Planning Commission special Meeting

Detailed briefing

PLANNING COMMISSION SPECIAL MEETING — MARCH 7, 2024 ATTENDEES: Nine voting Planning Commission members were present, along with student representative Mackenzie Bman, city staff, legal counsel and members of the public. John Iangel participated by Zoom. • The commission addressed properties in the transitional-residential, or TR, area along Bay Street. The planning consultant said the 2014 and 2022 master plans identify the area for future commercial use, while residents argued that the area has long been predominantly residential and should remain unchanged. • Public speakers raised concerns that Central Business District zoning could permit more commercial uses and eventually change Bay Street’s residential character. Other concerns included property-owner notification, setbacks, building height, water views, possible litigation and uncertainty about why the future land-use designation was originally selected. • After discussion, the commission voted 8-1 for a Bay Street overlay approach. The affected properties would move into the Central Business District, but the overlay would use dimensional requirements matching the current TR district rather than ordinary CBD standards. The overlay’s name was left to be determined. • The approved approach also recognizes existing single-family residential use through special land-use protection. Commissioners were told that this protection would remain with the property, allow residential owners to maintain or expand buildings within zoning limits, and could be recorded with the register of deeds. Commercial development would still be possible under the new district and applicable overlay restrictions. • On the broader rewrite, residents again questioned commercial expansion, density, smaller lots, the handling of church and agricultural properties, public notice, and the relationship between the zoning work and Redevelopment Ready Communities. Commissioners said accessory commercial units had already been removed and argued that the remaining revisions provide options without causing widespread development. • The commission unanimously approved the zoning-code draft dated March 4, 2024, as amended by the Bay Street decision. It then unanimously recommended that City Council adopt proposed Ordinance 439 with the amended code attached. City Council, not the Planning Commission, will make the final adoption decision. Worth watching: 1. How the Bay Street overlay boundaries, name and dimensional table are written into the ordinance. 2. Whether residential special land-use protections are recorded with the register of deeds as discussed. 3. City Council’s review of Ordinance 439 and the continued public objections to the rewrite. Upcoming: The commission expected to keep its next regular meeting on the 22nd to approve minutes; staff reported no pending applications. Why it matters: The recommendation would substantially update the city’s zoning code while changing the regulatory framework for Bay Street properties that residents want protected from intensified commercial development.

Agenda items

• 5A · Discussion — TR District on Bay St. and Zoning Code Updatediscussed

No open public follow-ups are linked to this meeting yet.

Related issues

• Zoning / Land Usediscussed