04-08-2021 Planning Commission Minutes

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MINUTES PLANNING COMMISSION APRIL 8, 2021 5 Mr. Weber commented that community input would still be allowed through staff, similar to any site plan that would be proposed to be reviewed by staff. He recognized that those uses generate a lot of traffic. Commissioner Johnson asked if the previous school was a conditional use permit which is why is came before the Planning Commission and whether that type of use would be reviewed by the Commission in the future. Chair Schwalbach commented that the school on Country Drive was within a commercial district. Commissioner Johnson commented that she was simply using that as an example of an issue that the community wanted an opportunity to have input and be heard. She recognized the desire to streamline the process for certain types of applications but stated that some applications would still benefit from the opportunity for public discussion. Mr. Weber commented that perhaps there should be a tool that would allow staff to defer the application to a review by the Planning Commission and Council. He noted that there could be a trigger, such as a level of public comments. The Community Development Director agreed that there could be thresholds developed that would trigger an application to go before the Commission and Council. She provided an overview of the engagement schedule involving business owners. She provided additional details on those included in the business community outreach thus far and noted that she will also have a focus group of small business owners in May. She reviewed the themes identified thus far by the business owner stakeholder group. Mr. Weber commented that he is pleased with the feedback received and noted that it seems that the amendments seem to be on track for the business community. ‘ Commissioner Johnson thanked the Community Development Director for including this portion. She stated that often changes are implemented without gaining input from the business community that is impacted. She stated that the input is very valuable. The Community Development Director agreed that engagement is an important process and provides valuable input from different perspectives. Mr. Weber asked if there are any neighborhood groups or block captains as that could be another group of stakeholders. The Community Development Director noted that she could look into that further related to National Night Out.