The changes will eventually require a public hearing, Planning and Development Director Amanda Jarratt said at tonight’s meeting. Planners will most likely begin detailed discussions of the proposed changes in July.
Changes proposed include putting the keeping of outside dogs and cats in the land use ordinance. While it is addressed in the city ordinance, it is not addressed in the land use ordinance, Jarratt said.
Another change, which is already being done, is correcting an inconsistency which states the planning board has 65 days to consider an application. New regulations call for 30 days for the board to consider an application before it goes to city council.
The land use ordinance does not address third party zoning and the city’s statement of consistency needs to be refined.
While Jarratt said the major and minor subdivision regulations seem “to be working fairly well,” she said the number of lots for minor subdivisions should be changed from no more than eight to no more than four or six. With eight lots, street improvements must be considered, she said.
The storm water management portion of the ordinance needs to not only reflect the quantity of water, but the quality, Jarratt said. She said a purpose and intent statement needs to be added and requirements on how channels can handle runoff needs to be addressed.
Jarratt told the planning board one of things lacking is traffic impact. “We need to have some understanding prior to approval. We need to have more detail on traffic analysis and capacity analysis.”
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