|
|
D R A F T
The New Castle City’s Planning Commission Meeting took place on March 28, 2005, at 6 p.m. in the City of New Castle’s Town Hall. Members Present: Tommy Wilson Staff Present: Jackie Seneschal Member Absent: James Steele, Jane B. Miller Co-Chairman Tommy Wilson called the meeting to order at 6:25 p.m. and roll call was taken. Sub-Division of 219 E. 2nd Street -- This request was made in February and talked about at our March meeting. No decisions were made in March due to the lack of a quorum. The owner has submitted his revised plan for the subject lot. It has HAC’s approval. Most of the issues the Planning Commission and Dave Athey commented on have been resolved. This is the second of a couple of properties during the last month directly or indirectly that are in the historic area. The zoning ordinance now requires two parking spaces. The site plan submitted shows one space per lot. Ms. Davis asked if we can revisit the code that was approved. She feels we made a mistake in removing it from the code requirement. HAC is going to prefer not having off-street parking; they do not want to see areas paved unnecessarily. That is what we said about Bull Hill. Ms. Seneschal suggested we discuss this item further under general discussion. She doesn’t want to hold these people up because of this change. In the coming months there will be things that need to be tweaked. I don’t know how the Planning Commission feels regarding parking. In this case they are not putting in parking from the streets. The South Street property is in a similar position. We have properties that get further subdivided and not making any provision for parking. I think this issues needs to be thought about. The solution now is that the zoning ordinance makes one recommendation and HAC makes a recommendation and the Board of Adjustment decides. Concern was expressed about the properties becoming rental units, thus creating more parking issues. Ms. Seneschal said the decision whether off-street parking is needed will be made by the Board of Adjustment. A motion was made by Co-Chair Wilson that the owner is required to satisfy the requirements of the City Engineer for access to the off-street, and proper procedures for posting a bond. Mr. Mendelsohn seconded the motion, which was approved. WILMAPCO Walkability Workshop – April 12, 2005 – Ms. Seneschal reported this workshop would take place from 8 a.m. to 12 noon. She handed out a draft of the flyer to be used to announce the workshop. A location has not yet been finalized; Mr. Weldin was working on this. We would like to have at least 20-25 people in attendance and invitations should be sent out to twice this number to help ensure meeting this goal. The notice will be run in the newspaper as “open to the public.” We will need to get a headcount so adequate light refreshments can be provided. Ms. Davis will be the contact person for a headcount. Ms. Seneschal added the invitation will be distributed by the city and asked the group who should be on the mailing list. The walking tour should take approximately 30-45 minutes from start to finish. Discussion followed on the path of the tour, which will be close to the historic area of the city. The historic area is the most walkable area in New Castle. She asked that someone volunteer to walk and time the route. National experts from New York and Seattle will be on hand and will present us a report with their recommendations within 4-6 weeks of the workshop. Co-Chair Wilson said he would like to see notices sent to every household on the walking tour route. Businesses in the area were included as well as City Council, local police, Reps. Mulrooney, Conner, James Johnson, the Trustees, HAC, Planning Commission, Beautification Committee, Board of Water and Light. Local school principals and the Superintendent of the Colonial School District should also be invited. General Discussion Sub-Division of 219 East 2nd Street -- Mr. Don Mischner of 225 East 2nd Street said the posting for this meeting at Town Hall and in the newspaper shows 7 p.m. and wanted to know why the meeting began at 6 p.m. He also requested information on what was discussed concerning the minor sub-division of 219 East 2nd Street. He questioned where the paper street came from and if it appeared on a map. Ms. Seneschal informed him it does appear on a city map. Co-Chairman Wilson said he did not know where the breakdown in communication occurred, but will address it. He spoke with the town office on 3/14/05 and it was set for 6 p.m. This meeting has always begun at 6 p.m. Mr. Mischner and Mr. Thomas Clayton of 218 East 2nd Street were informed the sub-division had already been approved and that access to the off-street parking was discussed. The motion was that they would have to meet the requirements of the city engineer and the Board of Adjustment will have to make a decision about parking. They were shown a picture of the plan. The ordinance requires two parking spaces per lot. Ms. Davis said HAC made it clear to the owner that we want to have them fit in with the streetscape. Discussion about notification of property owners of changes in zoning or building then ensued. Ms. Seneschal informed the City sends notices about re-zoning. Mr. Freebery made a motion that until we get the city manager to tell us how to do it right, we should do it. Ms. Seneschal asked who would be responsible. Co-Chair Wilson said it should be the president’s responsibility to make sure it is executed. We need to go through Jeff Bergstrom’s group. Ms. Seneschal suggested having applicants provide a list of adjacent property owners. In other jurisdictions the applicant is responsible for providing a mailing list of the most recent property owners. Per regulations, sub-division applicants should come in 15 days prior to the meeting. She suggested asking the City staff to suggest a proposal for how this works. It is necessary to know who is doing what. Mr. Mendelsohn felt we should be the ones to make the decision, but we need to get some good legal advice on what should be included. Co-Chair Wilson said the motion still stands; that we need to begin moving forward. Resident David June said the Planning Commission is being more forthright with people, but sometimes things are done that should not be done. Being more open with the people who are going to be affected would be good. People with rentals should not be permitted to bring in a lot of vehicles. There should be a restriction on the number of cars in rentals. Do not make someone walk 2-3 blocks because of rentals. Co-Chair Wilson said the burden of communication has to rely on the people making the decision. We need to get communication back to the people who are being affected. Parking – Co-Chair Wilson informed that we are awaiting a meeting with the Trustees and property development personnel on a two-story medical center that could house five doctor offices. We can’t act on sub-dividing the property until we know where DelDOT is going. The Trustees are upset with us because we are keeping them from developing the property, which is off the ferry cut-off road. I have removed myself in the past because of a conflict of interest. Through the Comprehensive Plan we restricted what the Trustees can do by looking at the roadway and how they would come into the parking lot. It was suggested to Jeff Bergstrom that rather than doing a sub-division to a commercial site plan, which is something the City has not done before, approve the overall site plan and get building permits in phases. Sub-division is not necessary since we are not going to sell the property. The plan is to park people in the rear of the building. Ms. Petty asked if this is the only building being put in. Co-Chair Wilson informed that more buildings can be put in, but we must keep them looking like a professional park. Ms. Seneschal suggested putting together a list of things that need to be fine-tuned sometime this June, July or August. Co-Chair Wilson said he does not want to compromise the Tree Commission’s authority in this matter. Ms. Seneschal clarified she was referring to the minimum width of sidewalks. The way it is written it may conflict with what we talked about with street trees, particularly in the historic area. Mr. Mendelsohn said we have no bed & breakfast businesses in this town and we need a parking lot to handle the overage that currently exists. It is so essential to get this parking lot put in. We received approval for a parking lot and we should move forward looking for funding for same. There is no funding because of the budget in the City. Ms. Davis said we have a responsibility to the quality of life in the city. There was discussion about the formation of a commission or task force to develop the parking area. Co-Chair Wilson will recommend to City Council that they appoint a task force to develop the approved parking lot and to develop a list of funding options for its construction. Adjournment – The meeting was adjourned at 8 p.m.
|
