This has been something that we've especially now when we're seeing a lot more development crises in place, and so we're just seeing movement in different ways right now.

And uh we've just as council, it's it's as you all know, you navigate it every day.

It's a complex, it's a it's a lot, it's a lot.

And so just to help us and to help the public better understand just what this looks like and and how we can best navigate through this process.

So with that, I will go ahead and Mike pass over to you all.

Just gonna kind of kick it off here.

First, I'd like to say thank you because um things have changed with this process, and so we are very happy to be able to come and talk to you about processes, what your role is in these um in this policy and processes, and also to discuss how the city handles land development.

Um to note that we are always available to discuss anything to talk through, to walk through, not only with our elected officials, but we are constantly reminding that in the public that we are here to help, and um I think you'll see that through the through the presentation, that it's pretty clear that we've spelled out each step of the way.

So um, but with that, I'm gonna hand it over to Cooper to walk through the SADO, the subdivision and land development process, and also we're gonna we're at we're actually beginning with the waterfront conditional use also because that we have a hearing next week.

We've had um we've had a hearing already um just within the year, um, and so we want to make sure that you all are aware of the process that's in place, again the role that the city council, that planning commission plays, and the um the influence or the the con the reasonable conditions that can be placed on some of these these projects coming through.

And can I just say before Cooper starts, we have a lot, so this is a lot to get through.

So hopefully we can keep it moving, but we want to answer your questions, and just to be clear, what you have in front of you is not the whole presentation.

So Cooper's gonna go through it on the screen.

Do you have some handouts to support?

I just don't want everyone looking not knowing where we are.

Okay.

Thanks.

Yeah, and feel free to interrupt with any questions because it it's a lot.

Um yeah, like Jackie said, we're gonna talk about waterfront conditional use and then saldo.

Um we have some slides in there to talk about city council's role in these processes and also the public's role in the process.

Um and just to start, we're gonna talk about three main documents, and we're gonna probably slip into acronyms.

So just to make everybody aware, we're gonna talk about the zoning ordinance, the subdivision and land development ordinance, which is the saldo, and the Pennsylvania municipalities planning guide, which is or planning code MPC.

Um right off the bat we'll get way more into this, but the difference in roles and responsibilities is that waterfront conditional use is approved by city council, subdivisions and land developments are approved by the planning commission and won't be in front of city council.

So waterfront conditional use, any development in the waterfront district, and this is the first page in the packet, a little map.

This is the zoning map.

Um anything in the waterfront area, which is zones WC, WC2, WC3, W M and W R on the map.

It's this blue shape along the water with the lines through it.

And then there's another smaller piece off to the east.

Um all of that is the waterfront area, so development in there goes through this waterfront conditional use process and comes before city council.

Um all of this is defined in Article 306 of the zoning ordinance.

Many of the regulations that these projects will have to comply with are in the zoning ordinance.

Excuse me.

But we'll talk about a couple specific things that we felt really important.

Um first, any project along the waterfront, if it touches the water, it has to maintain this um public promenade right across the water for activities.

It could be jogging, it could be biking, but that's a non-negotiable written zoning ordinance that has to be maintained for any of these projects.

Um all of the projects have to have a unity of character and design, which is a little bit vague.

Um and this is the language that the design review committee and planning commission are upholding.

So if there's improvements to consider, um I think some of that language would be a good place to start.

Uh there are also landscape requirements, how much of the sites have to be given over to green space, um, an open space on the waterfront, lighting, um, and a number of other things like that, screening are stipulated in the ordinance.

Um really conditional use allows for greater authority in protecting public safety and welfare compared to use by right.

So projects that are not in the waterfront, we don't have this level of scrutiny over.

And we have less authority than we do in the waterfront.

The flow chart off the left is the next page in the handouts.

But like I said, all this is dictated by the zoning ordinance and ultimately approved by city council.

And we'll just walk through the flowchart kind of quickly as if we were an applicant.

So first, when they get in contact with our office, we encourage them to set up a pre-application meeting.

And we include not only us in planning, but we'll include zoning and engineering and permitting and everyone who's available, just to make sure we're all starting with the same information.

When they submit an application, they pay the fee.

All of the information that's required is in the application.

And when we get an application that we deem to be complete, we pass it off to the design review committee.

The design review committee is an advisory body.

They're appointed by the planning commission.

And they review the project for aesthetics, and they look at that unity of character and design and other language like that.

They make a recommendation to the planning commission.

The planning commission will hold a meeting that's the third Tuesday of each month.

They'll look for compliance with the zoning ordinance and any of the adopted city plans, like our comprehensive plan early focused.

And then they will make a recommendation to City Council.

That's when I'll send you the memo.

And both the design review committee and planning commission meetings are public meetings.

So there's two opportunities for public engagement there.

Then the public hearing with City Council.

And we require an owner or representative to be present at those.

We won't speak on behalf of the project.

We ask somebody to come and do that.

And that's another major opportunity for public input.

And at the start of the public hearing, which I'll do next week as well, I'll stand up and read the comments that the design review committee and planning commission have provided to City Council.

At a following meeting, City Council will vote to approve the conditional use.

And after that, if there's nothing else to do, they can apply for building permits, but likely they'll still have to go through the saldo process, which we'll talk about.

Who approved that wrong or the originally wasn't this waterfront area supposed to be residential dwellings?

How do we get to 30 apartments?

A lot of it is residential, and there are a number of different zones within the waterfront area.

So there's conditional and residential and questions.

I guess this is all great.

Yeah.

But we don't get involved until down here.

We should hear it right at the start.

Sure.

On a waterfront.

Sure.

This this process is dictated by the zoning ordinance.

So if if you wanted to change the process, then we would do process.

I'm just asking you a question.

But it's not answering.

But it's dictated.

Yeah.

Well, there must have been, I can't remember off the top of my head which specific zone that was in, but it must allow for that number of units, or it would never have gotten past our zoning office.

Yeah.

I also want to add, and Cooper's gonna go into that.

The design review and the planning commission is appointed by you, council.

So we'll talk about that.

And if you are not feeling you're getting the information you want, those are your appointees.

So at any point you could step in there and make a change.

No, my comment we get information, but I think it's so far down the line, it's almost too late to have any real input anyway.

And I think to Jackie's point, happy to hear if you think that needs to be changed.

We could.

Absolutely.

Yep.

Um and then getting into city council's role in this process, of course, the public hearings.

Um and we did want to just point out and make very clear that the public hearings have to be scheduled within 60 days of the request for the public hearing, or it's automatically assumed that it's approved, and city council waives the right to review the project.

Um after the planning commission meeting, I send memos to the clerks and the city council, and that will start the 60-day timeline from that request.

Cooper, I'd like I'd like to just note um the hearing that we have that's on the 18th.

That was approved by Planning Commission or recommended to council on January 20th.

So we are cutting it very short between the 60 for the 60 days.

When they must be scheduled.

There's like scheduled and held held.

Yes.

Within 60 days of the original request.

Correct.

And if if not, per the MPC, per the per the state regulations, then it's deemed approved and goes forward.

In favor of the applicant.

Yes.

Just to note.

Um so city council can set reasonable conditions and safeguards on the project on top of what's laid out in the zoning ordinance.

And the next page in the packet.

Conditions cannot be related to off-site roadway improvements.

So we can't really require anybody to improve the street in front of their site because it's not part of their project.

And we can't tie it to a specific person or owner.

But it could include screening, which is that could be we want to see more trees between the road and the site, or we want to see a heavier fence that shields maybe some of their equipment that would otherwise be visible.

It could have to do with lighting if we're worried about overlighting in the city, maybe especially on the bay front.

And it could also be operating hours and you know if it's a certain use, we could say we think that maybe you shouldn't be open past nine in this area.

Conditions are lawful if they're accepted by the applicant.

So if the applicant does not contest them, and again this is all on this page here, then they must abide by them.

And it's part of the project.

And we started, I thought he was really against the whole project.

Right.

All you do is throwing off steam.

Yeah.

One little vocation would have been good for us sitting here.

If you don't have experience in real estate, you could say, well, he's right, we're taking a foot in snow.

But we're going to do this and we're going to do that.

These are all legitimate concerns.

Sure.

And uh you said I've 35 years in real estate, I know a little bit about what I'm talking about.

And I don't think that folks that don't have that experience, you know, you sit there and because I asked Danny, I said, are you for this or against it?

If you remember that meeting.

Yeah, it's okay.

Okay.

Right.

And he was on the design review committee and had already voted to recommend it to city council.

That's the story.

Thank you.

But in bringing up that meeting, um, you know, we we we talked a lot about the public hearing after that particular meeting because of some of the the comments that were made that really were not pertinent to to the public hearing themselves.

And I know we've spoken to the solicitor about this and that really during that time frame, that public hearing time, is for the applicant to address counsel for the public to then come out and speak for for against.

If you are to put condition reasonable conditions, that then would come between the public hearing, you would work with really with Cooper and the applicant between the public hearing and when you take the vote.

So not to say that you couldn't ask questions around you know the development, but imposing anything that is irrelevant or not pertinent.

Thank you.

That's what I was saying.

What do you think slept, Scott for his new hotel?

We're not going to turn that down.

You got the money from the state, so he's going.

That's different, totally different and unique than apartments, which I you know, even if we had condos there, at least we have real ownership.

I worry about the future.

I won't be around.

And we're going to talk in the comprehensive plan part about zoning updates.

And so I think if you're seeing things that you don't like, you know, whether it's numbers, you know, size of developments or use, you you can update that's within your purview to change the zoning ordinance.

And so I think that we should have that conversation when it comes time, because maybe there's changes to make.

Jackie, I want to confirm they're not going to vote.

So after the day of the hearing, they're not voting that night.

Correct?

So they have time.

Great.

So they hear and then they there's work to do.

And there's two votes.

And so they'll hear, and then if if if you do want to impose reasonable conditions, that's when you and we we did this a little bit with with the um the apartments for the for the last waterfront conditional hearing.

Um, you know, you would then ask the questions, and we we could you could directly ask those questions to the applicant, or you could work through Cooper to have Cooper um ask them to the architect or to the owner.

Um but yes, right.

How do those get tracked and then relayed?

So if if we as counsel counselors are independently going out and asking, how is that information then coming back?

Like is it so if we're what what I'm worried is if like if we all are going out uh and then that information not be coming back to you and then those accommodations maybe not showing up into fruition.

Is there a better process in which we can implement?

So if we're asking, then like making sure it's inevitably getting back to you so that could still be be in the app application or not the application, but like before we go into the vote.

I think that's a good question.

Is are you collective?

Can we somehow collectively ask some of these questions?

And you did that before.

I mean, I think you you wrote us and you wrote us an email with many of questions that you had on that development, and then we got back to you on that.

And I think the solicitor also spoke to many of the council members.

But that's a good question of do you want to be do you want to make it collect on a collective approach?

Do you want to have a discussion around is this a um an allowable conditional use, or is it something that's a bit more on the the side of legality or you know that?

I think it should definitely go through the attorney.

The attorney should be looped in because I think that's where we ran into last time.

A lot of the questions that we had are things that we wanted to see weren't necessarily they weren't legal, yeah.

So I would imagine you could have a discussion, you know, at some point at the end of the hearing, I would imagine, to just talk amongst yourselves, or perhaps before the next before the first vote in that caucus.

Perhaps you someone could have collected and make the recommendations.

The solicitor can be there and and we can do that back and forth.

Um but I I would agree you need time amongst yourselves to direct us because we don't want all over the place.

We would need you to collectively tell us.

Which might be interesting.

If we got just a little piece of paper saying when we have this public hearing, you've curved you're gonna hear these concerns or those concerns and lay them out for us so we can all see them.

And then instead of being deluded at the last minute to make a decision, we'd say I will go with it.

At least we'll know what we're coming up against when we sit down.

And you'll have the comments from the design and from planning, right?

So you could provide those to council written in addition to you reading them.

Yes, I do send the memos.

Great.

They're sent great.

Um and the last one on the slide that's very important is the decision of city council can be appealed by the applicant.

And it says on the other side of that paper that the application must be granted if it complies with the zoning ordinance, unless there's a very serious concern about a detriment to the public health, safety, or welfare.

And it you have to really be able to back that up with data.

It can't just be I think this might result in more traffic and accidents.

You have to have something to show because the applicant could appeal it.

Um then for community input, like I said, design review committee and planning commission meetings, those are public meetings in accordance with the Sunshine Act.

Um the public correspondence, we accept either physical mail or electronic mail.

Um we have a section on every agenda for public comment and correspondence.

People could write it at any time about any project.

Um projects under review are made available for public viewing.

We have them upstairs in our office, and we're also posting them on the website.

Um just last week somebody came in to look at the Marriott plans with me, and we sat down and walked through them and talked about what it was.

Um we encourage, although at the moment we can't require applicants to meet with neighborhood groups.

But what happened to the map?

Oh, that's later.

No, this map.

Yeah, that's not a different one.

Oh, sorry.

That's later in so much.

Sorry, sorry.

Is we can't uh we can encourage what we can't require.

Is that correct?

Due to an ordinance, is that due to okay?

Yeah, there's nothing in our ordinances that requires a developer to meet with the neighborhood group.

Um, although it is one of our policies with the recent amendments to the saldo that we will include established neighborhood groups when a project is taking place within their footprint and in our application, which we'll show you in a bit.

There's a a question writ on there that makes the applicant say either yes, this is in a neighborhood group or no it's not, and it tells them which one, and that will notify us to start involving the neighborhood group.

So if they're worried about the whole time.

And then of course there's public hearings before city council.

Um the public notice is posted at the site for one week.

Um this is a picture of the one that went up just this morning uh at the site of the new or the proposed new hotel on the bayfront.

Um it's hard to see in this picture, but the the little piece of paper there just gives the time and the date of the public hearing and what it's for.

Um so anybody walking by can see it.

Legal advertisement is um published through the clerk's office two weeks in advance as required.

And then as a courtesy, we also send out mailed notice to neighboring properties um within 500 feet of the site to make sure everybody's aware of it.

And again, established neighborhood groups are notified if it's within their footprint just by default, no matter what.

Public viewing, like I said, people can come in and view the the drawings in person.

But I do think it's important to say that we will never speak on behalf of the project.

We won't speak for the developer.

We can't tell them what their intent is, but we can show them the drawings and answer any questions they have about the process and what's on the paper.

And we would never advise anybody on how to vote, of course.

We're also posting them online on the website.

So any project that's currently under review, the two that we have scheduled public hearings for are on there now.

Anybody could view them at any time.

And then this is just a picture I put in there of where they are on the planning commission page about halfway down.

If anybody asks you, there's a site a little section called projects under review, and they can access the drawings right there.

I don't know if you would want to do that right now.

Yeah, probably.

Um we're hearing a lot of chatter about next week's public hearing, and I think we're expecting quite a few people to show up and discuss the proposed hotel.

Now do they still have five minutes or can you cut it to three minutes or that's a city council rule I'm not familiar with.

Yeah, I don't know.

Looking at the solicitor.

Yeah.

This is where it's a public hearing, so they're only supposed to come up and talk about that's right.

Right.

You're not supposed to deviate this other stuff.

So if one of them starts to talk about the whoever's presiding should say, no, excuse me, that's not on top of this thing.

If they want to speak a second time for public comment, otherwise, that's a public comment.

Well we're gonna get into the meeting is a lot of people you know who we're talking about.

Uh lest uh hotel s what put down there.

He did not do all the things he wants to do.

Sure.

That's where we're gonna fill this room.

Yeah, and and I think I really appreciate you know you saying that, Ed, but Cooper saying it out loud, and I think that's why we wanted to do this with you, because we don't want you to be caught off guard.

We want you to feel empowered and educated and know like how you can handle that, because we do anticipate it, and that's why we want to just help you give you as much information as we can so that when you're sitting there listening to all of that, you really you know you can deal with it and you you have the information.

So and some of the questions at the previous meeting with with the doll campers, it was did it go through zoning?

Yes, absolutely.

It starts in zoning.

Did we do engagement?

You just saw the process that is required per the Sunshine Act and a courtesy that we do to the community to notify and make sure that they the community is aware, especially in the surrounding and adjacent um properties that they're aware of the public hearing.

So there was some question from council members last time as did we do these due diligence?

And that's the importance of showing you what goes on behind the scenes before it gets to council for the public hearing.

So that's that's the end of the waterfront conditional section.

I don't know if there are any questions before we get into SALDO.

Yeah, I have a lot of but I think it's more of like I to I will have to deep dive into that a little bit more, and I think those will just be like more offline kind of things that we can come back with.

One thing I do want to mention.

Oh, I'm sorry.

Can you come to the mic?

All right.

Sorry, so that online can hear as well.

Yeah.

I think actually what would be really helpful for council.

So next week, it's a public hearing, but it's a it's specifically for a conditional use on the waterfront.

So it's very close or almost exactly what the zoning hearing board would do on a specific piece of property in the rest of the city.

So what I would encourage you guys to do, or maybe planning could provide it, is look at section 305 of the zoning code, which specifically goes over conditional uses.

Um then go over section also 306, which outlines uh stuff that needs to be included on the waterfront.

It talks about the harmony, it talks about this the um the screening and all sorts of other things.

And I think and if you go through those two sections, they're quite lengthy, but if you go over them, you'll get be able to get um in mind what you're supposed to be looking for, and then when you see the actual plan of the developer, you'll be able to maybe compare that.

Because if they don't have screening, then they need to include it because it's on our ordinance.

And that might be helpful for you guys to prep for next week and help your questions kind of be more pointed and maybe more effective, is my question.

That's all I would say.

That's my suggestion.

Thank you.

And that is precisely what the design review committee does is that they don't put any reasonable conditions.

They can, but their their job is advisory is to say, have you met all of the things in section 306?

And if you haven't, then you need to adjust your your development plans.

And we will approve it and allow it to go to planning commission.

If they do that, then it goes to planning commission, and planning commission says, okay, you have satisfied what's in the code, and then now it goes to council.

Where council has more of the role or influence is that you then can put those con reasonable conditions on.

Where I struggle is that the language is vague.

It's um it's not gray, but it's vague.

So it's a bit subjective.

Um we talk often about how do we improve how how can not not necessarily improve, but what other sort of um regulations, maybe design regulations or um uh other regulations could we um impose in this area that's so important that would allow us more uh or allow for more boundaries or um shaping of that area.

So you can do it through zoning ordinance, you could do it through a historic historic district with design regulations, um an over this is already an overlay district.

You you could you know build up that this um this code 306 to have more regulatory language.

And when I mean regulatory, obviously it has to be somewhat flexible.

We're not going to impose exact materials on things, but you could have suggestions for those materials and have a list of materials that a developer would have to um would have to pick from.

You could impose bird safe glass, which you may or you may hear that next week, because the Scots Hotel does have a lot of glass on it.

We've we've read some comments online that talk about that.

Other cities do impose that um to have that type of safety measure when they build um have land developments so or or buildings construction.

I don't know if you want to speak to any more of that.

Um Yeah, the when we're talking about materials, I think that's a good point.

The submission to the design review committee, they have to submit a packet of the materials that they're proposing for the building.

And they they say, you know, we want to use orange brick, we're gonna have this kind of glass, there's gonna be metal trim, the lighting is look, lighting fixtures are gonna look like this, anything that's visible from the exterior.

And where it gets a little bit tricky, maybe for the design review committee, is that they have to look at that and then look at the language and determine if that has unity of character and design.

Yes, if it achieves harmony.

And so that's where I think maybe the weak point is because they have to uphold something that isn't really measurable or defined.

But again, all of that can be changed by council, if council so wishes at some point, these are amendments that you can make.

And I do want to say again, I've said this I think to all of you, you know, I think there's some of this concern is around the what and the how it's built and that.

And then I think there's a larger concern about the public's the public's ability to determine what that waterfront and bayfront look like.

And I think that's where now we're starting to feel the tension.

And so, as I've shared with all of you, you know, and I'm I'm kind of pressing my partners because there is a plan in the works to do a master plan for the waterfront that would be community-driven and have community input.

It hasn't been announced yet, it hasn't been launched.

I wish it had, because I think it would satisfy some of the concerns we're going to hear.

Um, but in the meantime, all I can say to you is that's coming.

We had these two projects, the Scott Hotel and the Market House.

To your point, Mr.

Brzezinski, they're very far along in the process.

It'd be very difficult to pull them back.

I'm not saying impossible, but difficult.

But moving forward, moving forward with the rest of the Bayfront, we need to have a community-driven master plan.

And so I think I hope that once we get through this, once you understand the process, once you hear from us the places you could make changes, and once this community-driven process starts, I think hopefully moving forward we'll find that there's less tension because the public will feel heard.

That's my hope.

Community access is one of the biggest biggest speeches of everything.

And that's what he come in with things that the Hampton didn't do.

They promised to do.

I don't know if you could put punitive damages on or not, you know, within sixty days of the year finished hotel, you can either fix this or we charge you $500 a day until you fix it.

Make sure it gets the um just floating things up because after he's got his money and after he's got his hotel.

Just leave the last one.

What's the enforcement if they don't abide by the conditional uses?

If they don't abide by the conditional, I'm sorry, if they don't abide by the conditions the council puts on them.

If they're reasonable conditions, if they don't abide.

Then then they wouldn't.

Then then they wouldn't I I but what if they're done?

To Mr.

Brasinski's point, what if they're done?

And they haven't.

Is there an enforcement action?

I don't I don't know if um they would get building permits.

Uh-huh.

So it would have to be reflected in the plans.

It's not it's not after that.

But the but those would have to be in the plans.

You have to go through waterfront conditional use before and then now after that, then they're gonna go through land development.

And if they what we're questioning is what happens if he doesn't do it.

We wouldn't have an answer for that yet.

Well, we wouldn't issue the building permit if they don't get the conditional use approved.

But I think you I think the question is if they're done.

They're already done, yeah.

Yes.

That can be one of the updates I think that we should absolutely be reviewing.

Yeah, we can look into that.

Yeah, we can give a more specific answer, but there's I'm sure something about as built plans that the city receives when a project is done to inspect that it was done.

Well, that's in the SADO.

Yeah.

Yeah.

We are we one of the amendments we made in the SALDA was to receive as built.

And we we were not we we did not we did not require that previously.

And so when we went through the amendment chains and chain in October, that's a requirement to receive those.

But in terms of enforcement, I that's closing that I think what I think you might be talking about, and I don't want to speak for you, but uh like the green space that was supposed to be put down there.

Yeah.

That hasn't been done.

Is there any repercussions?

And I think we need to look into that.

I mean I am wondering though, with COs, like if COs would not be certificates of occupancy would not be issued if they it wasn't built a plan.

And if the green space is in the plan and it wasn't made, then perhaps there could have been an opportunity to not issue the certificate of occupancy.

So maybe there's some tightening up, we can get some clarification, but I would think that would be the place.

And that's where I would kept and and I kept saying that, but that's what I meant is like I don't think you'd get the per your permits that you that you needed or required, but you will see the safety you'll see it's done.

Right.

But would they have an old.

You'll see that green space percentage at next week's meeting as well.

Um they lay that out and show the calculations and all of that.

And I think if I remember correct correctly, the history of the previous hotel.

There was green space, but then they built the um the output.

Um no, the um beer garden.

The beer garden, yes.

And so that then became right.

So it was origin in the original plans and then the beer garden popped up, yeah.

So probably should move along with Saldo, because I know you have a lot.

Okay.

So the subdivision land development ordinance, the saldo, dictates how land in the city is divided or developed.

Um it ensures project coordination across multiple departments within the city, but also external partners, um, like the Erie County Planning Department.

And so uh a distinction, the zoning ordinance governs what can go where and how it sits on the site and how far back from the street it has to be.

The Saldo focuses on how land is planned and built out and what actually ends up on the site.

So we did some amendments last fall, some of you may remember, um, that brought us into compliance with state level laws and regulations, such as the MPC.

Um this is the next handout.

And this is a graphic that I made that explains the main functions of the saldo, um, which are protecting public health safety and welfare.

We've gone back to that several times.

That's the topmost priority.

Ensuring roads and stormwater facilities, making sure that every site has access to it and the um infrastructure that it needs, protecting from natural hazards by planning ahead and making sure that land is developed responsibly.

Um establishing orderly land layouts, making sure that our city is regulated and we know where everything is and where it's going.

Protecting groundwater, a major part of the saldo review process is stormwater involving the engineer department or engineering bureau.

It's um providing opportunity for public input, which is what some of our amendments last year focused on.

Um and ensuring that there are steps along the way for the public to get involved.

And it's it establishes reasonable design standards.

That's where we lay out how everything has to look, what it has to conform to.

And it also guarantees that public improvements are constructed as needed.

So we know when a project is coming, we'll know what sort of sewage outflow they're gonna need, waste management, all that kind of stuff is involved in the saldo review.

And then very quickly we'll talk about subdivisions and land developments, which is the the saldo.

Um subdivisions are dividing existing lots or moving lot lines generally.

Um so you can see the green graphic on the left, taking one lot, subdividing it into two.

On the right with the blue, taking two existing lots and moving a lot line.

We see these ones pretty frequently if somebody wants to give their neighbor a bigger piece of their backyard that they're not using, that's a subdivision to move that line.

Um there are really specific cases like roadway dedications.

Maybe you've heard about one that's coming on Front Street as part of that pendot project, the new road down there.

Although it's a roadway dedication, the city reviews it as a subdivision.

Land developments are constructions of new buildings or improvement for any purpose, either all at once or in phases, including non-residential construction.

There are a couple of specific exceptions, like we don't need to review single family housing.

If we were reviewing every single family house, we wouldn't have time to do anything else.

Accessory buildings on a lot containing the primary building.

If you had a grocery store and we're thinking about putting up a greenhouse to grow something on the lot, we don't need to review that.

Or rides or facilities at an amusement park.

We don't have any amusement parks within the city limits, but that's an exception in the MPC.

So the process, like I said, involves multiple departments and agencies, internal and external.

But the first step is always zoning review.

When something comes in, it goes to zoning.

If it doesn't comply, it stops right there.

It doesn't go any further than that until it meets the requirements in the zoning ordinance.

All of the procedures are laid out in the saldo in that ordinance.

And I've made a bunch of flow charts and checklists and various other graphics.

For accessibility and making sure that everybody has the information in a way that they can understand probably better than the ordinance text.

Sure.

My concern is all these people.

There are two guys from Boston that came in here and bought 21 of our 250 lots.

I don't know.

I didn't school all those lots to see.

But I don't think they even make the 35 foot, and a lot of them are small.

But I I can't find before it was 50 feet or 35 feet in the city, like I said.

And then it was so much frontage.

You've got to put 1600 square foot house.

So you have definitely square feet of property.

That will school that 1600 square foot house with the total amount.

Remember coverage here?

I don't, I don't know it off.

We'll know we'll find out and get back to you like 60% of the over under it.

Yeah.

But it's concerned.

A lot of people came in here and bought a lot of lots.

And uh think we're protected.

We can't even have manufactured manufactured homes in the city right now.

Which is good and bad.

Manufactured homes are pretty nice.

Yeah, that would vary by zone, and we can we can ask the zoning office.

Yeah, and get back to you on that one.

Um we will walk through the process quickly on this first flow chart, the minor subdivision or land development.

The major is pretty much the same except major goes through it twice.

Um, but optional but encouraged at the top, we have a pre-application meeting similar to waterfront conditional use.

We gather everybody together, make sure we're all working from the same information and meeting the the applicant, and then we offer a site inspection where we send a zoning officer and an engineer out to the site and they walk the site with a developer and talk about what Earth is going to be moved and get a sense of the project.

And then we offer a sketch plan submission and presentation, which is an informal presentation to the planning commission where they can make the commission aware of the project and get some non-binding feedback from the commission on what they might be looking for going forward before it's approved.

Um for a minor subdivision and a minor is anything less than 5,000 square feet or five lots for a residential project.

It just goes right to a final plan submission.

So they send us in the plan, they go through our new online application and pay the fee.

Once I get it, I do a review to make sure that everything that's required is in there, and then I send it to the city engineer and the county planning department, um, and they have 30 days to do their reviews.

When we get that back, we put it on agenda for the planning commission, and the planning commission will have one of their public meetings once a month, and they will make a decision on whether or not to approve the subdivision or land development, and that's the final approval.

Um we have a frontage or don't we have that anymore?

There is a requirement, yes.

What is it?

I don't know the number off the top of my head.

Yeah.

But we can ask the zoning office.

That would be in their ordinance.

Umce the project is approved, the applicant records it with the county recorder of deeds.

And if it's a residential project with more than 25 units, I send a notice to the school district and just inform them that there's an increase in residential capacity.

And maybe they'll have more students.

And then the next flow chart, the major subdivision or land development is identical, except for the fact that a major subdivision or land development over 5,000 square feet.

First submits a preliminary plan and goes through the whole review process, gets approval from planning commission, then they address any comments and submit a final plan and do it again.

So for a major, there's two opportunities for the planning commission, for the public, and for staff to review the project.

I just want to say one more time as Cooper's doing this.

Well, two things.

First, I don't think we can state enough how important it is that when projects are going, they're starting at zoning.

We're running into some issues where people aren't aware that that's the first step.

They've moved along in the process.

Now they didn't know they needed a variance, they didn't know that they had a change of use, and you know, it's upsetting to them, and they've put money.

So we just we're trying to get the word out as much as possible.

In fact, I sent out an email to like our small business partners, anybody who's counseling business development, please, please make sure that your folks are going to zoning first.

And the second thing I want to say is those planning commission meetings, you know.

I know Kathy has is there, you know, they're online.

I would just encourage you to your point about when are we going to know?

That's where all this stuff is happening.

And you I know you all can't be here, but they are streamed.

And so if you're ever curious, it's a good place to just kind of see this process that Cooper's talking about, because there is a lot of back and forth with the developers, and I've seen that, you know.

So I just I encourage you to the extent you can to watch this.

Okay.

It's a nice heads up of of what's gonna soon be in front of us as well.

And we have the plans posted also on our website on the city's website on the planning commission's web site.

Um City Council's role in the land development process is less than in the waterfront conditional use because the approving body for subdivisions and land developments stops at planning commission.

Um but like we've said appointments to the planning commission are made by the mayor and confirmed by city council.

So there's um an opportunity there to just make sure that everybody's qualified and shares the same objectives.

In fact, we have one on your agenda for next week, just if you want to look for it.

Thank you.

Um amendments.

Excuse me.

Amendments to the saldo and other ordinances are ultimately approved by city council as well, which we did last fall, if you remember.

And City Council can suggest amendments to ordinances for us to look into and prepare language and do the research.

Um be resource there.

Um if there's concerns about parking, you could say to us, you know, we would like you to investigate solutions to parking in the ordinances, and then we would prepare an ordinance and bring it back to you.

Um community input, this is the map that I think you were looking for.

Yeah.

Um is also public in accordance with the Sunshine Act.

Public correspondence again, we accept by electronic or physical mail.

Plans under review are posted for public viewing.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to meet with neighborhood groups and established neighborhood groups are included by the city where appropriate.

And this is the map that's in our application that we've put together of the established neighborhood groups in the city.

We've edited it through these organizations and made sure all the boundaries were correct and we had contact information for all of them.

And in the application, when a someone submits, and it will let them know you are in the central city neighborhood watch, and we will contact the central city neighborhood watch and make sure that they're aware of the project, encourage them to meet with the developers and invite them to any pre-application meetings or planning commission meetings that we're having.

And again, I think it's the same slide as before.

We have the plans available upstairs.

You can view them online on the website.

Am I doing this one?

Yeah.

We establish relevant policies and procedures for Saldo.

Um of them is that we are not accepting a combined preliminary or final application.

So in some municipalities, um, based upon uh some criteria, you you could potentially do a combination of the the preliminary and final.

At this point, we are not accepting that because this is our new a new process.

We're vetting through it.

Maybe at some point we could change that if it's gonna work for the city, but at this point we're not giving any exceptions.

The city can refuse a plan if it doesn't meet all requirements and reasons will be communicated to applicant.

Fees are oh, I'm sorry, which one is it?

This one?

There we go.

Fees are not returned for plans, uh, fees are not returned for plans rejected by the planning commission.

Zoning approval must be obtained before an application is submitted, like we discussed.

And we're actually even looking into pet possibly having a zoning permit where before you go through event um uh waterfront conditional use or the land or saldo, or before or you would have to have a a permit, a zoning permit to um apply for an actual building permit.

So that's something else that we're looking into too to solve some of these issues that are coming through that the mayor was talking about.

Uh additional approvals such as conditional use must be obtained prior to the submission of the subdivision or land development plan.

Also, if you do have a variance, you have to go if you have a need for a variance, you'd have to go through zoning hearing board.

Or uh or historic review commission if it's a locally designated uh historic landmark.

City sign city signs drawings last, ensuring final authority over projects within the city limits.

After we went through the amendments of the Saldo, and they were approved by by you all, um we felt that it was important to pull together the um the this the subset of of people that actually do the work, the architects, the surveyors, the developers, and other related professionals into an informational session that we held in I think it was January.

Um because the mayor was there also.

Um we had over a hundred a hundred attendees.

Uh it was a virtual session.

Um we presented on uh the saldo primarily on the pro the new process, the new amendments.

Um this is this was all very familiar to most of them because our surrounding municipalities have this similar process because they have a municipal planning code that they all have to comply with.

So we are now in compliance with all of our state regulations.

And we also have a um very transparent and public process.

Um and we have uh a clear and transparent process internally where we are providing help to the developers.

So it was a i I thought it was a successful presentation.

Um we got a lot of good feedback.

That group would like to continue to meet and to hear from the city on different updates, particularly that what pertains to their work.

So engineering updates, permitting updates, zoning updates, those types of things.

I'm sorry, I didn't click through.

I can't talk and click.

Okay.

Okay.

Um we just quickly wanted to have a couple of resources that we've made to make this whole process easier for everybody.

Um we've done some extensive work.

Um I have to put in the other.

But um we have done some extensive work on the Saldo's web page.

So everything we've seen here today, the actual ordinance, the fee schedule, everything we could need to know about the saldo process is on the web page.

There's a search bar if you just stormwater, you can stormwater.

And then this is just a little image of our new application.

It's very user-friendly.

It prompts you to answer some questions.

Um all the information that we need to know on the back end.

That's what I use to track these projects as we move through the process.

Um it will automatically tell us when the 30-day time period is up, and it'll tell us when the 90-day time period is up.

Um we can track when planning commission approved it, when we received everything.

And it's been the game changer.

Do you have that advice?

Interrupting in going to I come to you on a dure development.

Uh how do I know what the fund should be for each of the loss in my development?

Unless you know what that fund is supposed to be.

You had to go to zoning first.

Right.

You would have started in zoning.

Well, I mean, when we define it, nobody knows what it's supposed to be.

We we'll get that to you.

Um you know, I think planning and the mayor, right?

So you're right.

We we don't have that off the top of our heads easy.

We'll make sure we get it to you, but that's our point about going to zoning first, because zoning would be able to say right out of the gate no or yes, that's gonna work.

We will get you those numbers tomorrow.

It's probably 30.

Yes, it's varies, right?

The first question I would ask you is have you talked to the zoning office?

And then you would say yes, they they approved.

And then we'll know that it complies with the zoning.

Yes.

Yeah.

Is the is the uh I just want to commend you on this on the on the website here.

I think that this what is compiled under the saldo resources is is exceptional.

I I really do think that this is become such um it's so much more user-friendly.

Because this is just the process in and of itself is going to be very prohibitive to a lot of people just because it's so much to get through.

So taking these extra steps.

I'm I'm very grateful this is gonna make this much more accessible, especially to small business owners.

Um thank you.

Yes, thank you.

Yeah, there's and there's not only our resources, but we've also linked to external things because you'll need to address floodplain issues for stormwater and all of that is also linked under the I'd love to see something similar like with with zoning, but then that's it's that's a lot.

So thank you.

Yeah, it's been six months on that one.

Yeah.

Um and then we'll talk about just some upcoming amendments that we're thinking about for the saldo and we're preparing because eventually they will come before city council.

Um, traffic impact studies, this one came out of the engineering bureau.

Um and a traffic impact study would require a developer to maybe if they exceed a certain threshold, we're working that out, but they would have to do a study that tells them what sort of impact this is gonna have on the surrounding traffic and on congestion, on peak hour trips, how it's going to affect commuting in the city.

Um, and we could require that maybe I think what we're thinking is what we'll tie it to the high injury network that came out of our safe streets for all Vision Zero plan.

Um so any project along there would have to complete one of these traffic impact studies.

Parking demand studies, um parking is in the zoning ordinance, but a lot of municipalities also include it in the land development process, um, which could help to alleviate over parking issues that we have.

Um our zoning ordinance requires quite a few parking spaces.

Um you'll see that next week at the public.

So, how would you if if if we're going to be doing amendments to this around the zoning?

Those are gonna be in tandem so that we're not having two ordinances that are.

Yes, we would do them in tandem.

Okay.

But we could change the saldo just to include parking considerations in the process without changing without conflicting with the zoning ordinance.

Okay.

I think we do need to.

That's too late.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Um but we can incorporate both on-street and off-street parking additions to existing buildings.

This is a policy that we already have in place, but we're going to formalize it as an amendment that any building addition over 5,000 square feet, we won't need to review.

We won't have to put somebody through the month-long process if they're adding an elevator shaft.

It just wouldn't make sense.

Um then community input, we really want to solidify ways that would require developers to meet with community groups, with neighbors early on in the process before it even gets to planning commission to make sure that it's happening.

And we want to find a solution, of course, that's not onerous on a developer, but make sure that the public has an opportunity to be involved from the earliest stages.

Any questions on Saldo?

It's 30 feet of frontage.

Just Googled it while we were sitting here.

It's in the ordinance.

30 feet of frontage for residential.

That's what it says right here.

I I'm gonna screenshot it and send it to you.

It says it right here.

I mean, I'm gonna drop 35 in 1977.

I'm gonna send you the screenshot.

And we'll send you the link tonight.

Yep.

Is that one of his Nelson changes when he did all those things?

I have no idea.

That one will require me to do some diving on the numbers I think.

Well, um, we'll move on and talk quickly about the planning commission.

Um like we've said, the planning commission approves subdivision and land developments.

It's a five-member commission.

Two of the members have to be licensed architects or planners.

The planning commission also considers or approves blighted properties, rezonings, historic nominations, planning efforts, ordinance changes, um, and they uphold every plan that the city has adopted, notably area focused, which is our comprehensive plan, but also any neighborhood plans that have been adopted formally by the city.

And it's the only agency at the city really that's tasked with thinking about the future.

Everybody else is reacting to things that are happening and making decisions in the moment.

The planning commission is thinking about how we get to the goals in the comprehensive plan and thinking about the future.

So comprehensive plan.

Um our comprehensive plan was written what we consider our comprehensive plan, early refocus.

Was written in um or adopted in 2016.

So this year it's 10 years old.

And per the municipal planning code um uh if you have a comprehensible plan, you have to update it every 10 years.

Um we are in the process right now of applying for a state grant through D DECD called a map grant, municipal assistance planning grant, um, to write a comprehensive plan um for the city Vary.

Um and this this comprehensive plan, um, we've we talk a lot about I know I hear a lot of times, you know, we're gonna write another plan and we're gonna put it on the shelf.

Um the state has really made it a point that they want to see grant applications that are actionable, implementable plans, value added plans.

Um I know the mayor, this is very much the uh discussions that I've had with the mayor, um, that that you've had with the state that this is not going to be a plan that's unattainable, that it's going to be something that we can do after it's complete and change regulation, change policy, and and make sure that it's actionable.

Um, this informs um I'm clicking.

This informs uh the the comprehensive plan then really informs how the regulatory change uh the regulatory components change.

So if we want to see more commercial neighborhood in a certain area, which right now we don't even have commercial neighborhood in our zoning ordinance, then you would write in the code areas that would be zoned for that particular land use.

Same with Saudo.

Sado Saldo is a very technical ordinance.

Yes, it has all these planning aspects and it it has in terms of processes and looking, making sure that the adopted plans are upheld, but it also has a very technical engineering side of it, and we would be we would be rewriting that, of course, with engineering with public works.

And and that's when things will again be reviewed in terms of stormwater, potentially landscaping on impervious surfaces.

I mean, all of that can be uh again part of that subdivision and land of it's it's the controls that the city has for how land development occurs within our community.

I would encourage to make sure that this is one of those areas where I push in, and I'm not I'm not insinuating that you weren't going to do this, but to make sure that it's not just engineers so that we have really strong community input on just because sometimes it gets lost, right?

No, that's a that's a very good point.

Both of those comprehensive plan and a uh zoning and saldo rewrite have an engagement component, absolutely, because we're we're not we don't know what the community wants.

We we need to understand what the community needs are, the priorities.

I mean, we have an idea because we have a two a 2016 plan that was written with needs and priorities of the city, many of which have not changed, but some have changed.

And so we need to very much so have that piece put into both those planning processes.

And I would say to Jackie's point, the state has also encouraged us and and said we're on the right track because we're doing the stamp plan.

That's the grant that is getting us the work with PFM.

Because we're doing that now, they are encouraging us to take the recommendations, the financial recommendations, and work them into the comprehensive plan.

So that all lines up and it tells us as a city how we need to operate in order to get where we want to go all together and how the comprehensive plan.

So they kind of have said to us, you're doing this in exactly the right cadence.

And to your point, when we go out for a consultant to help us with that comp plan, we'll be able to tell them what we're looking for and how we want to do it.

Yeah, I think one of the biggest frustrations we've seen as council uh and what we hear when we when individuals come in is the plans are kind of handed to us, but they're not made with, right?

And then they're not lined up with the budget, and so it's like wishful thinking, and so then we we don't see things come into fruition and the community voices are never upheld, and so there's this frustration cycle.

So I'm grateful.

Um I didn't mean to insinuate that that's not what was happening, but just so that's I guess on the study session record that we're making sure.

Yeah.

Thank you.

Thank you.

So we put this slide up here because one, it's our sort of North Star, I think, for not just for the administration, but uh this is where uh the planning department and the comprehensive plan hold this this these um buckets or the this these priorities.

And so out of the mayor's transition report, you see housing and neighborhood stability, economic growth and strategic investment, infrastructure and capital alignment, parks, open space, quality of life, transparency, and government effectiveness.

Uh there's many more things that will go into the comprehensive plan.

I mean, historic preservation, environmental stewardship, and conservation, but uh the mayor speaks to all of that, and the that will be upheld within the comprehensive plan and it almost almost naturally fit as a path from the transition report to applying for grant funds to write the comprehensive plan.

So um we just we just put that in as a um as a leeway alignment.

And then just wrapping it up, the planning commission's role in all this is they translate the strategic goals from the comprehensive plan and from the transition plan into actionable things like land use policy, subdivision standards, and development review.

And our consultant's favorite phrase is rubber hits the road.

And the the where the rubber hits the road with a lot of these is at the planning commission.

And they're enforcing the regulations and they're making sure that everything is compliant with the comprehensive plan.

So without alignment from the planning commission, all of the goals remain aspirational rather than implementable.

And just for council's awareness, we um next month, I think in April, we're gonna do an authorities boards and commission uh present study session so we can really kind of see like okay.

So what is the training that the planning commission is getting to be able to uphold this and we can start to dive in a little bit more to make sure that our values are aligned with everything we just talked about here because there's been changes in in that process as well of just how are we getting applicants mapping out where the applicants all from on these boards and commissions, so are they aligning with the community and we have good diversity on there?

So next month we'll kind of get a deeper dive into like the next step, I guess, into this as well, too.

And Cooper did include in your handout for your reference the list of planning commission members and design review committee.

We thought you probably want to know who those folks are, how they've been appointed and when their terms end, so that list is also in the packet at your place.

Yeah, and the only one that we didn't really touch on was just for for your awareness.

It's the checklist that developers use and that I use that I made as part of these amendments.

So when they're preparing an application, they can see everything they need, and when I get an application, I can just go down and check off everything is included.

Questions any questions for counseling?

Thank you.

Thank you.

Yeah, thank you.

This is very informative and very appreciate.

So thank you all.

Thank you all.

So we have a couple things to get back to you, and we'll do that.

Certainly send you all the zoning so you can see that, and then I'll send it to you and we can if you all need anything more from us in advance of next week's hearing, please just let us know.

So, what I'll commit then to for all the counselors is I'll go through e-code and I'll pull 305, 306 and the plans and I'll email it out to all of us.

So we have it there.

Um we're also, I mean, next week, just so we know as councils is a it's a heavy meeting.

We've got two public hearings because of timelines.

We've got the DCED stuff that I'll get out to everybody, and then this.

But I'm sorry, I just wanted to let you know Deb was wrong on her timeline.

We have a little time, so we're gonna hold that till April 1st.

So you don't have to deal with that.

That's one less thing for you.

Okay, great.

Actually, that's really wonderful news.

So thank you.

I do have a quick question for planning, and I don't even know if you know the answer, but um that subdivision that um I think Vendetti wanted, is that progressing at all?

He called me.

He's he's called my office a couple times, and you know, I I was aware of it, you know, he I had spoken with him when I was campaigning, and so I asked Margie to call him back and ask him what he needs from us, and he basically said he he needs funding.

So I'm not sure that it's progressing.

I think he's waiting for some assistance or to find out if there's some support for him to do the work.

I think he has the plans, but to my knowledge, it's not moving forward unless he can figure out his capital stack.

Thank you.

So yeah, it was my understanding as well.

We don't have an application for it, but he has discussed it with us.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.