Planning commission forwards tighter Main Street rules, recommends caps on building size and limits on certain uses

The Midway Planning Commission on a split‑agenda night voted to recommend a set of amendments to Midway Municipal Code section 16.05 aimed at preserving the town’s historic Main Street character and limiting large, auto‑oriented uses.

City planner Michael, presenting the package, said the changes are intended to align the zoning code with the Main Street chapter of the general plan and to reserve the core C‑3 zone for pedestrian‑oriented retail and restaurants. “We want that retail in that restaurant on the ground floor,” he said, describing an approach that would require offices and clinics in the C‑3 area to locate above or behind active street‑front uses.

The major recommended changes the commission discussed and incorporated into its recommendation include: removing some automotive and recreational rental uses from Main Street; eliminating hotels and large grocery stores as permitted uses in the C‑2/C‑3 zones; limiting new assisted‑living/convalescent uses to small, residence‑scale settings (staff proposed an 8‑resident limit); and restricting event centers and other intermittently used large footprints from Main Street.

Commissioners focused heavily on building mass and parking. Staff initially proposed a 15,000‑square‑foot retail footprint cap (roughly one‑third acre). Commissioners argued that was too large for the downtown core and settled on forwarding a 6,000‑square‑foot top‑end footprint for retail and restaurants to the council for further refinement after a straw poll and discussion about local examples and parking constraints. Members also agreed on a stricter treatment of short‑term lodging on Main Street, with short‑term lodging limited to small units and a maximum number of units per property (staff cited an 8‑unit limit for new short‑term lodging projects).

On personal‑service and fitness uses (barber/beauty shops, massage/day spas and fitness centers), commissioners favored a smaller cap to avoid large single‑use facilities; the commission’s discussion settled on moving a 3,000‑square‑foot cap forward for those categories for the council’s consideration.

The packet and discussion also referenced constraints the city has used to discourage chain or franchise appearances—architectural standards, limiting drive‑through windows, and sign controls—rather than an outright franchise ban, which staff said is legally risky based on past court challenges.

The commission closed the public hearing with no public testimony and voted to send the package to city council with the commission’s findings and the changes discussed. The recommendation will now be considered by the city council, which has discretion to modify, accept, or reject the commission’s proposals.

What’s next: the council will review the recommendation and the commission’s findings. Staff and commissioners noted the package still needs specific draft code language on massing, parking mitigation (including the feasibility and cost implications of underground parking), and clear language for conditional uses.