Planning commission recommends rezoning 82 acres at 690 Franklin Road for aviation youth education center

The Planning Commission voted a positive recommendation to forward a rezoning request for about 82 acres at 690 Franklin Road to the full planning commission, contingent on the applicant completing required items, the panel said.

Planning staff described the request as a rezoning from RD9 (duplex residential 9,000) to a text-specific plan to allow uses similar to the Aviation Hall of Fame and Museum across Franklin Road, with one additional use: overnight room-and-board for aviation youth camps. Staff said the request includes a future land use amendment from "residential, two units per acre" to "residential/public institutional" and that the project scored 43 out of a possible 100 on the city’s zoning and annexation scoring sheets.

"Staff recommends removing the community education" use from the specific-plan form because that category applies to public and private schools and does not fit the museum-specific plan form, planning staff said during the presentation.

The applicant (identified in the staff report as Deborah Bao; the transcript also shows a contradictory self-identification) told the commission she had signed the procedural statement staff requested, mailed the required neighbor notices on Friday and scheduled a neighborhood meeting for April 7. "I also have a copy of the letter that's sent to all the neighbors that was mailed out Friday and I've asked them to come over if they would like to view and discuss anything else on April the 7th," she said. She also said she had "filled out the utility availability request and paid that permit on Friday."

Planning staff noted the proposal would be compatible with surrounding uses, sit across from the Aviation Hall of Fame and Museum, and be in close proximity to the airport; staff described the project as providing a "unique educational experience" for Lebanon while projecting minimal direct financial benefit to the city because the applicant proposes to operate as a nonprofit.

A commissioner moved a positive recommendation to the full planning commission "as long as she gets all the stuff done," and another commissioner seconded the motion. The chair indicated the motion passed by voice; the transcript does not record a roll-call tally. The motion conditions listed by staff and discussed at the meeting included: a utility-availability letter from City of Lebanon Utilities, a signed statement by the applicant agreeing to be bound by the draft ordinance's standards and procedures, and notification of the neighborhood meeting.

The planning commission’s recommendation will be forwarded to the full planning commission for formal review. The applicant has scheduled the neighborhood meeting for April 7 and, according to the record, has submitted and paid the utility availability request. The meeting adjourned without further action on the item.