Planning Commission Minutes 2021 06 10

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Planning Commission Meeting Minutes June 10, 2021 Page 10 of 15 wanted to maximize the value of his property. Diehl appreciated the height requirement changes and the new language was clear. One of the missing components was the industrial buildings with regard to the electrification and LEED and he was open to conditions. He stated that this was the time to push for commitments. Howe stated that there were a lot of things that were in balance at the micro level, including the clustering and view shed requirements. He stated that the Commission's job was to look at whether it fulfills the requirements and it did. Howe shared that he was careful when moving beyond those boundaries but he wanted to consider whether they should have land for revenue and that citizens saw a mis-balance of the land as a revenue source. The citizens were not gaining as much as they wanted in the way of open space. He wondered if there was something that could be done for more revenue. Moline replied that he shared some of Commissioner Howe's comments and he was really torn on the project because the project met the site requirements. Where he was struggling was with the other components of the Comp Plan that address the City's livability, sustainability, and environmental goals. Since the Comp Plan had been developed the consequences of continued growth have become readily apparent. Brauneis echoed the issue that the project met the Comp Plan but that some things like meeting energy goals weren't required by the Code. He stated that as much as we might like to stop growth we can't. He would propose to extend LEED to all buildings. This would be the greenest development in Louisville and added that there were no LEED certified buildings in the city. Diehl asked what the moment in time was when we stop doing what we've been doing. It was moral imperative that it was as sustainable as possible and economic feasibility didn't matter; if you can't do it sustainably then don't do it. He stated that the changes brought the plan closer to that point and there were a few more things they could do to tighten it up. Brauneis stated that ultimately density was generally considered better for the environment, creating more output with less impact. If we assume if the land was going to be developed, they should want increased density, but he understood why that wasn't the case. He added that it would have been great if they'd purchased the property in the last 10 years but that wasn't before them now. Moline stated that OSAB wasn't necessarily able to make acquisition decisions, but if they shared their recommendations with City Council he was assuming that the Council understood the interests of OSAB and had decided not to acquire this property. Howe stated that in the previous meeting Commissioner Williams had asked what the purpose of the land was, but that was outside of the scope. He noted that this plan did not address the overuse of open space and the limited housing stock, but those macro issues were outside of the spectrum of the Commission. He added that it didn't seem rural to be called a rural special district. Brauneis replied that it wasn't what anyone would think of as rural but it had a legal definition that this development met.