03-11-2021 Planning Commission Minutes

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MINUTES PLANNING COMMISSION MARCH 11, 2021 4 The Community Development Director noted that the proposed layout would make it much easier for applicants to determine what would be allowed. Commissioner Johnson referenced fuel stations and asked if those applicants would go through a permitted process rather than going to the Commission and Council. She noted that those uses are typically found at busy intersections and perhaps additional review would be needed by the Commission and Council. Mr. Weber stated that new development typically has straightforward requirements within the Code and could be reviewed by staff. He noted that typically the Commission would not have much input because it is not a subjective matter. He stated that there would still be public notification, but those comments would go direct to staff rather than the Planning Commission. He stated that the one benefit of having the commentary occur at a public meeting is that people can gather and listen to all the comments at once. He stated that whether the permitted uses would be reviewed by staff or the Commission and Council could be determined later in this Zoning Code update process. He stated that the idea of having every request reviewed by the City Council goes back to when Little Canada was a small township. He noted that having this permitted use process would allow an applicant to move forward seven or eight weeks quicker. Chair Schwalbach used the example of the Caribou Coffee development, which required a traffic study. He noted that staff would still have the ability to require that if the Commission does not review the request. Commissioner Johnson stated that her concern was related to high traffic and highly intensive use areas. The Community Development Director noted that if a variance were requested the entire application would still go before the Commission and Council. Mr. Weber noted that if an applicant were not pleased with the outcome of the staff review process, they would still have the ability to appeal that to the Commission and/or Council. He noted that they will come back to that concept of permitted approval in a few months. He continued to focus on the commercial districts and areas it would be applied. He noted that front setbacks would be proposed to be reduced from the existing standard in order to allow a building to be set closer to the street with parking to the side or rear. He stated that the corridor mixed use district would allow housing and believed that would be of interest along Rice Street. The Community Development Director noted that the reduced front setback would also promote walkability.