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Committee refines public‑institution, conservation and overlay districts for walkable corridors
Summary
Staff proposed a public‑institution (PI) district, conservation designations for parks and golf course and a walkable overlay around parts of Kent Road, Seasons and downtown; committee asked for setback and use clarifications and protections if public sites are sold.
Planning staff introduced a new public‑institution (PI) district and conservation designations and sought committee guidance on the location of a walkable overlay intended to encourage mixed‑use development in targeted corridors.
Staff said PI would accommodate schools, municipal facilities, places of worship, libraries and similar public or nonprofit uses on large parcels and would offer flexibility for schools that need accessory buildings or later expansions. "We captured all the schools, airport, city hall property, fire stations, municipal court ... those will be PI parcels," planning staff said. Conservation was proposed for the municipal golf course and parkland to preserve open space.
Committee members raised two recurring concerns: (1) large PI setbacks could impede future school expansions and should be revisited, and (2) what happens if a public institution sells property. Staff answered that PI zoning would require a rezoning to change to a different use, subject to commission and council review, and so would not automatically allow redevelopment to other uses without public approvals.
On overlay location, staff asked whether the hashed area on the map should extend west on Kent Road toward Holy Family and north past Graham Road. Committee members favored expanding the overlay to bring more of the corridor into the walkable mixed‑use framework while confirming existing residences within the overlay would remain permitted as residences; future development sites within the overlay would need to meet overlay rules. "Any of the existing residential would still be permitted. But any future development ... would have to conform to the overlay," a committee member said.
Next steps: staff will revisit PI and conservation setback dimensions to avoid handcuffing future public improvements, confirm the list of parcels proposed for PI and conservation, and produce a revised overlay map reflecting committee feedback.
