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Commission discusses adding Fairway Street to corridor overlay district
Summary
City planners proposed a zoning text amendment to add Fairway Street to Dickinson’s corridor overlay district to extend design standards along commercial development corridors; commissioners expressed general support and staff will draft language for a future hearing.
City planning staff on April 9 presented a proposal to consider adding Fairway Street to Dickinson’s corridor overlay district so new commercial development along that corridor would meet the city’s corridor design standards.
Why it matters: The corridor overlay district imposes building and site design standards (including screening for loading areas and trash containers) along major corridors to promote aesthetics and public welfare. Adding Fairway would extend those design standards to areas where commercial development is beginning to occur and would apply to new non‑single‑family construction within 400 feet of the corridor if the street is included in the district.
What staff said
Natalie Burcheck, city planner, described the overlay’s purpose as promoting public health, safety and higher aesthetic quality along major transportation corridors and noted single‑family homes are exempt from the standards. Burcheck said Fairway is designated a minor arterial and has become a route connecting I‑94 Business Loop and Highway 22; the west side of Fairway is developing commercially and staff is proposing a zoning text amendment to add Fairway to the corridor overlay district so new construction along that corridor would be subject to the standards.
Commission discussion
Commissioners asked how far the corridor overlay applies (staff said it covers 400 feet from listed corridors), whether adding Fairway would affect existing residential areas (Burcheck and staff said single‑family residential development is exempt), and whether the overlay should follow the entire named length of Fairway or only the western segment where commercial growth is occurring. Steve Josephson, city/county planner, added that sections rezoned from limited commercial to community commercial change the development expectations for appearance and that corridor protections apply where parcels are zoned community or general commercial.
Outcome and next steps
Commissioners did not take formal action at the work session but generally indicated no objection to drafting a zoning text amendment. Staff will prepare proposed ordinance language for review at a future planning and zoning meeting. No public testimony was recorded during the discussion.
