Planning Commission Work Session March 28, 2018- 5:00 - 7:00 NDS Conference Room Members Present: Lisa Green, Gennie Keller, Jody Lahendro, Lyle Solla Yates and Kurt Keesecker Members Absent: Taneia Dowell, John Santoski, Staff Present: Matt Alfele, Brian Haluska, Zack Lofton, Missy Creasy, Alex Ikefuna Facilitator: Allison Linney Call to Order: by Chair Green at 5:00 Ms. Creasy provided an overview of the agenda for the evening which included a debrief from the March 7th meeting and preparation for the May meetings. It was noted that March 7 generally went well. A sheet was provided of summarized comments from the event and the Commission reviewed those. For the chapter tables, comments were made to provide for more time and have more focused questions. It was determined that the questions would be revisited since the audience is different and more time will be given to the chapter tables. There will be no more than 8 people at a table so staff will facilitate more tables if the crowds are large. For the land use discussion, there were comments to have the pinwheel graphic at the tables and to spend more time orienting to the map and then allowing additional quiet time to address the questions. For the map orientation it was noted that highlighters (not pink) would be present to allow the facilitator to mark the railroad for orientation. The Commission discussed updated questions and settled on the following language: Chapters 1. What reactions do you have to the recommended updates? 2. What have we missed with the updates? What should be removed from the chapter updates? Please provide comments. 3. What are the greatest challenges to achieving the chapter goals? Land Use 1. What are your initial reactions to the Land Use Map information presented? 2. To what extent does the map address the information shared at your topic table earlier? 3. What do you think about our understanding of what we heard about places, housing and jobs and connections to them? It was acknowledged that there was confusion about the use of the word intensity and it becoming interchangeable with density. Commissioners noted they would be more conscious of the use of words. The maps in the presentation will be updated to have a base map to make sure it is understood it is a map. The following agenda was developed for the May 1 meeting 6:00 – 6:10 - Welcome and Overview 1 6:10-6:45 - Chapter table discussion 6:45-7:00 Presentation by Lisa Green 7:00-7:40 – Land Use Table Discussion 7:40-8:00 – Report back and Next Steps Commissioner Lahendro agreed to be the understudy for Chair Green for the presentation. Staff will work to get the presentation recorded. Public Comment Cliff Fox – Owns property and has many clients who own property. He feels comments have not been taken. The map is very challenging. There should be a way to recognize the railroads. He noted that the Brandon Avenue and Ivy Corridor Plans have good graphics. Mark Rinaldi - He has looked at the chapters and has not seen much narrative for the plan. What about the use of demographics. Comprehensive Plans are not easy and need to balance good planning and public input. He feels the plan is disjointed. Chair Green – noted that we will have two additional new members on June 1, 2018 and we will need to provide background to those members. We will need a new representative to the BAR and will need to reassign committees with the new members coming. Please review the committee listing and think about what committees are of interest to you. Commissioner Keesecker noted the concern with having data to clarify the percentages of activities in the pinwheels. He noted that there was data available which might be helpful. It was noted that staff could meet with Mr. Keesecker to talk though how that might work. Adjourn: 7:00 2 March 7 Boards & Commissions Meeting Summary 34 boards and commissions attendees (who signed in) 21 boards and commissions represented 21 citizen attendees (who signed in) Logistics feedback summary • Need more time to read over chapter summary handout • Questions to initiate discussion were too vague • Need more time for first part (chapter discussions) and less time for second part (land use discussion) • Have main roads marked and differentiate the railroad on diagrams/maps • Have legends on the slideshow handouts (pie chart, walk/bike/transit diagram) • Give a general explanation of what a comprehensive plan and land use map are • Explain the difference between land use map and zoning map • Leave the presentation up during the discussions for reference • Fewer time warnings • Not enough time to get through all of the questions (either need more time or better questions) • Explain what the purpose of the meeting is – how is this feedback going to be used in the larger scope of the process? • Provide a better explanation for the gradient of colors and what intensity/density means Land use feedback summary • Strong focus on transportation connections – bike/ped/transit should be shown on map • The map should be informed by the housing needs assessment study • Greenspace areas should be shown better • The map should better reflect the value of the Rivanna River • Consider how the map reflects long term trends (urban renewal, etc.) • Better define intensity (especially as compared to density) and what each of the colors on the gradient mean • Need to think about/show how city’s land use connects in with surrounding areas (UVA and Albemarle County) • The transition zones should be more gradual • Some areas should be darker, especially considering their current land use (Cherry Avenue, JPA, UVA Hospital) • Really need to encourage bikeability/walkability and show on the map • Desire for overlays – bike/ped, transit, small area plans, etc. • Need to consider historic districts and preservation too • Flood plains should be considered 3