Commission staff backs conditional rezoning to allow townhouse infill while preserving daycare at 1485 Johnson Road

Planning staff presented a request to conditionally rezone 1485 Johnson Road from institutional to multifamily neighborhood scale to allow an infill development of seven townhouse-style condominiums while permitting the existing child daycare to continue operating under a conditional use permit.

Staff said the site’s future‑land‑use designation is currently institutional under the 2030 plan, and that institutional zoning allows child daycare centers by right only on parcels of at least one acre; subdivision of the parcel would reduce the daycare lot below that threshold, prompting the rezoning request and the accompanying conditional use permit to keep the daycare in operation.

Staff recommended approval subject to three applicant-proposed conditions: (1) tie the rezoning to the site plan shown to the commission; (2) require a combined drainage plan that addresses both the daycare parcel and the new townhouse parcel; and (3) permit redistribution of required landscaping along the western property line through an alternate landscape plan. Staff noted the zoning change to MFNS (multifamily neighborhood scale) would make the daycare eligible to continue as a conditional use after the subdivision.

Commissioners asked about drainage and whether the two resulting lots would share a drainage system; staff replied that a site plan review will examine drainage across the combined site so the subdivision does not create downstream drainage issues. Staff also noted a condition requiring removal of an electronic sign within 30 days if the rezoning is approved to avoid a sign code violation.

No formal vote by the planning commission is recorded in the transcript provided; staff’s recommendation was for approval subject to the listed conditions.