Planning Commission

Minutes City of Petersburg Planning Commission Meeting January 6, 2021 The City of Petersburg Planning Commission meeting held on Wednesday January 6, 2021 virtually and was called to order by the Chair, Mrs. Tammy Alexander at 6:43 PM. A roll call was completed by Ms. Michelle Murrills. Members Present: Ms. Tammy Alexander, Chair Mr. Fenton Bland, Vice Chair Ms. Marie Vargo Mr. Thomas Hairston Dr. James Norman Members Absent: Ms. Candy Taylor Mr. William Irvin Mr. Michael Edwards A Quorum was established by the Chair. Others Present: Mr. Reginald Tabor, Ms. Michelle Murrills Adoption of the Agenda: Chair Alexander called for any changes…there were none Mr. Hairston moved approval of the Agenda as amended. Ms. Vargo seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. 1 Minutes: Ms. Vargo moved for the adoption of the Minutes from the September 2, 2020 meeting. Mr. Hairston seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Public Information Period: Chair Alexander opened the Public Information Period to anyone who wished to speak on an item not on the agenda. With no one wanting to speak, the Chair moved on and the Public Information Period was closed. Public Hearings: Chair Alexander asked if there were any public hearings. When the answer was no, the Chair moved on to Old Business. Old Business: Comprehensive Plan Update. Mr. Tabor stated that the community conversations were held during the last few weeks of 2020 and are now concluded. There is to be a draft to the Planning Commission by its next meeting on February 3, 2021. New business: a. Consideration of a proposed ordinance to address small box discount stores and alternative financial institutions. Mr. Tabor was recognized by the Chair and shared that this was an item that was referred to the commission by City Council. The commission will be required to have a public hearing at the next meeting on February 3rd. b. Consideration of items referred by the City Council to the Planning Commission: 1. An ordinance authorizing the City Manager to approve the reduction of site plan review and land disturbance permit fees when offset by in-kind staffing augmentation, in an amount not to exceed 30 percent of the total fees. 2  Mr. Tabor was recognized by the Chair and shared that initially this was referred to the commission by City Council, however at their January 5, 2021 meeting they considered an alternative item that would not make this required. So, no action was required. Consideration of items referred by the City Council to the Planning Commission for study and creation of a development plan for certain City-owned properties, and to report back to council: 2. 1015 Commerce Street (Former Titmus Optical Industrial Site) Mr. Tabor gave a presentation on the surrounding neighborhood to show that the area mixed-use area. He also showed that the building itself is in a state of disrepair and continues to deteriorate. The owner is the City of Petersburg and it was bought in 1995 for $1.493 Million. The current value by the assessor’s office is $2.4 million. The building is zoned M1, light industrial. The comprehensive plan of 2014 shows the property as commercial. Mr. Tabor said that the next steps would be to develop some recommendations based on the existing zoning, the surrounding land uses, and the future land uses that are included in the comprehensive plan. This way, the commissioners can then identify any recommendations that they have, which can then be considered at the next planning meeting. There was also a conversation about just how deteriorated the buildings are. Mr. Tabor showed several pictures as well as a discussion about a video on YouTube showing just how bad the building is. Mr. Tabor also described when he was inside 6 months ago and just how deteriorated it was at that point back then. The consensus was that it was going to take a lot of money to bring it back to a usable building. Possibly even a PUD would be something that could be done with it. The discussion carried on with the next property. 3. 10 North Jefferson (Former Virginia Employment Commission Office Site) Mr. Tabor gave a presentation on the surrounding neighborhood to show that the property is vacant and is in a mixed-use area. The owner is the City of Petersburg. Chair Alexander is interested in getting a real grocery store to move in there, if at all possible. Ms. Vargo said that it would be better as just a retail building or government building as it is currently zoned B3. Mr. Hairston wants to put a cultural center there instead, some sort of small performing arts center. However, the group consensus is that it is all dependent upon someone wanting to come into the area. 4. 125 East Washington Street (Former Virginia Employment Commission Office Site) This property is included in the previous property as they are adjacent to each other. 3  5. 2233 Halifax Road (Vacant property adjacent CSX and Norfolk Southern Railroad tracks) Mr. Tabor gave a presentation about this property and its surrounding area. It is all industrial and railroad around this property except to the east which is residential. The property itself is zoned as agricultural. The consensus was that it should probably be rezoned as industrial. The discussion will continue at the next meeting on February 3rd. Announcements: Chair Alexander: Happy New Year everyone! Mr. Tabor: The City Manager has accepted a new position and her last day in Petersburg will be in February. And during the previous City Council meeting, they voted in the previous police chief, Ken Miller, as the interim City Manager. Adjournment: Meeting was adjourned by Ms. Vargo at 7:35 pm. Next meeting is at 6:00 pm on February 3rd. 4