social, ethnic, economic, and cultural diversity present in the Park
Expanding accessibility to the Park and Park facilities
Application & Staff Report
Letter of support
How to submit COMMENTS to the Rochester Preservation Board:
Submit written comments by email, mail, or deliver it to City Hall.
