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Commission green‑lights $15,000 visioning PSA for Devon Center streetscape; commissioners urge zoning review
Summary
The Planning Commission endorsed a modest PSA to develop guiding principles and a concept plan for Devon Center (budgeted at $15,000), and commissioners urged the consultant to compare the vision to current PBO zoning and consider buffers to residential areas.
The Planning Commission agreed to advance a planning consultant’s scope to begin a focused visioning effort for the Devon Center portion of the Route 30 corridor.
Tom Comitta presented a proposed scope to produce two primary deliverables: concise guiding principles and a concept‑level plan that would graphically portray a vision for Devon Center (a smaller core area within the broader PBO district). Staff told the commission the Planning Commission budget includes $15,000 for a first‑phase effort; Comitta said that modest amount is intended to 'kickstart' a streetscape‑oriented vision rather than a full redevelopment or zoning rewrite.
Commissioners pressed whether the work should address the full PBO district or focus on the smaller Devon Center; several asked that the PSA include an explicit comparison between the proposed concept and the existing PBO zoning because current zoning permits high‑traffic commercial uses (car dealerships and similar uses) and provides limited buffers to adjacent residential neighborhoods. One commissioner said early acknowledgment of those zoning realities is important to avoid losing potential gains during redevelopment.
Comitta and staff agreed the first phase can focus on Devon Center and that the PSA will be signed at staff level and returned to the consultant to begin work. Commissioners emphasized the value of an early statement of how the vision differs from current zoning and asked that deliverables remain tightly scoped to the budgeted amount.
