Rochester, NY City Council Meeting with Mayor Evans- October 22, 2026

Rochester City Council’s zoning-code review hearing with Mayor Evans on October 22, 2026, focused on the proposed Zoning Alignment Project (ZAP), including historic-resource protections, accessory dwelling units, parking rules, signage and billboards, landscaping, site-plan review, and community notification. Council members examined proposed changes such as transportation access plans in certain mixed-use districts, residential parking minimums, EV-charging requirements for larger parking facilities, and a stricter variance process for exceeding parking maximums. The administration said a comprehensive report on how the code is working would be due two years after adoption and agreed to provide written follow-up on several questions, including historic-property listings and notice, parking impacts, and implementation and enforcement.

The administration recommended handling short-term rental regulations separately from the main zoning-code package, estimating that additional environmental review and Planning Commission review could take three to nine months; incorporating them into the current package could delay the broader code. No contract awards, solicitations, vendor selections, budget allocations, or other procurement activity were identified. No vote on the zoning code occurred during this meeting. The Council announced a community public hearing for November 12 and asked members to submit remaining questions by the following Monday.