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Planning board backs Tubbs Street ‘main street’ overlay with reduced height limits, asks commission to study parking
Summary
The board recommended the Tubbs Street–Oakland Avenue overlay (a ‘main street’ comprehensive plan amendment) to the town commission with ARB/staff revisions that limit the Gateway segment to four stories (reduced from five) and three stories beyond; members and residents pressed the team to address parking, access and how private redevelopment will respond to the public-realm vision.
The Planning & Zoning Board on May 19 recommended that the town commission accept a comprehensive plan amendment establishing a Tubbs Street–Oakland Avenue overlay designed to create a human-scaled main street with wider sidewalks, shade trees, plazas and a coordinated materials palette.
Katie McGruder of Dix Heights & Partners, joined by Kimley Horn staff, described the project boundary (one block east and west of Tubbs Street between Colonial Drive and the West Orange Trail) and said the overlay would create a Main Street subarea with policies to promote active ground-floor uses, permit greater density/intensity than underlying land use in targeted blocks and provide incentive tools — for example, density bonuses in exchange for public improvements such as stormwater infrastructure or publicly accessible plazas.
McGruder said the design team studied comparable communities and proposed three character districts through downtown. She described streetscape changes including converting diagonal pull-in parking to parallel on-street parking to reclaim more space for pedestrians, adding a bike trail connection to the West Orange Trail, and preserving a large oak tree by relocating a proposed plaza.
Board members repeatedly asked how visitors and customers would access the corridor. McGruder and staff said the vision relies on a mix of on-site parking required of new development plus added on-street parallel parking and trail connections; they also noted outreach and grant options to fund phased streetscape improvements.
McGruder reported that the town’s Architectural Review Board (ARB) recommended reducing the initially proposed five-story height in the Gateway District. Staff revised the proposal to allow four stories on the block fronting State Road 50 between SR 50 and Ryan Court (reduced from five) and three stories from Ryan Court to Sadler; two-story limits would remain in the historic district. Staff recommended the board recommend approval of the amendment with those height revisions. Committee member S3 moved to recommend approval of the entire amendment with the ARB/staff height changes and added a request that the commission study parking availability; staff asked for a technical amendment to make the recommendation for the full package, and the board amended the motion and approved it by voice vote.
Public commenters expressed general support for a downtown vision but emphasized parking and phased implementation; staff said the overlay would apply only to new construction or major redevelopment and that properties could continue in their present form until redeveloped.
The board’s transmittal recommendation goes next to the town commission for a transmittal hearing; staff said the board, ARB and commission will return to review more granular land development code changes that implement the comp plan vision.
