By Jerry Creel, Community Development Director
This week in economic development, the city council voted to approve a charge to the community development staff
to conduct a public hearing before the planning commission for the purpose of seeking public input on the establishment of a tree advisory committee. The recommended proposal would consider the establishment of a seven member committee that would be made up of one representative from each of the seven city wards to provide comments to the Director of Community Development concerning new projects that require the removal of more than five specimen trees. If approved, the Committee would appoint one member to serve as a non-voting liaison representative to the Development Review Committee. The public hearing will be held in January 2015.
At the planning commission meeting yesterday, the commission again took up the discussion of establishing a design overlay district for the properties located on Beach Boulevard between Hopkins Boulevard and Benachi Avenue. A planning commission workshop will be scheduled to discuss the necessity, and to establish the design standards for the district. The commission has already voted to deny the recommendation to change the properties in this area to CB Community Business. This planning commission vote will now go before the city council for final consideration.
