FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
A 4-4 vote on the Galloway development recommendations at the August meeting of the Planning & Zoning Commission has resulted in the item being tabled until its Sept. 12 meeting, where the commission will vote again. The meeting will take place at 6:30 p.m. in Historic City Hall Council Chambers. The commission’s public hearing on the issue is now closed.
City Planning and Development staff presented its recommendations for future development in Galloway to the commission Aug. 15. After two hours of discussion and public comments, the commission voted unanimously to recommend removing the properties located on the southern corners of Lone Pine and Battlefield from the recommendations.
At the time of the vote it was believed that a majority vote was necessary for approval, so it was deemed denied. However, the rules of procedure for the Planning and Zoning Commission, pursuant to Section 2.5, “Action by the Commission,” indicate that in the event of a tie vote, the item shall be automatically tabled.
The Galloway item is anticipated to come before City Council for public hearing and possible vote Sept. 23. The council studied the issue at its July 23 Council Lunch Workshop.
If the recommendations are approved, the following items will be considered with future zoning cases in the area:
Use Conditional Overlay Districts in conjunction with rezoning cases to protect the village character, including:
- Limit uses that are incompatible with the village character of the area, such as storage units, gas stations, drive-through restaurants or other drive-through businesses, car washes, cell towers, and uses requiring new manufacturing zoning.
- Limit size, illumination, placement and number of signs, and prohibit digital signage in order to maintain the village aesthetic. Encourage colorful and creative signage.
- Design elements which are compatible with historic development pattern and existing structures.
- Appropriate design elements include articulation of building faces and compatible ratios of glass in windows, doors, and walls. Restrict glazing ratios to no more than 40% of exterior surface.
- Limit the building height through bulk plane regulations. Exceptions to bulk plane requirements are discouraged.
- Require parking lot placement behind buildings where feasible and require attractive landscaping and tree canopy preservation.
- Limit excessive grading or rock blasting to preserve the rocky, sloped topography which defines the Galloway area, by limiting retaining walls in height and requiring a minimum distance between tiers. Staff recommends no more than 8 feet in wall height and a minimum of 6 feet between tiers for retaining walls.
###
For more information, please contact Senior City Planner Olivia Hough at 417-864-1092 or [email protected]