Harrisville Planning Commission recommends Ordinance 562 to create affordable‑housing overlay

The Harrisville Planning Commission voted to recommend Ordinance 562, a proposed affordable‑housing zoning overlay, to the City Council after approving staff‑recommended revisions and a change to wording about preliminary‑plat review.

The revision the commission approved replaces a sentence saying the planning commission “will approve” preliminary plats with language that the commission “may approve” preliminary plats after review by appropriate city departments, a change intended to avoid implying the commission is merely a rubber stamp for administrative actions.

Commissioners discussed several substantive details before the recommendation. City planner Sarah Wicker summarized implementation: the ordinance creates an optional overlay developers may apply to specific projects; the overlay takes effect once the City Council adopts it and a developer applies to use the overlay for a particular site. “So right now, we’re just implementing the ordinance, which gives the…