Planning commission urges council to adopt comprehensive plan, seek first chance on parish land and pause new development pending zoning rewrite

The North College Hill planning commission told city council at a special meeting that it wants the council to formally adopt the city'wide comprehensive master plan and to take immediate, discrete steps to protect the city'scale choices the plan is meant to guide.

The planning commission presented four prioritized recommendations, the group said: formal adoption of the comprehensive master plan; a request for a right of first refusal on several large parish-owned properties; a temporary moratorium on commencement of new construction or development while the zoning code is reviewed; and funding and legal review to rewrite the zoning code. The commission also described an outreach effort called Motion NCH to build neighborhood engagement and small local grants to spur citizen-led projects.

"We recommend adoption of the North College Hill comprehensive plan," Andrea Brooks, a member of the planning commission, told council. Brooks and other commissioners said the plan is a high-level "stick figure" intended to set a long-range direction rather than to prescribe immediate, detailed projects.

Why it matters: commissioners and council members said the city has lost potential private investment…