Commission recommends rezoning Kappa Delta property to allow expansion; forwards approval to city council 5-0

The Stillwater Planning Commission on May 5 voted 5-0 to recommend that the City Council approve a map amendment to rezone the property at 214/220 South Cleveland — home to the Kappa Delta sorority — from multi-family intermediate (RMI) to multi-family urban (RMU).

Staff presented aerial and zoning maps and told commissioners the Envision Stillwater 2045 comprehensive plan designates the area as moderate-density residential. Staff explained that RMU permits greater lot coverage than RMI and pointed to recent edits to the RMU bulk standards (side yards and height limits) that would guide any future expansion.

Trisha Carpenter, treasurer of the Kappa Delta house corporation and co-chair of the building project, said the sorority has outgrown its current space and needs a multi-purpose room to hold full membership meetings. Carpenter said the planned addition would extend into part of an existing parking lot and that the expansion would be about 52.5% lot coverage — above the RMI 40% limit but below the RMU 60% maximum the property would gain if rezoned. "The only way to achieve that is to do this addition," Carpenter said, adding the project would meet the zoning requirements once rezoned.

Commissioners asked whether the comprehensive plan should better reference Greek housing and how comp plan categories map to zoning districts; staff said that the comp plan intentionally describes uses rather than specific zoning districts and that correlation work (including Greek housing) is underway. Staff recommended alternative one: accept findings and recommend City Council approve the proposed map amendment.

A motion to accept staff findings and recommend approval to the City Council was made, seconded and passed 5-0. The commission recorded the vote and moved on to other business.