Planning Commission Minutes 1994 07 26

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regard to fire safety issues. I don't think this part of town should receive any special consideration because of variance hearings. Chairperson McAvinew - Personally, I disagree on that point. I think it should by its nature. I think one reason we don't have close scrutiny of the Fire District in Old Town, is that it's almost useless. The building are already constructed very close together. Peter Kernkamp - With regard to the fire issue, new construction has to comply with the current codes. There are certain requirements and restrictions if you build 3 feet or closer to the property line. Chairperson McAvinew - I am not saying that we should give Old Town a license to construct whatever is desired. Lowell Campbell - I did suggest that maybe the setbacks should be reduced, in order to more closely match the existing construction. Peter Stewart, 1132 Jefferson Avenue, Old Town. I do have a variance for my home. I feel the point of zoning is to give development some direction. One of the biggest downfalls of zoning is the segregation of usage. This, in effect, is destroying the neighborhood character. I am very much in favor of mixed use zoning. I feel at this time the criteria in place for the variance process is wrong. The zoning in place for Old Town would restrict most home owners from rebuilding in case of destruction. Chairperson McAvinew - I have made a note of that to myself. I think there should be allowances in those cases, with perhaps a time limit for rebuilding. Peter Stewart - I think there are 2 issues. Fix what would seem to be the current problem, then consider the long range aspect of what we want Old Town to look like in the next 20 years. Current zoning is breaking up our communities. If you look at towns developed before 1940 you will see a lot of mixed -use zones. There has been some studies and documentation of this. One thing that has resulted is the, "Traditional Neighborhood Development Ordinance". This was developed under a grant from the Nation Endowment for the Arts. What this does, is set up an ordinance that reflects how towns were developed prior to 1940. This handles the setbacks in a completely different manner. It also encourages mixed use, such as in commercial zones, in which at least 25 % of a project needs to be of a residential use. It also takes aesthetics into consideration in some manner. I would like the Commission to look at other ways of encouraging mixed uses, even if only in a limited way. I think mixed use is what creates character in a neighborhood. Chairperson McAvinew - I did see something, I think it was in the Baltimore area, where they developed a community based on mixed use zoning. 3