Commission forms committee to update design guidelines and outlines approach to comprehensive rezoning in next master plan

The planning commission confirmed a committee to update the town’s two sets of design guidelines (for additions/new construction and for rehabilitation of historic properties), materials the council originally approved in 2010. The chair described the committee composition — two commissioners (O'Malley and Beata), a citizen at-large (Judy, not present), the zoning administrator, and the town engineer — and suggested a six-month work plan to deliver updated guidelines that would return to council for approval.

Commissioners then turned to a broad discussion of the recently adopted ordinance 2026-02 on rezoning procedures and how comprehensive rezoning might be used as a tool to achieve master-plan goals (for example, to expand commercial land or address blight through an urban-renewal authority). Legal counsel and staff outlined how piecemeal rezoning (individual owner requests) differs from comprehensive rezoning tied to master-plan vision, described the analysis and notification steps required under the new ordinance, and stressed that parcel-specific notifications should start when specific properties are placed on an agenda.

Commissioners discussed timing for a kickoff workshop with the council (options included December or a May/December cadence), the need for early public outreach, and the recordkeeping and notification obligations the new code imposes. Staff and counsel recommended the commission seek council agreement on high-level vision and goals first, then identify candidate parcels and commission the technical analysis needed to meet ordinance criteria before formal notice and hearings.