Planning Commission

7/23/2020 - Minutes I. Call to Order Members Present: Mike O’Brien, Chair; Amy Houghton, Vice-Chair; Terry Zigmund, Secretary; Joe Perron; Sarah van Ryckevorsel; Tommie Murray City Staff Present: Eric Vorwald Guests Present: Kristine Lott, Mayor Call to Order by: Mike O’Brien Meeting Start Time: 6:37 PM Minutes Recorded by: Eric Vorwald II. Changes to the Agenda None III. Public Comment None IV. Approve Previous Meeting Minutes Decision: 4 – 0 – 1 Motion by: Tommie Second: Terry Approve the minutes as presented. V. Election of Officers Eric introduced this item and indicated that the Planning Commission should annually select a chair, vice-chair, and secretary. Mike indicated he would be willing to serve as chair and Tommie made a motion that was seconded by Joe to elect Mike as the Chair. All were in favor. Next, Mike asked Amy if she was interested in serving as the vice-chair, to which she agreed. With no other nominations, Tommie made a motion that was seconded by Sarah to elect Amy as the vice-chair. All were in favor. Finally, Mike asked if Terry was interested in serving as the secretary. She indicated she would like to step down, but also stated that she would continue if no one else was interested. Eric reminded to group that only regular members could serve as officers. Joe stated that he was not interested at this time and expressed gratitude for Terry’s willingness to continue, therefore Amy made a motion that was seconded by Joe to elect Terry to serve as the secretary. All were in favor. VI. Review of Council Action on Parking Waiver Eric introduced this item and referenced a memo that was included in the agenda.  were in favor. VI. Review of Council Action on Parking Waiver Eric introduced this item and referenced a memo that was included in the agenda. Specifically, he read the motion that the City Council approved at their regular meeting on June 15th where they denied the parking waiver. He indicated that in denying the waiver, Council directed the Planning Commission to review the parking regulations and propose amendments that would help implement the master plan goals and objectives. He also highlighted several of the specific topic areas, such as economic development and stormwater runoff, that could benefit from parking reforms. Finally, he referenced other documents that had been provided to the Commission on parking, such as the Housing Commission report related to ownership of vehicles. Next, Mayor Lott reiterated the position of Council and discussed their goals on this topic. Following this overview, the Commissioners asked questions and the group discussed parking in general. Specific topics included the percent of renters versus owners in the City, where rentals were located in the City, and how the drafted parking standards for the Form Based Code compare to the existing standards. Finally, it was stated that safety was a concern and should be considered since some areas of the City do not have sidewalks and therefore on-street parking may push pedestrians further into the travel lanes. Eric concluded by indicating he would prepare information related to the existing parking standards and how the drafted requirements from the Form Based Code would compare to the current regulations. VII. Continued Discussion on Form-Based Code Siting Standards Eric provided the Commission with an overview of the discussions that had occurred to date on the siting standards and indicated that he forwarded the latest draft to the Regional Planning Commission for comments and feedback. He noted that the draft included with the agenda incorporated those comments and he highlighted the main points that were changed based on the RPC’s comments. The Commission reviewed the draft and continued discussions related to the façade length, generally agreeing to adjust the dimensions to 60 feet. The Commissioners discussed other parts of the draft language for clarity including the functional entry door, and the required elements for building setbacks. Eric stated that he would make changes based on the comments and the Commissioners generally agreed that they were comfortable with the updated draft and the suggested edits. Eric also indicated that the Commissioners would see this again in the context of a more comprehensive review to the regulations. VIII. Discussion on Work Plan Items and Future Meeting Agendas Eric provided an overview of the previous year’s work plan and highlighted several of the tasks. He indicated that work had progressed on almost all of the tasks with some taking longer than expected. He indicated that, based on Council direction and existing policies, it would make sense to generally keep all of the activities on the work plan for FY 2021 except for the specific alignment of the form based code with the strategic vision. He noted that the majority of that work was completed with the efforts to review the siting standards and the architectural standards. After discussion with the Commissioners and input from the Mayor, the Commission generally agreed with the activities for the FY 2021 work plan. Eric stated that he would prepare a draft for the next meeting. IX. Department and City Updates Eric provided an update on the status of the Historic Preservation work that is underway. He noted that the survey had been completed and the next steps were to determine how to conduct public meetings for input given the current state of the pandemic. He also provided an update on the Parking Study being conducted through the UPWP and stated that he anticipated work beginning later in August. Mike requested that the survey work on the historic resources be shared with the Commissioners and Eric agreed to check with the consultant to see if they were comfortable with sharing. Several questions were asked  He noted that the survey had been completed and the next steps were to determine how to conduct public meetings for input given the current state of the pandemic. He also provided an update on the Parking Study being conducted through the UPWP and stated that he anticipated work beginning later in August. Mike requested that the survey work on the historic resources be shared with the Commissioners and Eric agreed to check with the consultant to see if they were comfortable with sharing. Several questions were asked regarding the status of the updated site plan for 211 Main Street and if a parking waiver was requested. Eric indicated that the site plan was updated to reduce parking, but that the original plan included significantly more parking than was required on the site, therefore the changes did not require a waiver. Mike discussed the situation with St. Stephen church and noted that the diocese had merged St. Stephen into St. Francis Xavier. The future of the church buildings and property was unknown at this time, but would ultimately be up to the St. Francis Xavier Church Council to decide. It was noted that the property, including the buildings has significant historic value to the community and should be preserved. Mayor Lott indicated that she had also been in discussions with the diocese on the future of the property. X. Other Business Eric noted the next meeting would be on August 13th and thanked the Commission for their willingness to reschedule the July meeting to accommodate his travel schedule. XI. Adjourn Motion by: Joe Second: Amy Meeting End Time: 8:14pm