Town Planning Commission Makes Significant Progress on Ordinance Rewrite at Work Session

“This is so great,” Commissioner Allen Neel enthused at one point during the Town Planning Commission’s work session of Wednesday, November 5. He was speaking directly to the team-spirited effort the commissioners make in concert with staff to resolve issues, execute tasks, and engage in respectful discussion when faced with a steep incline, like the ongoing ordinance rewrite that commanded their attention that evening. Commissioner Megan Marrazzo brings to the table a finely sculpted attention to detail, often foreseeing situations that might escape her colleagues. Neel brings a tireless work ethic, always prepared with the fruits of his research. Commissioner Teresa Fedoryka brings an eagerness to make sure every avenue has been explored. Chairman Connie Marshner often sees things from a great distance and supplies the commission with that aerial perspective. And Commissioner Andrew Brooks, who was absent that evening due to his admission to the FBI Academy, is one like Calvin Coolidge who speaks rarely but profoundly when he does.

The Town Planning Commission gathers for a work session on the evening of Wednesday, November 5. Royal Examiner Photo Credits: Brenden McHugh.

“I wonder if in twenty years,” Marrazzo said humorously, “a future commission will be looking at our work and wondering why we did it this way, the way we’re wondering now.” The ordinance, as it stands, bears testimony to the human imprint of those who have touched it in the past. The absence of definitions that would be helpful, the presence of seemingly arbitrary restrictions, and ultimately the inability to foretell the future all indicate clay feet. This current governmental body seems to have a healthy awareness of limitations, if only through their determination to collaborate with one another. The document they send to Town Council will be the outcome of many hours spent finessing the implications of a single comma or evaluating whether the true character of a zoning district is being preserved.

Having spent the entirety of a previous work session reviewing the R-1 district, the commission proceeded to vet R-2, R-3, and C-1. Conversation centering around the residential zones focused on maintaining R-2’s reputation for low to medium density and the R-3’s for high density. Deputy Zoning Administrator John Ware, at one point, explained the problem that occurs when smaller lots are not permitted to develop at higher density. Setbacks are such that “even a bird feeder” would not be allowable in many situations. What Planning and Zoning wants to avoid is “spot zoning”, where highly specific areas are rezoned, but out of character with what surrounds them. Thus, adjusting the performance standards, if only by tweaking certain restrictions, could resolve many of these cases.

Deputy Zoning Administrator John Ware leads the commission through a review of an application for a mural that would exceed sixty square feet of wall space.

A discussion of what should be allowed to develop by-right in the commercial C-1 district concluded with the consensus that residential allowances like single-family, townhouses, and multi-family ought to be processed under special-use permits. A great deal of discussion was also dedicated to the allowance of residential occupancy above the ground floor over commercial use. During their review, the commissioners often puzzled over changes that a consultant had made to the document which had she not been absent due to an illness, Planning Director Lauren Kopishke would have been able to explain. Thus, many notes for Lauren were made that evening.

The commission plans to hold another work session after their regular meeting on the evening of November 19. Also, prior to their ordinance review on Wednesday night, they reviewed an application for a mural that would exceed sixty square feet of wall space.