Planning Commission

4/4/2024 - Minutes I. Call to Order Members Present: Mike O’Brien, Chair; Joe Perron; Sarah van Ryckevorsel; Brendan Sage; Connor Daley City Staff Present: Eric Vorwald Guests Present: Kristine Lott, Mayor Call to Order by: Mike O’Brien Meeting Start Time: 6:31 PM Minutes Recorded by: Eric Vorwald II. Changes to the Agenda None. III. Public Comment None. IV. Approve Previous Meeting Minutes Decision: 3 – 0 Motion by: Sarah Second: Connor Minutes/Notes: A motion was made by Sarah and seconded by Connor to approve the March 14th meeting minutes as presented. All were in favor. V. Continue Discussion on Unified Land Use and Development Regulations (ULUDR) Amendments Related to Statutory Changes Eric introduced this agenda item and indicated that there were several revisions to sections that had previously been reviewed. He noted these changes were based on additional statutory review and guidance related to Act 47. Eric started off with Article II and identified one change to the use table for multi-unit dwellings. He stated that multi-unit dwellings could not be conditional uses therefore this change was reflected. Eric indicated this was the only change for Article II. Mike stated that he had several items to discuss in Article II. First, he requested that multi-unit dwellings of 5 or more be permitted in the R-C Zoning District. The commission discussed this and recommended it be included as a permitted use. Next, Mike provided comments on the purpose statements for several of the zoning districts. He suggested several amendments for clarification. The Commissioners also agreed with these changes. There were no other suggested edits to Article II. Next, Eric highlighted several changes in Article IV related to Section 4.2. He stated that based on conversations with property owners and notes from a previous public hearing, there were  purpose statements for several of the zoning districts. He suggested several amendments for clarification. The Commissioners also agreed with these changes. There were no other suggested edits to Article II. Next, Eric highlighted several changes in Article IV related to Section 4.2. He stated that based on conversations with property owners and notes from a previous public hearing, there were several minor changes to propose in Section 4.2. Eric reviewed these changes with the Commissioners and they agreed with the suggested edits. Mike and Sarah had several questions in other sections of Article IV regarding changes of use and parking standards. Eric provided information on the changes that were proposed, and a few minor edits were noted. The rest of the Commissioners agreed with these changes. After this discussion, Eric began a review of Article V. He continued in Section 5.3. The Planning Commission discussed the remaining sections of Article V and made suggestions related to the edits Eric proposed and other sections of text for clarification. Finally, Eric indicated that his preference for continuing the review would be to set aside Section 5.16 and Section 5.17 separately from the rest of the text. He noted that these two sections were completely new and would require more detailed discussion. He stated that all the rest of the edits being discussed were related to Act 47 changes and were needed to comply with statute. The Planning Commission and the Mayor agreed with this approach even though Sections 5.16 and 5.17 were identified as priorities for Council. VI. City Updates Mayor Lott updated the Planning Commission on recent Council actions including setting a public hearing for amendments related to the O’Brien Community Center property, financing for the Winooski River Bridge replacement, repairs to the Malletts Bay Avenue railroad crossing as proposed by the Vermont Agency of Transportation, and the upcoming equity audit. Eric provided a brief update on the on-going appeal of St. Stephen’s. VII. Other Business Eric indicated the next meeting would be on April 25 th . Sarah asked about Eric’s replacement. Eric stated that the intent would be to have someone on staff before he departed to help provide overlap and some orientation. VIII. Adjourn Motion by: Joe Second: Brendan Meeting End Time: 8:17 PM