Last Night with the Planning Board

Last night's Planning Board meeting may have set a record for brevity, lasting just thirty-nine minutes. The only project on the agenda was the adaptive reuse of the former John L. Edwards School. The applicant, Pennrose Bricks & Mortar, requested that the Planning Board schedule a public hearing, and the request was granted. A public hearing on the proposal will take place at the Planning Board's next regular meeting, which is scheduled for Tuesday, July 14.

What consumed the lion's share of the thirty-nine minutes was a discussion of the amendment to Chapter 325-17.1 of the city code. It was decided at the informal Common Council meeting on May 18 that the proposed amendment needed to go to both the City and County planning boards for a recommendation before the Council can act on it. As Ron Bogle, chair of the Planning Board, explained, the Planning Board has three options: they can support or not support the proposed amendment, or they can do neither.

Andrew Clark, legal counsel to the Planning Board, described the amendment as "the Council's effort to simplify and provide explicit direction." Bogle advised that they not decide on a course of action immediately but rather "digest" what is being proposed and make a decision at their July meeting. It was finally decided that the Planning Board would hold a special workshop meeting, possibly a videoconference, for the Common Council to explain the intent of the amendment. Bogle commented, "Because of the history, I think we want to be supersmart about this." '

It was not announced when this special meeting would take place or if the special meeting would be accessible to the public.

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