Planning Commission

7/13/2023 - Minutes I. Call to Order Members Present: Mike O’Brien, Chair; Abby Bleything, Vice-Chair; Joe Perron; Sarah van Ryckevorsel; Tommie Murray; Brendan Sage; Connor Daley City Staff Present: Eric Vorwald Guests Present: Kristine Lott, Mayor Call to Order by: Mike O’Brien Meeting Start Time: 6:35 PM Minutes Recorded by: Eric Vorwald II. Changes to the Agenda None III. Public Comment None IV. Approve Previous Meeting Minutes Decision: 4 – 0 Motion by: Sarah Second: Joe Sarah made a motion that was seconded by Joe to approve both the May 11, 2023 and June 08, 2023 minutes as presented. All were in favor. V. Election of Officers Eric provided an overview of the three officer positions and referenced the memo in the agenda that included a description of the positions and the current incumbent for each. Tommie made a motion that was seconded by Brendan to nominate Mike as the Chair. No other nominations were offered. The motion passed 4 – 0 . Next, Mike requested nominations for Vice-Chair. Tommie made a motion that was seconded by Sarah to nominate Abby as Vice-Chair. No other nominations were offered. The motion passed 4 – 0 . Finally, Mike asked for any nominations for Secretary. No nominations were offered so the position remains vacant. VI. Review and Approval of Fiscal Year 2024 Work Plan Eric introduced the FY 2024 work plan. He highlighted the various items included and stated that this was a guidance document to help lead the commission’s work. It is not intended to be a required list of tasks to complete. The Commissioners had a brief discussion on the items and the expectations for completing the identified items. Following this discussion Mike asked if anyone wanted to make a motion to approve the work plan. No motions were offered, but the Commissioners did offer consensus to accept the work plan as presented.  Eric introduced the FY 2024 work plan. He highlighted the various items included and stated that this was a guidance document to help lead the commission’s work. It is not intended to be a required list of tasks to complete. The Commissioners had a brief discussion on the items and the expectations for completing the identified items. Following this discussion Mike asked if anyone wanted to make a motion to approve the work plan. No motions were offered, but the Commissioners did offer consensus to accept the work plan as presented. VII. Continued Discussion on Unified Land Use & Development Regulations (ULUDR), Section 4.4 – Design Review Eric introduced Section 4.4 and provided an overview of specific changes that were made since the last meeting. Specifically, he highlighted the covered actions and reviewed new language. He also indicated that several of the items were more related to building code requirements and recommended that the Planning Commission consider if these should be included or not. The rationale being that not all applications for building permits are reviewed by the Zoning Administrator therefore some of the covered actions may not be identified. The Commissioners discussed these changes and recommended that the covered actions be included in the next draft as these items were important to the overall goal of the design review district. Next, the Commissioners discussed the inclusion of a distance component related to new construction. Eric indicated that this was intended to allow for accessory structures that were further back on a property to not require design review. He suggested that an alternative may be to make this related to new construction of a primary or principal structure. The Commissioners agreed with this change to clarify what is being regulated under this section. During this review, the Commissioners discussed whether or not the City could identify specific structures to include. Eric indicated that this could be done, but would require a formal review of each proposed property, including approval from the owner This would essentially be consistent with a local historic preservation regulation, which was the ultimate goal. He indicated that the Design Review District would be an interim step to getting there. The Commissioners also discussed the relationship with the state historic register and how that correlates to this work. Eric noted that the state has been requesting the City remove references to the state resister as a regulatory mechanism since the state has no authority to regulate local resources. This led to a discussion of the circumstances surrounding the issuance of the demolition permit for St. Stephen’s Church and the role of the state in that process. After the Commissioners reviewed the covered actions, Eric highlighted the next section related to the specific design review district boundary. He indicated that this would be a future discussion and would need to be done in conjunction with the text that was being proposed. Discussion ensued related to whether there could be multiple districts. Eric indicated that he was not aware of any statutory requirement that there be one contiguous district but agreed to research this further in advance of the discussion on the district boundaries. The Planning Commission then reviewed the rest of the proposed changes. Eric highlighted the new text, and noted that most of the new items were related to administration and general procedures more so than specific regulatory measures. Sarah suggested adding “review” into the name of the new commission so it was consistent with the intent of the section. After this discussion, Eric indicated that he would incorporate the changes for the next meeting, and the Commissioners would engage in a detailed discussion related to the design review district boundaries. VIII. City Updates Mayor Lott provided updates from the last City Council meeting and indicated that the most significant action was setting of the tax rate. She also indicated that the City Council would have a detailed review of the amendments to Article IV that were forwarded from the Planning Commission. She also indicated that City staff were working hard to assist with any issues related to the recent flooding events, including several staff members were deployed to help other communities. Eric provided a more detailed update on the changes related to Act 47 and  Mayor Lott provided updates from the last City Council meeting and indicated that the most significant action was setting of the tax rate. She also indicated that the City Council would have a detailed review of the amendments to Article IV that were forwarded from the Planning Commission. She also indicated that City staff were working hard to assist with any issues related to the recent flooding events, including several staff members were deployed to help other communities. Eric provided a more detailed update on the changes related to Act 47 and the subsequent H.171 bill that changed the effective date of most of the Act. He stated that the statutory changes would result in some significant changes to the City’s land use regulations, but might not have a significant regulatory impact. One example that he noted was that there may not be a need for multiple residential zoning districts. He indicated that he was still working through the changes and would bring information back to the Planning Commission at a future meeting. Abby asked about the proposed development along East Allen Street. Eric provided a brief overview of the project and stated that it was proposed as two buildings with 186 total dwelling units and approximately 2,000 square feet of non-residential space. He also noted that all the parking would be located below grade, and there would be units that extended below grade off the back of the project. He also indicated that the specific documents related to this project were included on the City’s website. Several Commissioners also asked about updates to Lot 7D and Lot 9. IX. Other Business Eric indicated that the next meeting would be on August 10 th and requested that if any Commissioners anticipated being away that they let Eric know in advance. X. Adjourn Motion by: Brendan Second: Joe Meeting End Time: 8:19 PM