Leon Valley zoning commissioners schedule workshops to rewrite permitted-use table; hookah-lounge item withdrawn

The Leon Valley Planning and Zoning Commission voted Nov. 19 to schedule two workshops in January and February to conduct a line-by-line review of the citypermitted use table and recommend changes for council consideration.

Commissioners and staff opened the discussion under "old business," prompted by recent deletions of sustainability and commercial/industrial overlays and by examples of duplicated or unclear use entries in Division 7 of the zoning ordinance. Crystal, a city staff member, told the commission their task is to decide a process for review — whether to form subcommittees, divide the table by pages, or hold workshops — and reiterated that any changes would be recommendations to city council and still subject to legal review.

"Hookah lounges don't have a permitted use," Crystal said while clarifying the agenda. She told residents that the hookah-lounge proposal listed on the agenda would not be debated at the meeting: "This commission will not be debating or hearing that item this eve or hearing this item at all." Staff said the business as submitted was classified as a cafe and therefore allowed by right under the applicable zoning category; if the operator later sought to serve alcohol or change hours, an SUP or after-hours permit could be required.

Commissioners voiced differing preferences on how to proceed. Some urged a divide-and-conquer approach but cautioned that identical or related uses appear on multiple pages; others favored two public workshops to walk the table with staff and the council and to solicit public input. Crystal proposed holding one workshop in January and one in February, with the commission aiming to forward recommendations to council in March. The commission approved a motion to schedule two workshops, with dates to be determined.

The workshops are intended to allow commissioners, planning staff and residents to review definitions, remove duplicate entries, and consider adding or refining categories (for example, separate listings for cigar lounges, smoking lounges or hookah cafes). Any substantive ordinance changes would be forwarded to the city council for formal consideration and legal review.

The commission emphasized that staff would remain available to meet with residents who wanted a detailed preview of any packet material, and that final action on zoning text amendments would remain the councildecision.