_Minutes_June 26, 2019 - Laserfiche WebLink

Commissioner Brown said he thinks the Planning Commission should also discuss this as it relates to the MU-T District because the pre-February Task Force meeting recommendation to feathering heights resulted in having the downtown at 40 feet, then Peters at 36 feet and residential at 30 feet. He liked this from a visibility perspective. When the City Council opted in and reasserted it was more in favor of the 36 feet/125 FAR versus the 40 feet/300 FAR, from his perspective, the main purpose of that was to feather the residential into the commercial and it was in keeping with the existing character of the downtown. He recognized arguments around vitality but, at the end of the day they are establishing the opportunity for Peters Avenue to become a transitional district and what is there is not 40 feet/300 FAR. If it is changed to 40 feet/300 FAR, he thinks this encourages a different kind of thought than the 36 feet/125 FAR. Commissioner Ritter asked about the 36 feet/300 FAR, noting it would be a mix of both to give some options on the feathering. Commissioner Brown said he did not think 36 feet/300 FAR made sense in encouraging a different product. Chair Allen agreed it did not make sense. It is currently designated as Office which is 30 feet and well below 100 FAR. It is increasing what the standards are today for the properties along here that are designated as Office. Commissioner Brown concurred and said this is an opportunity to enhance the downtown and be a transitional district between residential and commercial, and to encourage a different type of product that feathers the two and allows for revitalization of the downtown. He thinks 36 feet/125 FAR still does that, whereas at 40 feet/300 FAR, they are just extending the downtown commercial into Peters Avenue and he was not sure he was in agreement with that. Commissioner Ritter inquired whether there were currently existing buildings above 36-feet in the Mixed-Use Transitional area. Mr. Beaudin said the West Angela/Peters Avenue townhouses are 34 feet, 6 inches in height. The St. Mary's Street project is 36 feet tall. The other two things that fall into this residential visibility category are the story poles and visual simulations which could be added to discussion. Commissioner Brown proposed a motion that the Planning Commission recommend the City Council's recommendation around just the Mixed Use Transitional being 36 feet/125 maximum FAR. Commissioner Ritter seconded, and said he would push against using the word "two-story" and "three-story" because if they keep to the number of feet, this is what the Task Force discussed. ACTION: There was unanimous consensus that the Planning Commission support the City Council's direction for the MU-T District for 36 feet maximum height and 125 maximum Floor-Area-Ratio. Planning Commission Minutes Page 10 of 27 June 26, 2019 ght such as the renderings on what they eventually would like Main Street to look like. He did not disagree, as an example, that making PUDs mandatory for all residential projects that fill all of Planning Commission Minutes Page 7 of 27 June 26, 2019 Laura Olson, Executive Director of PDA, and member of the Downtown Specific Plan Task Force, voiced disappointment with what was being presented, stating the PDA Vitality Committee began meeting and red-lining the 2002 DSP in 2013. They provided it to staff in 2014 and have been awaiting this process. She said although there have been wins, there Planning Commission Minutes Page 6 of 27 June 26, 2019