Planning Commission

1/12/2023 - Minutes I. Call to Order Members Present: Mike O’Brien, Chair; Abby Bleything, Vice-Chair; Joe Perron; Tommie Murray; Brendan Sage; Connor Daley City Staff Present: Eric Vorwald Guests Present: Kristine Lott, Mayor; Felipe Hoyos; Michael Arnold Call to Order by: Mike O’Brien Meeting Start Time: 6:34 PM Minutes Recorded by: Eric Vorwald II. Changes to the Agenda None III. Public Comment Felipe Hoyos provided comments on the City’s parking standards and requested the Planning Commission consider eliminating minimum parking requirements; similar to the actions recently taken by the City of Burlington. IV. Approve Previous Meeting Minutes Decision: 4 – 0 Motion by: Joe Second: Abby Minutes/Notes: Motion to approve the minutes with a correction to the spelling of St. Stephen’s under “City Updates” V. Continued Discussion on Article IV – Section 4.12 Eric introduced the minimum parking standards included in Section 4.12. He reviewed past discussions and updated the Planning Commission on changes that were made since the last meeting. Eric highlighted information related to new language to address a parking maximums and other changes that were made based on recommendations from the Commission. Next, the Commissioners discussed the minimum parking standards for schools as this was a discussion point at the December meeting. Abby provided information that she obtained from the school regarding the number of aids and instructors that were typical in each instructional space. Eric also provided updates on the number of instructional spaces that were included in each school (elementary, middle, and high school). The Planning Commission discussed this information and determined amendments for this section. After the discussion on minimum parking, Eric provided an overview of the various tiers for shared use parking that were included in the draft. He indicated that the intent was, in specific instances, provide for shared parking between residential and non-residential uses; or multiple non-residential uses on the same lot. The Commissioners provided feedback and suggestions  information and determined amendments for this section. After the discussion on minimum parking, Eric provided an overview of the various tiers for shared use parking that were included in the draft. He indicated that the intent was, in specific instances, provide for shared parking between residential and non-residential uses; or multiple non-residential uses on the same lot. The Commissioners provided feedback and suggestions to simplify the language but were supportive of the concepts for shared parking. Next, the Planning Commission turned their attention to Transportation Demand Management (TDM) Strategies. Eric indicated that there was a lot of new information in this section and that Abby provided a significant amount of assistance in drafting the language. Eric and Abby provided additional details on the proposed language including the new requirements to secure the parking reductions based on the TDM strategies. Mayor Lott asked if the Planning Commission would be interested in a fee-in-lieu option as well for parking with the fee used for transit, housing, or other community priorities. The Planning Commission discussed the fact that the TDM strategies required the developer to provide transit passes or similar incentives, which was a form of fee-in-lieu. The Planning Commission discussed several specific details of the TDM strategies, and ultimately was comfortable with the updated language. Finally, Eric provided an overview of new language being proposed for the section on the location of parking. He indicated that the proposed additions were intended to clarify how the distance would be measured for off-site parking options. The Commissioners were generally supportive of the amendments. The Commissioners agreed that this was a good point to end the discussions for the evening. VI. Discussion on Second January Planning Commission Meeting Eric provided information related to a public hearing that was scheduled for January 26 th to discuss a voter lead petition for Town Meeting Day. He indicated that this would conflict with the next Planning Commission meeting, and asked if there was interest in moving the date, changing the location, or cancelling the meeting. After some additional discussion, the members agreed that it would be best to cancel the meeting so there were not conflicting meetings that evening for possible attendance at the public hearing. VII. City Updates Mayor Lott provided information the proposed budget and the draft language that was submitted for the charter change. Eric provided updates on holiday hours for City Hall, sidewalk use, and the status of the St. Stephens demolition permit. No other specific updates were offered. VIII. Other Business Eric indicated that, with the cancellation of the January 26 th meeting, the next Planning Commission meeting would be on February 9 th . IX. Adjourn Motion by: Brendan Second: Abby Meeting End Time: 8:12 PM