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Commission adopts process changes to require hearings, broaden notice for major development reviews
Summary
The Planning Commission approved priority LMO changes to require mandatory pre-application conferences, advance mailed notice within 500 feet, on-site signs and Planning Commission review/hearings for major subdivisions and major development plans; commissioners also agreed to label mandatory hearings in the review table and replace the term "advisory body" with "Planning Commission."
Missy Lueck, director of planning, presented a second priority amendment proposing procedural changes to Major Development Plan and Major Subdivision reviews. Key provisions would make pre-application conferences mandatory for major projects, require mailed notice to property owners within 500 feet, place a public-notice sign on the property, require newspaper notice and add a mandatory Planning Commission review element to certain applications.
Lueck said the amendments are intended to increase transparency and provide earlier opportunities for developers and neighbors to address concerns before formal application submissions. The proposal also requires that a minor development plan adjacent to or across the street from a residential use be forwarded to a Planning Commission hearing rather than be handled solely administratively.
Commissioner Whaley asked whether the calendar notice period set in the draft could be changed from 15 to 30 days to give residents more time to respond. Lueck said 30 days could be used and some statutory notice requirements were noted in the draft; she warned that a longer notice window could lengthen applicant timetables but that changing the number would be non-substantive and straightforward.
Public commenter Chester Williams urged that mandatory reviews be clearly marked and treated as public hearings where members of the public may speak. He pointed to a chart in the staff package where mandatory reviews lack an asterisk indicating a public hearing and he recommended replacing the undefined term "advisory body" with "Planning Commission."
Commissioners agreed to Williams’ recommendation. A motion to accept the amendment with the addition of asterisks in the review table to mark public hearings and to replace "advisory body" with "Planning Commission" was moved and seconded; the commission voted 5–0 in favor.
Next steps: staff will process the agreed edits and the commission’s recommendation will proceed through the town’s next steps for ordinance amendment review.
