The Planning and Zoning Commission (PZC) met on October 15, 2025, at 7:00 PM in City Council Chambers. The meeting covered three public hearings: a variance request for 557 S. Washington Street (DJK Design Studio), a conditional use and PUD plat for the Benton + Main development (109 W. Benton Ave. et al.), and a continued hearing for the Karis Critical Data Centers project at 1960 Lucent Lane. The commission also approved the minutes from the October 1, 2025 meeting. The meeting adjourned at 11:02 PM.
Good evening. I would like to call the planning and zoning commission meeting for October 15th, 2025 to order. First, I would like to welcome our new commissioner, Alison Longenbach. Welcome, Commissioner. Secretary Wright, please conduct roll call. Albu Baker, here. Bonzel? Here. Costa Gnoli? Here. Long and ball? Here. McDaniel. Here. Namas? Here. Ricellia? Present. Robins? Here. Wright is here. Madam Chair, we have a quorum. Great. Thank you. The first order of business tonight is the public forum. During the public forum forum, members of the public have the opportunity to address the planning and zoning commission on issues which are not part of tonight's agenda. Please keep your comments limited to three minutes. Also, for the sake of all those in attendance, please refrain from slack clapping or shouting out in response to comments made by any speaker. Secretary Wright, do we have anyone signed up for public forums? We have no one. Also, for the sake of all of those in attendance, please refrain from clapping or shouting out in response to comments made by any speaker. Following the public testimony, the petitioner will provide closing remarks just prior to the closure of the public hearing. No further public testimony will be taken after the petitioner begins its closing remarks or during the planning and zoning commission's deliberation. I will now swear in any members of the public wishing to speak. For those who wish to provide testimony, please stand up. I swear to tell the truth and nothing but the truth. The existing structure on the subject property is approximately 1,865 square feet in size, which upon conversion to an office space requires a minimum of six parking spaces to be provided on site. The petitioner plans to add eight parking spaces. The property is relatively small with limited buildable area to add parking facilities. The existing structure is located approximately 22 feet from the south property line at the narrowest point, which is where the petitioner plans to construct a new driveway access to provide adequate space for two-way traffic. Staff is requiring a minimum aisle width of 20 feet, resulting in a setback averaging approximately 2.35 feet due to the location of the existing structure. The municipal code requires parking facilities to maintain a five-foot setback adjacent to a property line, thus approval of a variance is needed. Staff is supportive of the setback variants as proposed. Finding it allows for the safe and efficient movement of vehicles on the site while remaining compatible with the adjacent non-residential property. Planned improvements also include adding spark parking spaces within the subject property's required rear yard. Section 6210 of the code states that accessory structures shall not occupy more than 25% of a required rear yard. The petitioner seeks approval of a variance to allow approximately 65% of the rear yard to be occupied. The building will continue to comply with the TU district's required setbacks, which helps ensure visual bulk will not be a concern for neighboring properties. An existing six-foot wooden fence will visually screen the rear yard from neighbor neighboring properties, and the petitioner has agreed to install a row of six-foot-tall arborviety along the rear property line. Staff is supportive of this variance request as well, since the rear yard encroachments consist only of uncovered impervious space.