Commission approves series of zoning code amendments, removes marijuana provisions and moves fee schedule to council

The Plain Planning & Zoning Commission voted on a slate of zoning code changes and administrative actions at its March 2025 meeting, approving updates to how the village manages fees, signs and commercial use classifications, adding a condition to limit locations of smoke and vape businesses near school‑owned property, and removing an obsolete medical marijuana chapter after council direction.

Fee schedule: ZC‑25‑2

The commission approved ZC‑25‑2, which removes the fee schedule from the zoning code and directs fees to a council‑approved administrative schedule. Planning staff said the fee list in the code has not been updated in many years and that moving fees to a council‑managed schedule allows annual adjustments without a code amendment. Staff told the commission the change will be coordinated so there will be no gap in fee collection when the code language is removed.

Sign code replacement: ZC‑25‑3

The commission approved ZC‑25‑3, a wholesale replacement of the sign chapter (Chapter 11.99). Staff described the current sign code as “very dated” and said the replacement creates district‑specific rules and much more detail on temporary signs. The replacement was the product of prior review and some delay to compare neighboring communities’ new sign codes.

Community Business District uses and smoke/vape shops: ZC‑25‑4

The commission approved ZC‑25‑4 with a condition to explicitly include school‑owned property in the distance restrictions for certain uses. Staff said the current B‑2 (Community Business) code relied on SIC codes, an outdated national classification that does not capture many modern uses; the proposed change shortens and modernizes the use list and clarifies conditional uses. The draft also added special conditions for smoke and vape shops, proposing minimum separation distances (the staff discussion referenced 500–1,000 feet as typical in other communities). A commissioner requested that the separation include school‑owned property; the commission approved that addition as a condition.

Medical marijuana section removal: ZC‑25‑5

Following council direction and the village’s action to prohibit retail marijuana sales within village limits, the commission approved ZC‑25‑5 to remove Chapter 11.183.04 — the code section regulating medical marijuana cultivators, processors and dispensaries — because those uses are not permitted under the council decision.

Other formal actions

The commission approved minutes from the Feb. 18, 2025 meeting and appointed Nick McCall to represent planning and zoning on the Plains City Housing Committee.

Why it matters

Taken together, the changes modernize zoning administration (moving fees out of code), update sign regulation to reflect newer sign practices and make the village’s commercial use categories easier to apply. The B‑2 revision is intended to reduce the frequency of variance and Board of Zoning Appeals requests by allowing staff to categorize modern business types more straightforwardly. The medical marijuana removal implements the council’s earlier policy choice not to permit marijuana retail sales in the village.

Formal roll‑call votes were recorded in the meeting transcript; the zoning code amendments and administrative actions were approved and will move to council where required by local procedures.