Erie Planning Commission Meeting - August 26, 2022

Note: The meeting minutes and transcript provided are dated August 17, 2022, but the designated meeting date for this summary is August 26, 2022. The Planning Commission convened at 6:32 PM with Chair Zuniga presiding and five commissioners present (Burns, Baham, Booth, Luthi, Zuniga). Commissioner Swikoski was absent/excused. The meeting adjourned at 7:06 PM. All votes taken were unanimous.

Consent Calendar

• Agenda Amendment: Chair Zuniga proposed removing Agenda Item 22-307 (Bi-Annual Report to the Board of Trustees) because the commission had already discussed it and only minor updates to the presentation were needed. Motion passed unanimously (5-0).
• Approval of Minutes: The August 3, 2022 Planning Commission meeting minutes were approved unanimously (5-0).

Public Comments & Testimony

• No members of the public attended in person or virtually, and no written comments were received. Public comment portions were closed without testimony.

Discussion Items

• Public Hearing 22-316 – Resolution P22-07 (Amendments to Land Use Approval Procedures): Staff planner Deborah Bachelder presented the proposed ordinance amending Chapter 2 and Chapter 7 of Title 10 of the Erie Municipal Code. The amendments aim to reinsert procedural language for existing Planned Unit Development (PUD) overlay districts, which became inactive in January 2022, and to allow minor amendments (e.g., small boundary adjustments) to be processed administratively without full Planning Commission and Board of Trustees hearings. Key thresholds discussed: minor amendments may involve a deviation from standards up to 10%, a change in land area up to 5% of the PUD, and a change in approved dwelling units of no more than 1%. Major amendments would still require the original review process. Staff confirmed the code changes would not affect already-submitted applications.
• Commissioner Questions and Positions: Commissioners raised questions about the scope of “minor” deviations, whether large projects (e.g., over 25,000 sq. ft.) would still require Planning Commission review, the expiration/review cycle of the language, and whether the 1% dwelling-unit threshold is appropriate for large developments. They also asked about the rationale for the 5% land-area benchmark and whether reductions can be larger. Staff clarified that the thresholds are intended to keep truly minor changes administrative while larger changes still go through public hearings. Commissioners expressed no opposition; the discussion was informational.
• Staff Reports and Upcoming Meetings: Staff noted that the September 7 Planning Commission meeting may not occur due to lack of agenda, and that board reports would be presented to the Board of Trustees on September 13. A tentative agenda item exists for September 21.
• Commissioner Reports and Discussion: No formal reports. Commissioner Booth asked about attendance at the September 13 Board meeting; the Town Attorney advised that no more than three commissioners could attend without triggering a noticed joint meeting.

Key Outcomes

• Unanimous votes (5-0) on: Removing Agenda Item 22-307; approving August 3, 2022 minutes; recommending approval of Resolution P22-07 to the Board of Trustees.
• Resolution P22-07 recommended for approval: The Planning Commission voted to recommend that the Board of Trustees adopt the ordinance amending Chapters 2 and 7 of Title 10. The ordinance is scheduled for a public hearing before the Board of Trustees on September 13, 2022.
• Next steps: Staff will present the commission's biannual report to the Board of Trustees on September 13. The September 21 Planning Commission meeting has a tentative agenda item.