Planning Commission

Wed, September 9, 2026

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Meeting summaryAI-generated

Planning Commission — September 9, 2026

This was a regular Planning Commission session that opened with the election of officers and included two substantive public hearing items. The meeting was relatively brief, with no public comment received on either hearing item.

Election of Officers

Because officer elections were not listed on the printed agenda, commissioners first voted to add the item. The nominating committee (comprising Commissioners José, Mitchell, and one other) recommended that Carl Schwartz continue as Chair and Danny Yoder continue as Vice Chair. Both accepted the nominations. No nominations were made from the floor. Each position was voted on individually.

Vote (Chair): 7–0 in favor of Schwartz. Vote (Vice Chair): 7–0 in favor of Yoder.

Commissioner Reports

Commissioners shared updates from various committees and meetings since the last session:

UVA Report: The university's representative highlighted three projects. Infrastructure work has begun on the Center for the Arts, a 224,000 sq. ft. facility to house the Atter Performing Arts Center (1,200-seat venue), the music department, the Kluge-Ruhe Collection, and the Fralin Museum; building construction is scheduled to begin in 2027, with the city coordinating on pedestrian improvements along Emmet Street. On affordable housing, UVA's projects at Wertland/10th Street and Piedmont Redevelopment are both stalled due to financing challenges facing the affordable housing industry nationally and locally; both sites continue on separate timelines. The North Grounds Garage near JPJ Arena is nearing completion this semester — 1,030 spaces, EV charging for 22 vehicles, dedicated transit access, and a micro-mobility center with secure bike/e-bike storage.

Tree Commission (Chair Schwartz): The Urban Forestry Management Plan was presented; Parks and Recreation is doing all it can on public lands but is seeking new strategies to encourage tree planting on private property and in neighborhoods with limited public space.

Legislative Subcommittee: Met last month, identified legislative priorities, compressed them with staff, and forwarded them to City Council.

Missing Middle Work Group (Commissioner — likely Harness or Carp): A meeting with small-scale local developers surfaced significant utility-related barriers to missing middle housing construction. Key issues include utility spacing requirements on narrow/irregular lots, the city's gravity-fed-only sewer system (which can require costly private pump systems), and the requirement for separate utility lines per subdivided parcel. The core finding: there is a meaningful gap between what the zoning code allows on paper and what can actually be built once utility constraints are applied — making it difficult to even reach base density, let alone the bonus affordable density. Next steps include a site visit to affected parcels. Whether constraints are primarily state- or locally-driven remains to be determined.

Development Code Cleanup Subcommittee: A check-in meeting occurred on August 27th. Staff remains on track for a public hearing in December, with one more subcommittee meeting and one more Planning Commission work session planned beforehand.

Traffic Calming (one commissioner): A meeting with Public Works and NDS leadership revealed that the city's quick-build traffic calming program — announced in 2024 with a goal of 67 projects by 2025 — has completed roughly half the list but has no current staffing or funding to finish or harden the remaining projects. This is expected to be raised at the CIP hearing in November.

LPAC / Birdwood Mansion: The commission took a field trip to Birdwood Mansion (built 1819–1830, now managed by the UVA Real Estate Foundation/Boar's Head), which has been converted into a flexible hospitality and event center with seven suites, including former slave quarters that are reportedly the most-booked suite.

BAR Report: A proposal for 915 East High Street — the large surface parking lot on the west side of the former Martha Jefferson Hospital — would place a five-to-six-story, 525-foot-long apartment building there. The project was grandfathered into the old zoning code by City Council, meaning no affordable housing requirement applies. The BAR faces a challenging review: the building is set back significantly from the street in a conservation district, limiting the BAR's purview. The commissioner flagged it as a project to watch.

NDS Department Report: Interim NDS Director Mike Goddard (currently Deputy Director of Public Works) begins Monday.

Consent Agenda — May 12, 2026 Minutes

Vote: Approved unanimously, no abstentions.

Public Hearing: Comprehensive Plan Amendment — Chapter 9 (Community Facilities & Services)

Staff presented a proposed update to Chapter 9 of the 2021 Comprehensive Plan and associated appendix maps. The chapter and its utility maps had not been updated since the plan's adoption. The amendment adds two new strategies: one to formally adopt relevant RWSA (Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority) and ACSA plans by reference, and one to add the future Skink's Branch sewer interceptor upgrade project. The appendix would replace the existing water/sanitary system map with updated versions and add two new maps — one for the city stormwater system and one for the RWSA central waterline project. Virginia State Code requires localities to keep public facility information current in their comp plans. This amendment does not change the city's overall goals. City Council will hold its own public hearing in October.

No public comment was received.

Vote: 7–0 to recommend Council approval.

Public Hearing: Planning Commission Bylaws Amendment — Public Hearing Start Times

The current bylaws require public hearings to begin at 6:00 PM. The proposed amendment would change the start time so that all regular meeting items, including public hearings, begin at 5:30 PM — immediately following commissioner reports and the consent agenda. The change is intended to streamline meetings.

No public comment was received.

Vote: 7–0 to adopt the bylaws amendment.

Key Takeaways

Carl Schwartz and Danny Yoder were unanimously re-elected as Chair and Vice Chair, respectively.

Missing middle housing faces real-world construction barriers beyond the zoning code: utility spacing, gravity-sewer limitations, and lot-line requirements are preventing developers from reaching even baseline density, let alone affordable-unit bonus density. The Missing Middle Work Group is investigating solutions.

Traffic calming is effectively stalled: the city's 67-project quick-build program has no funding or staffing to proceed; commissioners expect to press the issue at the November CIP hearing.

Chapter 9 of the Comprehensive Plan was updated to reflect current water, sewer, and stormwater infrastructure maps and plans; Council will take final action in October.

Public hearings will now start at 5:30 PM under the amended bylaws, following reports and the consent agenda.

AI-generated summary from voice-to-text transcript. Not the official record. Verify important details with the source documents linked above.

What happened at this meeting

Comprehensive Plan Amendment - Chapter 9: Community Facilities &

# Commissioner's Reports Summary

Following the election of Carl Schwartz as chair and Danny Yoder as vice chair, the Commission proceeded to Commissioner's Reports, beginning with a presentation by Matt Alfley, Development Planning Manager at NDS, on behalf of Dori Kanelopoulos regarding the Comprehensive Plan Amendment for Chapter 9: Community Facilities and Services. The amendment updates public utility and facility maps that have not been revised since the plan's November 2021 adoption, incorporates updated water and sanitary system maps along with new maps for the city storm system and RWSA central waterline project, and includes two new strategies: adopting relevant RWSA and ACSA plans by reference and adding a future Skinks Branch sewer interceptor upgrade project. These updates ensure compliance with Virginia State Code requirements for public utilities and facilities to be included in the comprehensive plan. With no questions from Planning Commissioners or public comment, the Commission voted unanimously to adopt the resolution recommending Council approval of the Chapter 9 updates and related appendix documents.

University of Virginia Report

# University of Virginia Report Summary

The University of Virginia presented updates on multiple infrastructure and development initiatives. The Center for the Arts is moving forward with Emmet IV Corridor construction, planning a 224,000 square foot facility scheduled for 2027 that will include the Atter Performing Arts Center (with a 1,200-seat venue), the music department, and museums. However, affordable housing projects at Wertland/10th and Piedmont Redevelopment face funding challenges due to structural shifts in the affordable housing industry, with timelines dependent on ongoing financing and entitlements. On a positive note, the North Grounds garage near John Paul Jones Arena is nearing completion this semester with 1,030 parking spaces, EV charging, transit access, and a micro mobility center. Additionally, staff presented a minor bylaws amendment to move the Planning Commission's regular meeting start time from 6:00 PM to 5:30 PM to allow public hearings to begin immediately after reports and consent agenda adoption, which the Commission unanimously approved.

Department of NDS Report

The Department of NDS reported on code cleanup efforts, noting a subcommittee meeting was held on the 27th to ensure the project remains on track for a public hearing in December. One additional subcommittee meeting and work session with the Planning Commission are planned before the December public hearing. The department also announced that Mike Goddard, currently Deputy Director of Public Works, has been appointed interim director of NDS and will start on Monday.

Matters to be Presented by the Public not on the Formal Agenda

The chair opened matters to be presented by the public not on the formal agenda. No members of the public present in-person wished to speak, and no raised hands were visible from those attending online.

Consent Agenda a Minutes - May 12, 2026 Regular Session III. Planning Commission Public Hearing Items

The Planning Commission voted to approve the consent agenda containing minutes from the May 12th regular session. A motion was made and seconded, with all commissioners voting in favor and none opposed or abstaining. The consent agenda passed unanimously.

Agenda items (6)

Procedural (6)

1ProceduralComprehensive Plan Amendment - Chapter 9: Community Facilities &

A public hearing will be held on proposed changes to Chapter 9 of the Comprehensive Plan, which covers community facilities.

What happened

2ProceduralUniversity of Virginia Report

University of Virginia presents a report on its operations and initiatives affecting the city.

What happened

3ProceduralChair's Report

The meeting chair provides an overview of recent proceedings and matters of interest.

4ProceduralDepartment of NDS Report

The Department of Neighborhood Development Services (NDS) reports on its projects and activities.

What happened

5ProceduralMatters to be Presented by the Public not on the Formal Agenda

Residents have an opportunity to speak about topics that are not listed elsewhere on the agenda.

What happened

6ProceduralConsent Agenda a Minutes - May 12, 2026 Regular Session III. Planning Commission Public Hearing Items

The council will approve meeting minutes from May 12, 2026 and address routine consent agenda items.

What happened

Additional votes recorded in minutes

Add election of officers to meeting agenda

aye 1

voice voteaye

Elect Carl Schwartz as Chair

aye 7

Commissioner Carpaye

Commissioner Harnessaye

Commissioner Mitchellaye

Commissioner Ruckeraye

Commissioner Schwartzaye

Commissioner Solieszaye

Commissioner Yoderaye

Elect Danny Yoder as Vice Chair

aye 7

Commissioner Carpaye

Commissioner Harnessaye

Commissioner Mitchellaye

Commissioner Ruckeraye

Commissioner Schwartzaye

Commissioner Solieszaye

Commissioner Yoderaye

Approve consent agenda (minutes from May 12th)

aye 1

voice voteaye

Recommend council approve updates to Comprehensive Plan Chapter 9

aye 7

Chairman Schwartzaye

Commissioner Carpaye

Commissioner Harnessaye

Commissioner Mitchellaye

Commissioner Ruchteraye

Commissioner Soliyatsaye

Commissioner Yoderaye

Adopt Planning Commission bylaws amendment

aye 7

Chairman Schwartzaye

Commissioner Harnessaye

Commissioner Karpaye

Commissioner Mitchellaye

Commissioner Ruckeraye

Commissioner Yoderaye

Commissioner Zoleciakaye

Adjourn meeting

aye 1

voice voteaye

Verbatim transcript available

84 transcript segments indexed

Store in Richmond that sells used office furniture. Ooh. You have to go there if you want to buy ... Because you can buy a used one for 50% less than the price. Yeah. And they're careful. Yeah. Because they verify everything.

Yeah. As long as . Right. Yeah. Yeah. That's what I would do. Right. Yeah. In the middle of COVID, so we first were sent home when COVID came to work, I was sitting on a folding chair, and we were renting a duplex, and there's a attic with a ladder thing, and I was like, "Oh, we'll see what's up here.

Let's snoop around," during the pandemic, and there was, in a box, an unopened office chair. Oh, yes. I got the thing out, and I used it until recently. Nice. I remember during the pandemic, I just drove that to work.

Yeah. Oh. I never did that. I should've done that. Yeah. It was wonderful. Okay. Are we more or less ready? We won't make it up. Yep. Okay. Let's do it. I guess I'm this little one. Okay. All right. Welcome, everyone, to tonight's Planning Commission meeting.

I think we're going to have to start with our vote, so I'm going to let Dan run this part. Okay. Since it's not on the agenda, I guess, could we do motion to add election of officers to the meeting agenda for tonight?

I so move. Okay. We just do a verbal vote. All those in favor? Yes. Aye. Any opposed? Okay. So moving along to election of officers. Does the nominating committee have anyone they would like to nominate for chair and vice chair?

Yes, sir. The nominating committee of Jose, Mitchell, and myself met, and we would like to request that Carl Schwartz serve again as chair and Danny Yoder serve again as vice chair. Mr. Schwartz, do you accept?

I do. Mr. Yoder, do you accept? Yes. Sorry. All right. Let's just go down the list for this. Commissioner Soliesz? You may want to ask if there are any additional nominations from the floor. Oh, any additional nominations?

None here. I swear I won't be offended. Okay. So- Chair first ... nomination. Oh, we do these individually? We do them individually this- Okay ... last year. So, the voting for chair, we'll do that first.

So, let's see. Commissioner Soliesz? Aye. Commissioner Harness? Yes. Commissioner Carp? Yes. Commissioner Yoder? Yes. Commissioner Rucker? Yes. Commissioner Mitchell? Yes. Commissioner Schwartz? Yes. Okay.

Vote for vice chair. Commissioner Soliesz? Aye. Commissioner Harness? Yes. Commissioner Carp? Yes. Commissioner Yoder? Yes. Commissioner Rucker? Yes. Commissioner Mitchell? Yep. And Commissioner Schwartz.

Yes. All right. So, Mr. Chair, welcome back. Would you like to take it away? Sure. All right. Well, let's start with commissioner's reports. I'm just going to start on my left, so I guess we'll start with you, the University of Virginia report.

Thank you. So just a couple items of wanting to share. First off, the Center for the Arts. So you may have noticed there's been some movement on the site. So infrastructure improvement work has started.

This basically sits east of what's the recently opened Virginia Guest House with the new pond to the south and Emmet Street to the east over at the Emmet IV Corridor. UVA is coordinating closely with the city on integrating this work with the city's smart scale pedestrian improvements in that area, which runs along Emmet.

We have the building construction scheduled to begin in 2027. Project highlights, so just for those who may not be familiar with the facility, this is a 224,000 gross square foot building. It's going to be the future home to the Atter Performing Arts Center, which includes a 1,200 seat state-of-the-art venue for music, opera, theater, and film.

It's going to be UVA's new home for the music department, the Kluge-Ruhe Collection, and the Fralin Museum A couple sort of small updates regarding affordable housing projects at Wertland and 10th and the Piedmont Redevelopment area.

So the university's been working in close communication with its development partner POA, which is the Preservation Affordable Housing. They're currently navigating structural shifts in the affordable housing industry.

These shifts have been creating funding challenges both nationally and locally, which is impacting affordable housing development. The timing for this construction is contingent on the financing and the entitlements, and both of which are currently being worked through.

Piedmont is in a similar situation, so Piedmont Housing Alliance is the partner with that site. Planning is still in progress. They're working through similar challenges to the Wertland site. And just that both of these sites are being treated as unique developments, and they'll continue to progress on their own timelines.

Then the last point was just the North Grounds garage. I wanted to give a quick update on that. So that sits just to the west of the John Paul Jones Arena at Massey and Copeley. So that's getting close to opening.

It'll be later this semester it'll open up. That's 1,030 parking spaces across six levels. It has dedicated vehicular entrances on Copeley and Massey Road. It has EV charging for up to 22 vehicles. It's got dedicated transit access for up to four buses with covered seating for people waiting to ride.

It's got a micro mobility center, which is kind of exciting, which is a flexible space to help support the transition from parked car to a bicycle to do the last part of the commute. And to help support that too, there's secure storage for both bikes and e-bikes on the premises.

And then the landscape is designed to not only serve pedestrians and the bus patrons, but it's also set up to help support athletic events either at JPJ or the other adjoining venues. So yeah, it'll be great when that sort of opens up.

So that's all I have, Chair. Thank you. Thanks a lot. I think I previously was, earlier when we were talking about meetings, talked about the Tree Commission, and we had the presentation on the urban forestry management plan, which is quite robust and may...

I think the big takeaway is that Parks and Rec is doing everything they can on the public, sort of publicly owned lands to protect trees and plant new trees. And so they were trying to think of new strategies for encouraging more of that on private property or in neighborhoods that don't have as much public space to plant trees.

Some neighborhoods where there's not very much dirt available to plant trees. But we're going to hear from them later, so. Thank you. I have nothing to report. All right. The legislative subcommittee met last month and laid out a number of legislative priorities that were then discussed at the Planning Commission work session, which were then compressed by staff and sent on to council.

Thank you. Matt? On August 20th, Betsy and I met with the Missing Middle Work Group, discussion with a small group of small scale developers here in the city to discuss utility related challenges as barriers to missing middle housing, and several themes come up during that time.

One of them was related to utility spacing requirements and how that impacts narrow and irregular lots here in the city. It was also noted difficulties that arise from the city having a gravity fed only sewer system and how sometimes that prevents lots in town from even being reached without having a private pump system that would increases the cost of construction of those properties and long term maintenance on the private side.

There was also discussion about how ownership structures of various parcels impact some of these spatial constraints. Namely, like if you're going to sub-lot parcels in the R districts, that requires separate lines to the street to the utility lines, and those lines have to have specific distances between them.

And so if you end up with an RV, if you're trying to do six units, and they have to be a certain width apart on narrow lots, you basically don't have enough frontage to even be able to build what you're looking to build.

So that ends up limiting the number of units that are actually buildable on those lots. So that all sort of comes up with the major theme is that there's a gap between what the zoning code allows on paper and what can actually reasonably be built once all of these constraints are accounted for.

So some of those constraints are city policy, some of those constraints are state regulated. There was a lot of things identified, and the purpose of this group is to identify these constraints before they get to city council to decide what sort of action wants to be take.

But I thought there was a very thorough discussion about how current utility policies are leading towards some difficulties in getting things built. And then the last thing I'll say is that you have this base density, and then you have the affordable density, but some of these developers are finding it quite difficult to even reach base density based on these requirements.

So then how do you actually reach the affordable density if you can't get the base density in the first place? So that sort of- ... ties into the affordability nature of the zoning code and how do we reach that bonus density.

And next steps for this group are a site visit to some of the parcels that some of the members of the subcommittee have so that we can actually get out there and have a little bit more physical discussion about some of these constraints.

Did you have any sort of idea of how, you said some of it was due to state policy, some of it was due to local policy. Was it mostly local? Was it mostly state? Is there any sort of proportion that you're able to determine?

I don't know that I can say that right now. Mm-hmm. I really don't know that I know the answer to that question. Okay. But some of it flows from the state down to what the city has to do, but then is embedded in city code and policy.

I guess I'm wonder, did it feel like there were potential solutions? Yes. Okay. Yeah. It's not all state. Okay. And it's not all city. Okay. We'll see what comes of it. Thank you. And then on the 27th, there was the development code cleanup.

As you know, Chair, you and I were unable to make the meeting for various reasons. But staff still held a meeting that I understand was focused on status updates and making sure responsibilities were adequately dispersed throughout staff group.

But I'll let Matt, if he would like to update further on what happened at that meeting since we weren't there. And that's all I've got. Thank you. I have one item. I had an interesting meeting with, this is not a committee, but it's relevant to PC work.

I met with a lot of public work staff, some of whom are now NDS staff, a few weeks ago, with the director, deputy director, city engineer, traffic engineer, about traffic calming. There is arguably a city program to do what are called quick-build traffic calming projects.

It was announced in 2024 with the intention of building 67 projects by 2025. We've built about half that list, and the upshot of a long meeting was that there's currently no staffing and no funding available to complete that list or to harden the projects that are already in place.

This will be a topic for us to discuss at the CIP hearing in November, I believe. But we should expect no progress until or unless council allocates money or people to those projects. That's all I got.

Thank you. All righty. There was only one meeting for me since we last met, but it was a fun meeting. This was with LPAC. And it wasn't your typical update on policy issues. We went on a field trip. It was a fun field trip.

The field trip was to the Birdwood Mansion. The Birdwood Mansion is an edifice that was built between 1819 and 1830, and it is now part of the University of Virginia Real Estate Foundation. It's owned by them, managed by them, and it's affiliated with Boar's Head.

And what they're doing, I think it's been open maybe since the spring. What they're doing with this is they're making this a flexible use hospitality event center. It's got seven suites. Four of the suites are inside the actual mansion itself, and then there are three suites that are outside of the mansion.

And one of the suites is actually former slave quarters, and that is actually the most popular suite that they use. They are also set up to do breakfast and lunch, teas, and things like that, and I think they do dinner as well, and they've got a nice little bar there as well.

It is unlikely that I would be able to afford to visit there, maybe not even eat there or have a drink in the bar. But I recommend you guys just drop by and check it out because it's a really neat little property.

Thank you. Let's see. At last month's BAR meeting, I think the only item that was of importance was, not importance, but they think you guys might have care about would be 301 East High Street. No, I'm sorry.

915 East High Street. So that's the big open parking lot on the west side of the old Martha Jefferson Hospital. There is a proposal to fill that with a five to six story apartment building. Although they didn't get their site plan approved until after the zoning code was adopted, they were one of the projects that was granted approval by city council to be grandfathered into the old zoning code, which means that there will be no affordable housing coming out of it, which is unfortunate.

They've done some very weird things with their site plan, and it's a challenge for the BAR because the building is on Lexington. It's 525 feet long, and just kind of a five story flat wall. But they've set it back 40 some odd feet from the street, and the apartments on the ground floor have entrances to all of them.

So it'll be kind of like little... They want to make it to feel like it's a neighborhood street where you've got sidewalks that come up to people's front doors. But it's going to be a challenge. It's a conservation district, so the BAR has kind of limited purview over what they can do.

And it's unfortunate that it's not going to be bound by any of our form-based code. So- It'll be interesting to see where this goes. It's going to be a challenging project to review. Personally, well, no, keep my opinions out of it, but yeah, something to pay attention to.

And that's all I got. So, does the Department of NDS have anything to report? Yes, Chair. Just to follow up, we did have a subcommittee meeting on the code cleanup on the 27th, which was more of a check-in with staff, make sure that we are still on task to have a public hearing in December.

There is plans to have one more subcommittee meeting and one more work session meeting with Planning Commission, and then the public hearing in December. And also as Planning Commission is aware, we have been appointed an interim director at NDS, Mike Goddard, who is currently the Deputy Director of Public Works, will be the interim director at NDS, and he will start Monday.

Thank you. Next, we move to matters presented by the public, not on the formal agenda. So this would be anything that is not about the comprehensive plan amendment. Looks like we've got a very small public.

Do either of you wish to speak? Nope. Is there anybody online? Mr. Chair, I see no raised hands. Great. Then we will move on to our consent agenda, which is the minutes from May 12th. Mr. Chair, I move to approve the consent agenda.

Is there anyone that wants to second that? I'll second. Great. I think we just do an all in favor. So all in favor? Aye. Yes. Anyone opposed? Anyone abstained? All right, so the consent agenda passes.

Because we still have to follow our rules, I guess we have a five-minute break until we will have our first public hearing item on the comprehensive plan amendment. Four-minute break. Woo-hoo. Yes. Let's see how quick we can do this one.

I didn't realize that for how long. I heard that it didn't hit. It kind of was a decision from the state auditors delayed, and then they were just like, "Either release the team's findings or we do the CDs." And so because the escalation is so crazy, someone was like, "We would be looking at a claim of $23 million." And I said, "Well, actually, we're boxed in." And so now- Holy cow ...

so even if it goes negatively, the CDs are like 85% done. They're done. It's kind of scary. Yeah, for when that's not going to be funded. Matt, you ready? I'm ready. All right. All right, welcome back everyone.

Our next item on our agenda is a comprehensive plan amendment. Chair, Matt Alfley, Development Planning Manager, Neighborhood Development Services. I am here on behalf of Dori Kanelopoulos, who put this presentation together, who is not with us this evening.

She's our range planner. In November 2021, City Council formally adopted the city's comprehensive plan. Since then, there have been several amendments, including adoptions both of the Climate Action Plan and the Parks and Recreation Master Plan.

Comp Plan amendments require public hearings with both City Council, Planning Commission, and City Council. This amendment is for Chapter 9: Community Facilities and Services, and associated public utility maps in the comprehensive plan appendix.

This chapter and these maps have not been updated since 2021 comprehensive plan adoption. Since then, there have been updates to city and partner agency public utility and facility planning maps and projects.

It is best practice to periodically update public utilities and facility maps, and plans included in the comprehensive plan. The scope of the amendment includes adding two new strategies, one to adopt relevant RWSA and ACSA plans by reference within the comprehensive plan, and one to add future Skinks Branch sewer interceptor upgrade project.

The updated appendix would replace the previous water and sanitary system map with updated maps and would add two new maps, one for the city storm system and another for the RWSA central waterline project.

Next slide. Next slide. This slide shows the full wording of the two new strategies. Next slide. And here we see 8.7. Many of these were adopted by reference in 2013 plan, carrying forward again. And 9.4, similar to 9.3, 14th and 15th Street collector sewer lines.

All right, next slide. Virginia State Code requires each locality to have a comp plan, and each plan needs to include the general or approximate location, character, and extent of public facilities and the designation of a system of community service facilities.

To be considered part of the comprehensive plan, public utilities and facilities can be included in the text of the comp plan, such as a comprehensive plan strategy or as a reference document. Or they can be included as separate attachments, such as maps, in the comprehensive plan appendix.

The current comprehensive plan has strategies for several specific projects and studies in the community facilities and service chapter, along with water and sanitary maps in the appendix. Per Virginia State Code, most public utilities and facilities must either be a feature shown in the comp plan, such as a project shown on a map or a specific strategy, or they need to be reviewed by the Planning Commission to find that the general or approximate location, character, and extent of the public facilities are in substantial accord with the comprehensive plan.

This is also called a 22-32 review based on relevant state code sections. These are some examples up on the screen, include normal service extensions of public utilities and regular repair work. Next slide.

To summarize the overall purpose of this amendment, since Chapter 9 of the comprehensive plan was updated in 2021, updates were needed to incorporate the most up-to-date information for public water, sewer, storm water management facilities, and utilities.

This comp plan amendment does not change the city's overall goal or approach. After this public hearing, City Council will have a public hearing to adopt in October. With that, I will take any questions or turn it over to the chair to conduct the public hearing.

Before I open the public hearing, are there any questions from the Planning Commission? No. Okay. So yeah, if there's anybody from the public who would like to speak on this, you have three minutes. Is there anybody within our audience here who would like to speak?

Nope. Is there anybody online? If anyone online would like to speak, they can click the raise hand icon in Zoom. Mr. Chair, I see no raised hands. All right. So I will close the public hearing. Is there a motion?

Mr. Chair, I have a motion. Okay. I move to adopt the resolution in the agenda packet recommending that council approve the updates to Chapter 9 of the comprehensive plan and updates to the related appendix documents as an amendment.

Is there a second? I'll second. Great. Danum, could you please call a vote? All right. Commissioner Soliyats? Aye. Commissioner Harness? Yes. Commissioner Carp? Yes. Commissioner Yoder? Yes. Commissioner Ruchter?

Yes. Commissioner Mitchell? Yes. Chairman Schwartz? Yes. All right. Moving on to the next item on our agenda is a Planning Commission bylaws amendment. Okay. So, Mr. Chair, you mentioned at the last regular meeting that we would like to try and have public hearing items start immediately after all their reports and the adoption of the consent agenda.

The current bylaws specifically state that public hearings have to begin at 6:00. So before you is a very small amendment to your bylaws stating that regular meeting items, including public hearings, will all begin at 5:30 PM.

So any public hearings will follow immediately after the consent agenda and your reports. Anyone have any questions on that or concerns? Would anybody like to make a motion? Mr. Chair, I have a motion.

Okay. I move that we adopt the changes to the bylaws outlined in the packet. Is there a second? Second. Great. Can you please call the roll, Dan? Okay. Commissioner Zoleciak? Aye. Commissioner Harness?

Yes. Commissioner Karp? Yes. Commissioner Yoder? Yes. Commissioner Rucker? Yep. Commissioner Mitchell? Yes. Chairman Schwartz? Yes. Okay. And I believe unless staff has anything else they'd like to add, I think that concludes our meeting.

Then I move that we adjourn. Okay. Second. Thank you, everyone. Get me, Mr. Chairman. Get me. Stand, you're right. All right. Do you like mass marches? Easy on your ears. Is our program good? It never happened again.