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Planning commission backs allowing ground-floor residential in downtown central business district as conditional use
Summary
The commission unanimously recommended an ordinance to allow residential dwelling units on the ground floor of the central business district as a conditional use to support the downtown plan’s mixed-use and preferred-residential goals.
Assemblymember O’Neil, the ordinance sponsor, told the planning commission on May 27 that the proposal responds to builders’ concerns that current CBD rules prohibit ground-floor residential and thereby limit development options downtown.
The change matters because the borough’s recently adopted downtown plan identifies areas as urban core or mixed-use preferred-residential and specifies a push for higher-density residential development in parts of downtown; staff said adding ground-floor residential as a conditional use gives the commission and staff discretion to weigh site-specific compatibility with nearby businesses.
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