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Planning commission touts five-year comp-plan update, flags Navy Federal, Green Hedges projects
Summary
The Planning Commission presented an updated comprehensive plan after five years of work and highlighted ongoing projects including Navy Federal site investments, proposed Green Hedges CUP changes to expand enrollment, and a withdrawn rezoning at 128 Nutley Street; the council discussed keeping the commission at seven members and staff cited the code allowing 5–15 members.
The Planning Commission told the Town Council on Nov. 17 that a five-year effort to modernize the comprehensive plan is nearly complete and is designed to be clearer and more implementable. "This is 5 years of planning commission work... I'm really... proud of it," the commission chair said, summarizing outreach, multiple work sessions and red-line edits that informed the draft.
The commission highlighted several active items: ongoing site work and new generators at Navy Federal’s property; proposed Conditional Use Permit modifications at Green Hedges intended to expand enrollment (a multi-year review that staff expects to return as a formal application in early 2026); and a proposed rezoning at 128 Nutley Street that staff recommended against and that the applicant ultimately withdrew. The chair told Council the commission has been engaged on both policy updates (zoning code changes stemming from the CoCreate process) and project-level reviews, such as CUPs for family day homes and outdoor dining.
Councilmembers discussed commission size and effectiveness. Several members said seven commissioners had been more manageable than nine; staff read the municipal code noting that the planning commission “shall consist of not less than 5 and not more than 15 residents... appointed by the town council for a term of 2 years.” Several councilmembers said they support keeping the commission at seven members.
Council also asked staff for materials that make the comp plan easier for the public to digest, including short summaries of high-level themes and a background memo describing deliberations and difficult trade-offs that do not appear in the final map. The planning commission chair agreed that shorter, 600-word summaries or one-pagers would aid public engagement.
What’s next: staff and the commission will continue outreach and return formal applications (including the Green Hedges application when submitted) and final comp-plan materials for Council consideration.
