Erie Planning Commission Meeting: September 7, 2023 – Elections and Parkdale North PD Rezoning
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Erie Planning Commission Meeting: September 7, 2023 – Elections and Parkdale North PD Rezoning
The Erie Planning Commission met on September 7, 2023, to elect a new Chair and Vice Chair, hold a public hearing on the Parkdale North Planned Development (PD) Rezoning, and discuss staff reports and upcoming training. All votes were unanimous.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Andrea Marinucci (670 Grenville Circle, Erie) expressed traffic safety concerns regarding Arapahoe Road, including the need for wider roads, additional traffic lights, speed limits, and a potential connection from Parkdale to the Compass neighborhood. She also asked about plans for a road from Parkdale to the Quest area.
Discussion Items
- Election of Chair and Vice Chair – Vice Chair Tim Burns was nominated and unanimously elected as Chair. Commissioner Laws was then nominated and unanimously elected as Vice Chair. The commission discussed the process, with Planning Manager Lisa Ritchie clarifying that the Vice Chair does not automatically succeed to the Chair.
- Parkdale North Planned Development (PD) Rezoning (Agenda Item 23-432) – Senior Planner Harry Brennan presented the staff recommendation for approval of the 140-acre rezoning, which unifies four planning areas (single-family detached, attached, a mixed-use triangle, and a school site) under a single PD. Applicant John Prestwich (PCS Group) provided additional context, noting the proposal is a logical extension of the existing Parkdale community and includes cash-in-lieu for Compass Neighborhood Park. Commissioners asked questions about traffic studies, the Coal Creek Boulevard realignment, abandoned wells, trail connections, and the school site. The public hearing was opened at 6:41 PM, closed at 7:24 PM, and deliberation followed.
Key Outcomes
- Election Results: Commissioner Tim Burns elected Chair; Commissioner Laws elected Vice Chair. Both motions passed unanimously (7-0).
- Parkdale North PD Rezoning: Motion to approve Resolution P23-08 based on staff report and consistency with the Town of Erie Comprehensive Plan passed unanimously (7-0). The recommendation will go to the Board of Trustees for final decision, subject to technical corrections.
- Meeting Cancellation: The commission agreed to cancel the September 20, 2023 meeting due to lack of agenda items.
- Future Training: Planning Commissioner training (CIRSA) and an affordable housing update are scheduled for October 4, 2023.
- Policy Advisory Committee (PAC): Commissioner Booth will remain the primary representative; Commissioner Baham will serve as alternate.
- Commissioner Reports: Chair Burns will attend the SISU Sisterhoods Annual State of the Town meeting and present the Planning Commission’s biannual report to the Board of Trustees.
Meeting Transcript
The election of a chair and vice chair. Um let's see. Uh I don't know if I need to explain kind of what the reason for it is and just go right into So just for a little bit of background, the um chair was previously uh Commissioner Kyle Swakowski, who has since moved out of state. Uh Tim Burns was in the role of vice chair, therefore he's serving in the role of chair tonight until such time as we hold election of officers. So it's really all at your discretion. You can um discuss this a bit, you can make motions. Um and if vice chair Burns is um rem if a different chair is selected, then he would remain in the vice chair position. So I don't think we would have to revote um if someone else um is elected chair. But if he's elected chair, then we would then fill a vice chair position. Is this different from other commissions where vice chair isn't just automatically moved to chair? Um that's a good question. I think the safest bet is to vote for yeah. So we've done last month. Okay. Um do we have a motion to nominate a chair? I'd like to move that we nominate vice chair Burns to be chairperson. Uh Broad seconds. We have any other nominations. Anybody else want to be chair? So we do have a motion on the floor. So if we want to discuss that and take a vote on that motion. Okay, just even without the okay. Um we have a motion in a second. Will the secretary please conduct a roll call vote? Commissioner Brodis. Yes. Commissioner Drackman. Yes. Commissioner Baham. Yes. Commissioner Laws. Yes. Commissioner Booth. Yes. Commissioner Hempel. Yes. Yes. Unanimous motion passes. Okay. Um, do we have a uh a motion to nominate a vice chair? I move that we open discussion on this issue. Do I need to make a motion for that? You do not. Okay, then I would like to for us to have a discussion about this issue. Since there are so many of us that are new here, I think that maybe opening up and having conversation about it would be beneficial for the new commissioners. Would you be interested, Mr. Laws? I I was thinking about nominating you. Would that be something you'd be interested in doing? I'd be interested in doing that, and I appreciate it.
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