The area, about 381 acres or 7 percent of the city, is located off the Route 13 state highway behind retailers such as Tops, Kmart and Wegmans. According to the Generic Environmental Impact Statement, a document commissioned by the city to examine concerns within the area, there is room for potential development of 800,000 square feet of retail space and about 200,000 feet of office space in the region.

Sophomore Anna Ehrlich, vice president of ICES, cited the environmental impact statement, and told about negative effects the development could have on the Ithaca area.

"The proposed area for development is a floodplain including 11 acres of wetlands," Ehrlich said. "The development area is also right across the street from Buttermilk Falls. Instead of looking out at beautiful rolling hills, you will see a 'big box' business."

Proponents of the proposal cited that increased commercial development could help to widen the city's tax base through both increased retail sales tax revenue and increased commercial property tax. They also cited that large retail employers could possibly expand part-time employment opportunities for students, as well as increasing the local shopping selection.

However, Wetmore told Student Congress about possible threats the land development could have to local merchants, especially ones located on the Commons.

"This proposal could drastically change the community, and change it from what many people came here for," he said. "[Southwest Park development] will affect the downtown badly, just like the report says. It will create a vast amount of vacancies, and in the long-term downtown would suffer greatly."

"By uniting our voice as a student body and sending that message down to the city council, that would make a really strong statement," Vormwald said. "There are about 5,600 students in this school, and that's 5,600 voices speaking up against this development."

Junior Diane Nocerino, SGA vice president of communications, said she supported the decision made by the student representatives and now hopes the city will regard it as a strong statement.

"I hope [the Commons Council] realizes how important this issue is to students here," Nocerino said. "I hope they do not look at it and laugh."

Sophomore SGA Rep.Danny Manus of the Roy H. Park School of Communications, voted against the proposal. Manus said he thought SGA was thinking of the city's best interests, and not that of college students. "I thought SGA voted their conscience and did the right thing for the community, but I do not think they did they did the right thing for the Ithaca College or the Cornell University student population," Manus said. "The increase of jobs, competition and the amount of business in the area would be good for students."

Freshman SGA Rep. Natasha Hinds of Lyon Hall voted for the proposal. She said she was in favor, because ICES was helping to keep Ithaca the way it is.

"I thought it was very important that we preserve the uniqueness and the beauty that Ithaca contains," Hines said. "A lot of students come here to escape what one speaker [at the meeting] called a 'concrete jungle.' It is important that we preserve Ithaca." Wetmore said SGA's decision was important, and will help everyone in Ithaca get a better picture of what students want in their community.

"I think this is going to have a strong impact, because this is a statement of one of the major institutions in town," Wetmore said. "This is going to dispel a lot of myths that students want to shop at the 'big box' stores, and do not care about the character of the community."