PLANNING COMMISSION

GLADSTONE, MISSOURI


January 4, 2010

7:30 pm





Present: Council & Staff Present:

Ms. Alexander Barry McCullough, Councilman

Mr. Turnage Scott Wingerson, Assistant City Manager

Mr. Garnos Chris Helmer, Planning Specialist

Mr. Ringhausen

Ms. Smith

Mr. Velasquez

Mr. Whitton

Chairman Hill

Absent: Ms. Babich

Ms. Abbott

Mr. Steffens

Mr. West



Item 2 on the Agenda: Pledge of Allegiance.


Chairman Hill led the group in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.


Item 3 on the Agenda: Approval of the December 7, 2009 minutes.


MOTION: By Ms. Smith, second by Mr. Whitton to approve the December 7, 2009, minutes as submitted. The minutes were approved as submitted.


Item 4 on the Agenda: Communications from the Audience.


None.


Item 5 on the Agenda: New Business


  1. Officer Election- Chairman Hill postponed officer election until the next meeting due to several missing members.

  2. Election of CIP Representatives- Mr. Turnage volunteered to fill the vacancy left by Ms. Newsom on the Capital Improvements Committee.

  3. 2010 City Council Goals- Mr. Wingerson presented the City Council goals for 2010 to the Planning Commission for discussion:




Mr. Wingerson answered a few corresponding questions regarding the goals and then referred to Planning Specialist Helmer to talk about an initiative that supports the Council goal for redeveloping the Village Center which has to do with form-based codes.


Mr. Helmer reported that currently the City is working with Bucher, Willis, Ratliff (BWR) on a form based code which is a way of looking at the form, design and scale of a particular area as opposed to looking at just the separation of uses. Specifically, staff will be looking at an amendment, or new chapter to the current municipal code. This will be the area approved for the downtown village center master plan. The adoption of the village center master plan was a very bold, progressive step forward for the City, but the form-based zoning regulation is the next evolution for making it successful for the City. As it moves forward, staff will also be researching incentives for developers within the region. Another unique factor is that no form-based code is the same and will require input from residents and Boards and Commission representatives.


d. Upcoming Hearings- Mr. Wingerson gave a brief history of Santerra at Shady Lane, which is the public hearing for the January 19th meeting. He explained that the developer is requesting to revise the existing site plan from four attached single-family homes to four detached patio homes which will encompass relatively the same area. Mr. Wingerson said that at the hearing the neighbors are likely to bring up a lot of issues about existing Santerra conditions. He reminded the Commissioners to keep their discussion focused on items that they have jurisdiction over such as density, layout, parking, buffering or setbacks. Staff will certainly work with the residents and do all they can within their power to help resolve any issues the residents have with the developer.


Discussion ensued regarding Gladstone Plaza and future development.





Item 6 on the Agenda: Communications from the City Council and the City Staff.


Mr. Wingerson made note of the PowerPoint presentation that was running this evening before the meeting began. He brought their attention to the last slide that said “Thanks to Public Works for keeping us moving this winter.” He encouraged everyone to give the drivers of those snow plows a “thumbs up” the next time they go by because although it is part of their job and they’re not complaining, they worked on Christmas and several days after and that allowed all of us to go where we needed to go. They did a great job considering the unprecedented amount of snow we received.


Item 7 on the Agenda: Communications from the Planning Commission Members.


Mr. Whitton commented that the City did a great job of cleaning the streets during the last snows.


Ms. Alexander said she was delighted to be re-appointed to the Planning Commission and thanks to the City staff for all the help they give them.


Mr. Turnage said he did wave to the gentleman who plowed his cul-de-sac.


Mr. Garnos added that he stopped shoveling his drive to give a wave and a “thumbs up” to the plow that went by his house, but he’s not sure he saw him because he came barreling down his street so fast…but he was thankful he did!


Chairman Hill [referring back to the City Council goal discussion] commented that Public Safety’s demands seem to be heavy on multi-family housing and asked if staff might be able to work with these complexes in a positive way to prevent this. He also asked about licensing.


Mr. Wingerson answered that licensing is typically an election issue that is approved by the voters under “Hancock” because there is a fee with the license for a new service, so the City is trying to stay away from that at this point because of negative connotations. However, the City is trying to go to a system where if the complexes meet certain expectations there would be no fee or an extraordinarily small fee. If they do not meet the expectations the fee escalates. He said that it is a very high priority with the Council and City staff right now.


Item 8 on the Agenda: Adjournment.


Chairman Hill adjourned the meeting at 8:17 pm.



Respectfully submitted:


______________________________________ Approved as submitted _____

Becky Jarrett, Recording Secretary



______________________________________ Approved as corrected _____

J. Brian Hill, Chairman