City staff and a council subcommittee gave an introductory briefing on a proposed zoning text and map amendment to create a new District 11 covering the South 91 corridor and the Joanne building site. The stated city goal is to retain or attract employers that generate income‑tax revenue and to provide supporting uses (restaurants, lodging and limited retail) without creating a major destination shopping node.

Staff and the council subcommittee described the District 11 draft as follows: it uses District 8 (office/industrial) as a baseline, incorporates a limited set of retail and service uses drawn from District 7 but caps small retail buildings (10,000 sq ft by right; 20,000 sq ft conditional), and includes a planned‑development pathway to allow housing only under a high‑bar review process. Council’s subcommittee emphasized the economic development rationale — the Joanne site is a large, 95‑acre property with a ~1.4 million‑square‑foot building and the city wants to see reactivation of the site in ways that sustain municipal income tax receipts.

Staff asked the commission for initial feedback and told commissioners the next meeting will include a presentation from IRG (the current site owner) and a planned public hearing in November. Commission members discussed neighborhood adjacency, whether drive‑through businesses should be allowed, lodging scale and the need to avoid a auto‑centered, low‑value strip‑development pattern. Economic development staff said prior public input did not favor widespread drive‑throughs and that the subcommittee’s draft seeks to avoid a Stow‑style auto strip while enabling employers and supporting services. No action was taken; staff will return with IRG and a formal public‑hearing package in November.