The Jasper City Planning Commission voted on Nov. 25 to recommend approval of a variance that reduces the required off-street parking for a proposed mixed-use shopping center in the Gateway development.

Applicant David Terry argued the reduced parking requirement supports a more walkable, community-focused center with more green space and less asphalt. "We don't want more strip centers and things that look like corporate parking lots," Terry said, arguing that shared parking, staggered tenant hours and pedestrian amenities justify the reduction.

Staff advised that the overall center will provide 232 parking spaces across multiple parcels, including an existing two-story office building and another parcel that is over-parked relative to ordinance requirements. Staff recommended approval conditioned on site-plan review and execution of a shared-parking agreement before site-plan approval. Specific conditions include a minimum of 108 on-site parking spaces for the applicant's parcel, prohibition on reserving parking for tenants except up to five spaces for short-term pickup orders, and installation of no-parking signage along Mountain Boulevard South.

Commissioners raised practical concerns about employee parking and enforcement; Terry and staff said they would include employee-parking guidance in leases and that the shared-parking agreement is near final but would be required prior to site-plan approval. The commission moved, seconded and voted to recommend the variance with the listed conditions; the recommendation will go to City Council for final action.

Next steps: applicant must finalize the shared-parking agreement and complete site-plan review before permits for construction or occupancy.