Hampton Planning Commission Meeting - January 18, 2024
STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE
Hampton Planning Commission Meeting - January 18, 2024
The City of Hampton Planning Commission convened on January 18, 2024, to approve prior meeting minutes, elect officers, and act on several land-use applications and zoning ordinance amendments. The election of officers was necessitated by the departure of Chair Stephen Bond and the appointment of Brian DeProfio. All agenda items were approved unanimously.
Consent Calendar
- Motion to approve the minutes of the December 14, 2023 Planning Commission meeting, as amended during the work session, passed unanimously.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No members of the public spoke on any agenda item; public hearings were opened and closed without citizen testimony.
- Applicant representative William H. Mulligan III (Libraries Group Architectural Firm), on behalf of Hampton University, expressed support for Use Permit 23-0350 and concurred with the proposed conditions.
Discussion Items
- Use Permit 23-0350 (Hampton University): City Planner Erby Patel presented the application for a private university use at 2 Eaton Street, limited to the 14th floor of the Harbor Center building, to establish a 14,500-square-foot event space/banquet hall operating from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. The venue would serve Hampton University events and be rented for public events such as proms and fundraisers. Improvements include restrooms, a prep kitchen, dressing rooms, a dining/assembly area, and converting an open lounge to a closed lounge. The property is zoned Downtown Waterfront (DT2). Staff recommended approval with 14 conditions, including restrictions on third-party promoters, amplified sound between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m., security requirements, and a certificate of occupancy. Commissioner Harper asked about community feedback; staff had received no direct resident comments but noted the proposal was vetted by the nightclub task force and police. Commissioner DeProfio asked about promoter restrictions and rooftop lounge safety; staff clarified. The applicant agreed with all conditions.
- Zoning Ordinance Amendments 24-6 and 24-7 (Mitigation Banks): Zoning Administrator Alison Jacura presented two amendments adding a definition of "mitigation bank" (Chapter 2) and listing mitigation banks as a permitted use with a use permit in all zoning districts (Chapter 3). Mitigation banks are for-profit enterprises that create wetlands and sell mitigation credits to developers offsetting wetland losses. Potential impacts include construction noise, heavy machinery traffic, and new Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act buffers. Staff recommended approval; no public comment.
- Zoning Ordinance Amendments 24-13 through 24-16 (Daycare Outdoor Play Areas and Outdoor Dining): City Planner Davis Pemberton presented four amendments to Chapters 3, 6, 8, and 9. They would permit outdoor play areas for daycare 1 commercial and daycare 2 commercial uses in the C1 (Neighborhood Commercial), DT1 (Downtown Business), DT2 (Downtown Waterfront), and OCC (Overlay Coliseum Central) districts, and permit outdoor dining in the C1 district. An added standard limits hours of outdoor play areas for daycare 1 commercial in C1, consistent with daycare 2 family limitations. Staff noted consistency with Virginia Department of Education standards and support from Joint Base Langley-Eustis. Staff recommended approval; no public comment.
- Youth Planner Report: Youth Planner Helena Fulkerts reported the Youth Commission's annual public grants hearing (December 18, 2023) received 15 applications; 4 were deferred to ACS Academies, 1 withdrew, and 9 applicants received their requested budgets totaling $16,025. Upcoming meetings include a joint HYC/Neighborhood Commission stakeholder meeting on January 8 and a joint meeting with the youth advisory group at Sandy Bottom on January 22.
Key Outcomes
- Approved the December 14, 2023 minutes as amended (unanimous).
- Elected Michael Harris as Chair and Commissioner Kellum as Vice Chair for the term ending September 2024.
- Approved Use Permit 23-0350 with 14 conditions (unanimous).
- Approved Zoning Ordinance Amendments 24-6 and 24-7 (unanimous).
- Approved Zoning Ordinance Amendments 24-13, 24-14, 24-15, and 24-16 (unanimous).
- Meeting adjourned after completing all business.
Meeting Transcript
The City of Hampton's Planning Commission meeting will now come to order. Madam Clerk, can you please call the roll? Commissioner Rogers. Present. Commissioner Brooks? Present. Commissioner Coleman. Commissioner Kellum. Present. Commissioner Harper. Present. Commissioner DeProfio. Present. Vice Chair Harris. Present. Do I hear a motion for the approval of minutes from the December 14th, 2023 Planning Commission meeting? I move approval of the minutes from the December Planning Commission meeting. I just like to clarify is that I know we discussed amending the amendment amending the minutes in the work session. So I just want to clarify if the motion is for the amended minutes in the work session or as do they have to be separate. Can we do one motion? As amended in the work session. Okay, can I redo my motion? You have to like to redo my motion, and I would like to move approval of the minutes from the December meeting as well as the amended minutes from the from today's work session. Do I hear a second? Second. Is there any discussion? Madam Clerk, can you please call the roll? Commissioner Rogers. Aye. Commissioner Brooks. Aye. Commissioner Coleman. Commissioner Callum. Aye. Commissioner Harper? Aye. Commissioner DeProfio. Aye. Vice Chair Harris. Aye. Motion passes. Now we have election of officers, so I'll turn over my gavel. Thank you, Mr. Vice Chair. Uh we're we have election of officers on the agenda today because Stephen Bond has rolled off the planning commission to be the interim city attorney. And Commissioner, oh, actually have the gavel. Thank you. Um I'll just keep that right here. Uh Commissioner DeProfio, Brian DeProfio, who's an assistant city manager, is taking the city manager's place on the planning commission. So with Stephen Bond's ending of his term, basically, or effectively his leaving his position on the planning commission, we need to fill hit the remainder of his chairman term, which uh ends in September of 2024.
openpublica.com