Planning Commission has ‘historic moment’

Discussions at the Planning Commission often stretch late into the evening and even, on occasion, past midnight. So it was remarkable when Chair Todd Shaw adjourned Tuesday’s meeting after barely half an hour. “This is kind of a historic moment,” Shaw said. “We don’t have any discussion cases.” The meeting was the shortest in (this journalist’s) recent memory. Even without zoning cases to discuss, there was still business to conduct. Several zoning and site plan items passed on consent, most notably a rezoning to Vertical Mixed-Use (VMU) for a 1.7-acre site at 830 and 838 Airport Blvd. and 917 and 923 Shady Lane where multifamily housing is planned. The commission also previewed upcoming meetings. In two weeks, commissioners will (again) tackle the question of how commercial projects should help pay for parks. In the meantime, a working group will meet to allow more discussion and stakeholder feedback. (Speaking of working groups, two recently established housing working groups are now fully populated and raring to make housing easier to build by proposing changes to the Land Development Code.) And on Aug. 30, the commission will meet jointly with the Zoning and Platting Commission to hear presentations from city staffers on notification requirements for rezonings, traffic analyses as part of zoning cases, and anti-displacement work happening through Project Connect.