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Planning commission recommends defining miniature golf, sets parking and fencing rules
Summary
The Planning Commission voted to recommend a city code amendment to allow a miniature golf use in General Commercial and Entry Corridor zones, adopting 1.5 parking spaces per hole, 9 a.m.–9 p.m. hours with lights out by 10 p.m., and 8‑foot fencing adjacent to residences.
The Came City Planning Commission voted April 7 to forward a recommendation to the City Council to add a distinct "miniature golf" land‑use definition and related development standards to the municipal code.
The recommendation would allow miniature golf in the General Commercial (GC) and Entry Corridor (ECC) zones and establish parking, fencing and hours specific to the use. Commissioner Rex Mitchell moved the recommendation and Commissioner Wes Blazard seconded it; the motion passed unanimously.
Why it matters: staff brought the code amendment after an application by Mirror Lake Properties and a nearby business owner, who proposed installing an 18‑hole miniature golf course adjacent to Mirror Lake Diner at 55 South Maine. The current municipal code lacks a clearly applicable definition, which left the proposed project without an explicit permitted use.
Owner Gabriel told the commission he purchased the parcel in December and has a site plan showing 18 holes, about 16,000 square feet of course area and 31 parking stalls (two ADA). He described the operation as seasonal, running primarily Memorial Day through Labor Day, with ancillary low‑intensity activities such as cornhole and indoor arcade games. “I think it’d be a great use of the property,” Gabriel said, explaining the parking rationale and promising down‑directed perimeter lighting and limited evening hours.
Commission discussion centered on how broadly the city should define "commercial outdoor recreation" versus a narrow miniature‑golf definition. Several commissioners warned a broad definition could allow much larger or higher‑intensity facilities (rope courses, batting cages) that the GC zone may not be intended to host. Commissioners worked through parking formulas used elsewhere and converged on 1.5 spaces per hole as a reasonable default for future mini golf proposals.
The commission also addressed neighborhood impacts raised during public comment, including privacy and headlights facing rear yards. The panel recommended a specific local accommodation: allowing an eight‑foot privacy fence where the course borders residential property rather than the standard six feet in the GC code. Commissioners relied on existing GC and ECC standards for setbacks, landscaping and lighting (citing code sections staff flagged) and asked staff to include screening requirements for dumpsters.
What happens next: the Planning Commission’s positive recommendation will go to the City Council for consideration. If council approves the code changes, the applicant will still need separate site plan approval and any required building permits before construction.
The commission’s action was procedural and advisory; site plan review remains a separate step.
