5 - Memo, Comments on Councils recommended changes to the MXR-D and MU-D zoning districtsMEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor Toor and Merribers of City Council
FROM: Peter Pollock, Planning Director
Ruth McHeyser, Acting Director of Long Range Planning
DATE: February 16, 2001
SUBJECT: Planning Board comments on CounciPs recommended changes to the MXR-D and MU-
D zoning districts. (Aeenda Item # 3B, February 20 Council meeting)
At their February 15, 2001 meeting, Planning Board had the following comments on the proposed third
reading of Ordinance No. 7116 and 7118 amending the MXR-D and the MU-D zoning districts:
Proposed MU-D changes:
• The idea of requiring use review for restaurants was that so there could be some
assurance that we would not end up with too many restaurants in the area, having a
detrimental effect on the village center.
• The Board understood Council's concerns about the imposition of use review and
wondered whether such a review could be a staff level use review. Staff level use reviews
typically take approximately 4 weeks and require neighborhood notification.
• The proposed village center will be located immediately across tlie street from the MU-D
zone (on both sides of Yarmouth). As presented to the Board, the original intent from
the drive-in proposal was for a small restaurant/ coffee shop- a place to pick up a cup of
coffee or bite to eat on the way to the bus. From examples presented by staff, a 1000
square foot restaurant would fit this bill. For larger restaurant uses, residents of the area
would only need to walk across the street.
Another reason that Planning Board recommended restaurants no larger than 1000 square
feet was that the examples of larger restaurants provided by staff drew from an area much
larger than the immediate neighborhood.
Board members expressed concern about responding to a short-term need from a
particular project. In the longer term, when the village center is a vital center for the area,
Yarmouth North rasidents may fee] happy to have a thriving center so close by and may
not see the need to have a restaurant immadiately within their neighborhood.
2. MXR-D zone:
• The Board was concerned that adding the additional units could compromise the goal of
the zoning district-to have a diverse neighborhood with a mixture of housing types.
There aren't existing examples of neighbarhoods at 20 du/ acre that aiso have a mixture
of densities. This could end up all high density.
• They were concerned that the site review criteria would not allow them the ability to deny
a project that didn't meet the zone's intent of providing a diverse mixture of housing.
They could envision a project that providad the highest density, the greatest affordability,
but compromised the neighborhood integrity.
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