HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-13-23 Planning Commission MinutesCommissioners Present: Kevin Meyer, Chairman; AJ Schrantz, Van Taylor, Terry Hale, Frank Niece, Rachel Arthur, Dustin Davis
Town Staff: Summer Bork, Town Planner.
1. Call to Order
Due to a scheduling conflict, the Planning Commission Meeting met in the East Wing Conference Room; signs were posted to direct the public to the changed venue. Chairman Meyer called
the Planning Commission to order at 5:58 p.m.
2. Roll Call of Commission
A quorum was determined with all members present.
3. Review and Approval of Minutes
Chairman Meyer called for a review of the minutes. No changes were requested. Mr. Schrantz moved that they accept the minutes. Mr. Hale seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
4. Public Hearing
a. A zoning text amendment to section 11.2—amending the definition of “medical office.”
Mr. Meyer wondered if it wouldn’t make more grammatical sense to change the word “provides” to “including.” Ultimately, the commission decided that the sentence did not read very smoothly,
but the meaning was clear, and whether parallelism was preserved likely didn’t matter.
Mr. Meyer opened the public hearing. Ms. Arthur checked that no members of the public were present in the hall due to the venue change. No members were present. Mr. Meyer closed the
hearing.
Mr. Taylor moved that the Commission recommend that the definition of “medical office” in section 11.2 of the Pulaski Town Zoning Ordinance be amended from “substance abuse disorder
services” to “substance abuse disorder clinics.” Mr. Niece seconded the motion. The vote passed with the following roll call vote:
Aye: Hale, Schrantz, Neice, Meyer, Davis, and Taylor
Abstain: Arthur
b. A zoning text amendment to section 11.2—adding the definition for “substance abuse disorder clinics.”
Mr. Meyer opened the public hearing. Mr. Taylor checked the hall to ensure no members of the public were waiting to speak. No members were present. Mr. Meyer closed the public hearing.
Ms. Arthur recommended adding the following definition to section 11.2 of the Pulaski Town Zoning Ordinance for Substance Abuse Disorder Clinic(s): An outpatient establishment where
patients receive diagnosis, assessments, treatments, and follow-up care for suspected cases of substance use or abuse disorders, which dispense and/or administer controlled substances
on the clinic premises that are not available to non-patients. Mr. Schrantz seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
5. Old Business
a. Hospital Definition—Tabled
The Commission had tabled the matter until the town’s attorney could review the definition. The Town Attorney had not provided comments, so the item remained tabled.
8. Staff Report
a. Updating the Definition for Mobile/Manufactured Housing
Ms. Bork explained that recent inquiries from the public had raised the issue that mobile and manufactured housing were combined into one definition within the town’s zoning ordinance.
The town’s present definition did not adequately consider the advances in modular and manufactured housing in recent years.
She recommended that the commission consider developing new definitions to address modern building methods better and enable a variety of housing stock in the Town. Mr. Schrantz clarified
that manufacturing a manufactured housing definition would include housing options such as 3-D printed houses and other innovative building methods. Ms. Bork confirmed that part of
reevaluating these definitions would provide an opportunity to expand the town’s manufactured housing definition to include such building methods.
Ms. Arthur and Mr. Meyer, while generally agreeable to newer manufactured and modular housing and agreed that the town should reevaluate its definition, were concerned that the town
does not loosen its provisions to limit older mobile trailer-style homes as allowing those within residential neighborhoods may adversely affect property value and present safety concerns.
Mr. Schrantz pointed out that newer model tailors could be aesthetically pleasing. Still, he wanted to know if building standards were different for modular and mobile homes than stick-built
construction and whether they would present possible health and safety concerns in the long term.
Ms. Bork stated that she would take these concerns under advisement while working on the initial language for this update. She also reminded the commissioners that she had sent out the
2024 meeting schedule with their agenda and pointed out a potential conflict between the commission's Oct. 2024 holiday alternative date and the scheduled Town Council meeting. She
informed the Commissioner they may want to take action on an alternative date or cancel the meeting closer to the day.
Mr. Schrantz motioned that the October 2024 meeting be canceled unless recalled by the chairperson. This was seconded by Mr. Hale and passed unanimously.
9. Commissioner Comments
Ms. Arthur expressed concern regarding hours of operation restriction on faith-based sponsored warming shelters, and she was concerned with regulating what times an organization was
permitted to operate.
Mr. Meyer recalled that, generally, the town had favored other houses of worship starting this type of outreach. However, some concerns regarding possible effects on the public did arise
as part of the commission’s deliberations. The existing conditions were created in consultation with “taking to the street” (a successful outreach model). The Commission used “Taking
to the Streets” operational procedures to guide the creation of the Town’s conditions, and the established limits were far less strict than those in “Taking to the Streets” operational
policies.
Mr. Taylor informed the commission that he would be out of town on December 11, the date of the next commission meeting. A couple of other members were uncertain whether they could
also be present. Mr. Taylor moved that the December 2023 meeting be canceled. Ms. Arthur seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously.
10. Adjournment
With no further business to discuss, Ms. Arthur moved to adjourn the meeting, and Mr. Hale seconded. There were no objections; the meeting ended at 6:53 PM.
Kevin Meyer, Chair
Summer Bork, Town Planner