This item is a list of potential non-controversial changes to correct errors or omissions or to include things that were approved in other plans. They would prepare the amendments if this list is approved.
Mike Waidelich from the Planning Department says that they have the list that they have seen before with a few changes. Map J needs to be redone. It’s an area where there is a mobile home park. Rather than changing the designation, they looked at the neighborhood plan and they decided that they would leave it medium density but put in a note that if it is never not a mobile home park, they want it to be employment or retail. They also added note H-12. This is a small little area in the East Rail Corridor to be added to Central Park. They didn’t need to do this, but its harmless and reflects a change that will be made shortly. He also notes that maps I- 6, 7 and 8 are all recommendations from Regent St South Neighborhood Plan. These are recommendations where staff will recommend something different, the map shows staff recommendations. Otherwise, this is the final list if you approve it and then they will prepare the amendments. They would prepare an ordinance at the end of the month and that would get referred and it would come back to them in May. It’s on the schedule. It would be adopted at the Council after a public hearing. They would notify the neighborhoods affected, but they don’t expect neighborhood meetings. They are all issues dealt with before, but if someone wants a meeting they will do it.
Julia Kerr says she thought the process was bifurcated and these were the easy ones and there were other not straight forward changes, what is the process for that.
Waidelich says that they sent something to the neighborhoods and alders with the process and they put it on the comprehensive plan and city website. They said if you wanted to propose an amendment not based on planning done, they needed to get that back to staff by March 21st. Then, they will put together a list.
Kerr says that there were amendments that are not so straightforward and controversy or disagreement and there would be a process to work with alders and neighborhoods to work on those, what has been implemented to work on those so far.
Waidelich says that they were not going to go to the neighborhoods until you saw the list and decided if you wanted to consider them. Then if you want to consider them, then throughout the summer they would have a neighborhood meeting. There are only 3 at the moment and with those they would have to amend the neighborhood plan as well.
Kerr asks how many amendments are controversial, there are 30 or 35 now.
Weidelich says there are 4 and they might get more.
Kerr says those will come back to Plan Commission to see if htey want to move forward and after you get that agreement you will schedule with alders and neighborhoods, right? He says yes.
Eric Sundquist asks if there were requests that came in. Waidelich says none but the request only went out a week ago. He asks about the map note, aren’t all uses grandfathered and the comp plan is for the future.
Waidelich says that the map notes are a way to put things in there that they want to be noted. He uses Royster Clark as an example. The noted what they wanted in the future, its a way to respond to a neighborhood that has concern about the site.
Judy Olson asks about the Regent Neighborhood recommendations by staff that are different than the neighborhood recommendations. She says that seems unique, not part of an adopted plan or mistakes, they are recommendations for changes.
Waidelich says that the neighborhood wanted to change the designations, but they just approved a project that is what the staff is recommending, not what the neighborhood plan had in it. The other change is that neighborhood centers are not special designations.
Olson says they hardly seem controversial, but the process seems different. It wasn’t a typo.
Waidelich says most are not corrections but specific recommendations in plans or reflecting other plans that have been recently adopted. These are corrections or amendments that are in other planning process, in the cases you mentioned, we don’t agree with what the neighborhood asked for in the comp plan, the neighborhood plan is fine.
Kerr says the Regent South Campus plan has been adopted. She asks that the comments be removed. Bill Fruhling worked with neighborhood and we shouldn’t second guess these. Waidelich says that the recommendation is to do what neighborhood asked, staff would recommend later. Doesn’t think that you want to take it off the list.
Nan Fey, the chair explains that this is just the list of things to discuss. These are potential comp plan amendments.
Kerr says the three items here, 6 – 8, arose because the Regent St plan was adopted after the comp plan, right? Yes. The proposed land use change column is what is in the neighborhood plan and the comment is staff disagreeing with that adopted plan and asking plan commission to reconsider. Waidelich says they are asking to consider a different amendment than proposed by the neighborhood.
Kerr says that is fine, but as someone who worked on this plan, there has to be more justification for why we would change something just adopted by the Plan commission, one sentence comment doesn’t cover it. Waidelich says there will be, this is just a list.
Kerr says this list was supposed to be straightforward, but these are different.
Fey says these are being identified for future discussion, so staff can prepare the amendments to be made.
Alarm going off . . .
Kerr moves to approve the list with request that staff prepare items in Regent St plan as indicated in the plan instead of the comments in the right hand column. She thinks they adopted the plan a year ago and this was not her understanding of how the process would go.
Basford seconds.
No discussion.
Passes.
