Planning Commission

5/23/2024 - Minutes I. Call to Order Members Present: Mike O’Brien, Chair; Abby Bleything, Vice-Chair; Brendan Sage; Connor Daley City Staff Present: Elaine Wang, Eric Vorwald Guests Present: Charles Judge, City Councilor; Bryn Oakleaf, City Councilor; Amy Houghton; Terry Zigmund Call to Order by: Mike O’Brien Meeting Start Time: 6:32 PM Minutes Recorded by: Eric Vorwald II. Changes to the Agenda None III. Public Comment None IV. Approve Previous Meeting Minutes Based on attendance at the meeting, there were not enough members present to take action on either set of minutes. It was decided to table the approval until the next meeting. V. Public Hearing on Draft Amendments to the Unified Land Use and Development Regulations (ULUDR) – Multiple Sections Eric introduced this item and indicated that there were changes to the draft as highlighted in a memo included with the agenda. He stated that he would review these changes specifically, and any other information the Commissioners wanted to discuss. With that, Mike asked for a motion to open the public hearing. Brendan made a motion that was seconded by Connor to open a public hearing. All were in favor and a public hearing to take comments on the draft amendments to the Unified Land Use and Development Regulations was opened at 6:37 PM. With the hearing open, Eric highlighted the changes that were included since the hearing draft was distributed. He specifically noted changes in Articles II, IV, V, and IX. These were all minor changes with the exception of new language added under Section 5.14 related to priority housing. In Section 5.14, Eric highlighted additional language related to a requirement for common open space. This language was added based on comments from the Planning Commission at their meeting on May 9 th . The Planning Commission discussed the draft language and made several suggestions for additional information to provide more clarity on the makeup on the common open space. Eric provided additional context for the inclusion of this language and also reviewed the definition of common open space. The Planning Commissioners asked for clarification on several other sections of the proposed amendments and recommended minor changes for clarity. Eric agreed to make the proposed changes.  The Planning Commission discussed the draft language and made several suggestions for additional information to provide more clarity on the makeup on the common open space. Eric provided additional context for the inclusion of this language and also reviewed the definition of common open space. The Planning Commissioners asked for clarification on several other sections of the proposed amendments and recommended minor changes for clarity. Eric agreed to make the proposed changes. With the initial review with the Planning Commissioners concluded, Mike invited members of the public to provide comments. Amy identified concerns with increased density, lack of regulations for required landscaping, possible loss of existing mature trees, stormwater concerns, and other environmental impacts. Next, Terry provided comments to the Planning Commission. She echoed the comments from Amy, and also asked specific questions about why the lots in the Residential C District were being reduced in the manner proposed. Eric indicated that all three residential zoning districts were being changed to better align with existing conditions. He provided details on data that was reviewed by the Planning Commission that highlighted the percentage of properties that met the current dimensional standards, and the number of parcels that would meet the proposed dimensional standards. He noted that the goal was to have as many properties as possible in conformance with the dimensional standards. Following public comments, the Planning Commission continued their discussion of the draft amendments. They asked about next steps and options for adding in new language related to common open space. Eric explained the process and indicated that the Planning Commission could hold additional hearings on the amendments, or propose new language to be included for the City Council. After some additional discussion and review, the Planning Commission agreed to specific changes to the common open space language that would eliminate and compress the specific section. After this discussion, Brendan made a motion that was seconded by Abby to close the public hearing. All were in favor and the public hearing was closed at 8:30pm. Following this, Brendan made a motion that was seconded by Abby to forward the draft amendments to City Council with changes as discussed. All were in favor (Connor left the meeting before the vote was taken resulting in a 3-0 vote). VI. Continue Discussion on Inclusionary Zoning and Replacement Regulations Due to time constraints, this item was tabled until the next meeting. VII. City Updates Elaine provided an update on the hiring process for the Director of City Planning. Eric had no additional updates. VIII. Other Business Eric indicated that the next Planning Commission meeting would be on June 13 th . He also reminded the Planning Commissioners that this would be the only meeting in June since there would be another joint meeting with the Housing Commission on June 25 th . IX. Adjourn Motion by: Abby Second: Brendan Meeting End Time: 8:35 PM Meeting End Time: 8:35 PM