01/17/2007 Planning Commission Minutes

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MINUTES OF THE • ORONO PLANIVING COMMISSION . Tuesday,January 16,2007 6:00 o'clock p.m. (#06-3249 City of Orono,Outlot A Stonebay, Continued) . ultimately failed to commit Walgreens or any other pharmacy retailer to the site and the approvals eventually expired with no development occurring on the site. In the summer of 2006,Hempel Properties proposed a medical office and retail strip center for the site, requesting a further amendment of the CMP to remove the condition that one of the buildings had to be a pharmacy/convenience store. Although the Planning Commission recommended approval of such a a change,the City Council, after a number of ineetings and much discussion,voted on September 25,2006, to deny the requested CMP amendment. Hempel subsequently formally witl�drew their application. There are currently no applications for development of Outlot A. The City Council has directed City Staff to proceed with a CMP amendment that would,in effect, "undo"the changes that were adopted in 2004. The property owners have been notified via the standard mailed legal notice of this proposed amendment,but as of this writing,have not weighed in with Staff as to their position on the matter. The City Council has broad discretion to revise the Comprehensive Plan as it sees fit after following the proper notification and public hearing process. The City Attorney has indicated that because the current RR-1B zoning does not match the City's intent . for Outlot A,nor the proposed guiding,the City should consider rezoning to a zone that reflects the City's intent. The City purposely has not done so to date, and has simply been using the RR-1B zoning as a holding zone for this and other properties that were reguided from SFR to something else in past actions. The Council's intent for Outlot A appears to most closely match the B-6 district standards,which allows offices,banks,libraries, and motels/hotels. . Gaffron requested the Planning Commission discuss the following issues: 1. Does the Planning Commission agree with the Council's intent to return to the former provisions of the CMP with regards to Outlot A? 2. Are there any specific elements of the original CMP language that should be revised or clarified ' with this amendment? 3. The Planning Commission should consider whether there are any negative impacts associated with proceeding with a rezoning of the site to match the Comprehensive Plan. 4. Does the Planning Commission have any other concerns regarding the proposed amendment? Gaffron noted this property is currently zoned RR-1B, single-family,two-acre minimum lot size. The rezoning that was approved in 2004 never took effect and the property was never rezoned to match the Comprehensive Plan. Staff is recommending that the zoning be changed to a B-6 PUD. The Planning Commission should hold the public hearing, discuss the proposed amendment, and make recommendations to the Ciiy Council regarding the reguiding and the rezoning of this property. PAGE 3