Undeveloped, Nonconforming Lots in Focus at Town Planning Commission Work Session

Just when it seems everything has been swept and made orderly for the ongoing ordinance rewrite that the Town Planning Commission is conducting, seven more obstacles arise. Having executed a regular meeting on the evening of Wednesday, November 19, in which the sole item for public hearing was an application for a mural to exceed sixty square feet of exterior wall space, receiving a favorable recommendation, the commissioners proceeded from the Government Center to Town Hall for a work session focused on perfecting the draft for the rewrite. One would not be jealous of their task.

: Town Planning Commission gathers for the monthly regular meeting on the evening of Wednesday, November 19. Royal Examiner Photo Credits: Brenden McHugh

Discerning the forest for the trees or vice versa, the commissioners are required to triangulate quickly between a highly specific detail and the zoning context in which it occurs. Their ability to do so with ease has been greatly enhanced by the work of the newly appointed GIS coordinator, Sean Mennard, whose work assisted Planning Director Lauren Kopishke in her presentation to the commissioners at the work session on Wednesday evening. Although he was not present, Kopishke praised him, noting the significant difference his talent has already made in her department.

One of the benefits Mennard has provided is a clear idea of how many lots in various residential zones are undeveloped or nonconforming. Highly difficult to develop due to their small size and the existing performance standards that may strangle any development there, these lots may require relief from those standards. The commission identified a need for legal counsel to research exactly how that would happen. A variance might be processed through the Board of Zoning Appeals, with any subsequent action in circuit court, while at the same time, there may be a place for an administrative variance. The Town Council’s place amid these concerns was a question mark, especially given the provision for a special exception, which appears to differ from a variance.

Bearing that process in mind, the commissioners discussed what ideally the normative restrictions should be. This is where the conversation got “down in the weeds”, lasting for most of an hour and forty-five minutes before they adjourned, satisfied with the progress they had made. Their dialogue looked closely at the square footage of lot size and setbacks, where in some cases, existing restrictions make development impossible for those undeveloped, nonconforming lots.

Town Planning Commission gathers for the monthly regular meeting on the evening of Wednesday, November 19. R

An owner of a local florist shop, Katie Bonnet appeals to the commissioners to approve an application for a mural more than sixty square feet of exterior wall space.