Altoona Plan Commission Meeting – July 8, 2025

The Altoona Plan Commission met on July 8, 2025, in Council Chambers at Altoona City Hall, with Chairperson Matthew Buren presiding in the absence of Mayor Brendan Pratt. Present were commissioners Sue Roll, Nicholas Hog, Dean Roth, and Bill Hapner; Ben Traxel and Mayor Pratt were absent. Staff present included Planning Director Taylor Greenwell and City Clerk Cindy Bauer. A quorum was established. The Commission approved four multifamily site plans for Bartlett Crossing and handled routine business.

Consent Calendar

• The citizen participation period was closed with no public comments.
• The minutes of the June 10, 2025, Regular Plan Commission Meeting were approved on a motion by Commissioner Roll, seconded by Commissioner Roth, with all in favor.

Discussion Items

• Lot 2 – Bartlett Crossing (14-unit building): Staff reviewed a site plan for a 14-unit multifamily building on a 0.67-acre lot zoned R3, a permitted use. The lot had been vacant. Setbacks were 6 feet north, 10 feet south, 24 feet front, and 25 feet rear; the lot was approximately 29,000 square feet. The plan provided 14 garage stalls plus 14 front parking spaces, equaling 28 off-street stalls against a required 21 garage stalls. Building height was 31 feet, driveway width was 22 feet, and exterior material was lap siding. Staff recommended approval with the same conditions applied to prior Bartlett Crossing approvals. Discussion confirmed the upper units are three-bedroom and lower units are one-bedroom, and that the proposal is substantially similar to the original development plan. The Commission approved the Lot 2 site plan as conditioned in the staff report.
• Lots 3, 4, and 5 – Bartlett Crossing (10-unit buildings): Staff presented identical site plans for three 10-unit buildings. Lot 3 was 0.46 acres, with 10-foot side setbacks, a 24-foot front setback, and a 25-foot rear setback. The plans provided 10 garage stalls plus front parking spaces against a required 15 garage stalls, a 31-foot building height, and 22-foot driveway width. During discussion, commissioners asked about pedestrian safety on the private driveway; staff noted that the private drive has no sidewalk, but pedestrian circulation is provided by a continuous sidewalk along the rear/public street portions and the private drive is not city-maintained. Commissioner Roll asked whether staff recommendations were the same for all three lots, and staff confirmed they were. Commissioner Roll moved to approve the site plans for Lots 3, 4, and 5 with staff recommendations; the motion was seconded and passed unanimously.

Key Outcomes

• Approved the Lot 2 Bartlett Crossing site plan for a 14-unit building, as conditioned in the staff report.
• Approved the Lot 3, Lot 4, and Lot 5 Bartlett Crossing site plans for 10-unit buildings, as conditioned in the staff report.
• No unfinished business was considered.
• Miscellaneous communications: the Container Park is scheduled to open July 26; a special meeting is set for July 22 at 5:30 p.m. primarily for a conditional use permit/liquor license related to the beer garden. The Commission also discussed the Coolie Boutique's upcoming Altoona location and noted that Partners Energy concluded its project after a booth at Music in the Park, with an award presentation release/video to be posted later.

The meeting adjourned with a motion made, seconded, and carried.