An applicant seeking a special exception for a place of worship at 458 Oakland Avenue presented the project to the Development Review Committee and was notified the application must go to the planning commission for a decision.

This matters because approval requires a discretionary public hearing by the planning commission; if the planning commission denies the special exception, the applicant may appeal that denial to city council.

Amir, the DRC project manager, said the property's zoning is mixed-use downtown and the future land use is commercial. The applicant told the committee the project is essentially finished and asked whether there were outstanding questions. DRC staff clarified the special exception must go before the planning commission, which has three options: approve, approve with conditions, or deny; the transcript also states that a denial may be appealed to city council.

Fire staff requested an auto-turn diagram showing fire-truck maneuvering through the proposed parking lot so staff can confirm emergency access. The applicant agreed to add an auto-turn exhibit to verify fire apparatus movement through the site.

No formal decision was made at the DRC meeting; the item was routed for planning-commission review per the special-exception procedure. Departments (police, public works, building) reported no further comments at the DRC stage.