Planning and Zoning Commission

MINUTES OF PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION MEETING

September 20, 2007

A meeting of the Westminster Planning and Zoning Commission was held in City Hall on the evening of September 20, 2007, at 7:00 p.m.  Chairperson Bair; Members Albert, Palmer, Beaver, and Graham; Manager of Planning & Development Davis; Comprehensive Planner Hynes; and County Planner Graf were present.

On motion of Ms. Palmer, seconded by Ms. Albert, the minutes of the meeting of August 9, 2007 were approved as presented.

Mr. Davis presented the amended site plan for the Greene Turtle restaurant, located on Market Street, Westminster, Maryland for approval of the Commission. The applicant proposed to change the building orientation. Mr. Beaver recused himself from the discussion. The Engineer explained that compared to the original orientation, the change in building orientation would only benefit the overall site plan because it allows for 4 finished sides and an improved entrance. Mr. Davis stated that he had the opportunity to meet with the Engineer earlier in the week and that staff did not have any objection to this proposed change. Upon a motion by Ms. Albert and second by Ms. Palmer, the Commission voted unanimously to approve the amended site plan for the Greene Turtle restaurant.

The next agenda item was discussion of the comprehensive plan goal setting exercise that Commission members had prepared for the meeting. Ms. Hynes collected the completed lists of priority recommended actions from Commission members in order to combine the lists in order to create a formal work schedule for the Westminster Planning and Zoning Commission. Members discussed the actions that they felt should be of priority for the upcoming year. These actions included improving water conservation, pedestrian safety and economic development.  

The final agenda item was several announcements from Mr. Davis. He announced that due to the Code Red drought status, 8 pending good-cause waivers were unable to go before the Mayor and Common Council. Mr. Davis also announced that the Planning Staff are currently finishing the Community Legacy Grant application for the Pennsylvania Avenue Streetscape Project in time for the October 2, 2007 deadline.  

There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 7:45 P.M. on motion of Ms. Albert with a second from Ms. Palmer.

Respectfully submitted,

Melissa K. Hynes