| Reduced parking
requirements to get vote Thurs.
By DAVE HAMIRCK
dhamrick@TheCitizenNews.com
Changes in county development
rules designed to reduce concrete and improve rainwater drainage will
be on the agenda as the Fayette County Planning Commission meets Thursday.
In addition to several rezoning petitions (see related story), the group
will consider reducing the number of required parking spaces for several
categories of development.
For instance, under the commission's proposed changes, parking spaces
required for an apartment complex would be reduced from three to two spaces
per dwelling unit.
Commissioners will hear public comment
and plan to vote on the changes at 7 p.m. in the commission meeting room
at the County Administrative Complex.
If the Planning Commission approves the changes, they'll go next to the
county Board of Commissioners for final action Sept. 28.
The proposed changes are a first step in a complete reevaluation of the
county's laws involving pavement. The Board of Commissioners recently
directed the Planning Commission to look into the matter after Commissioner
Glen Gosa pointed out that county laws restrict the amount of impervious
surface pavement and buildings allowed in shopping centers and businesses,
but at the same time the laws require a minimum number of parking spaces
and minimum widths of
driveways and roads.
"My concern is that we have parking regulations that say you have
to have X number of parking spots because that's what the regulations
call for," said Gosa.
Among changes the Planning Commission is still considering are new types
of pavement that allow water to soak through into the ground rather than
running off into storm sewers and local streams and lakes.
But there are concerns about setting the proper standards for the alternative
types of pavement, and about making sure the porous pavement is properly
maintained. Coming up with rules will take some time.
"It's a complex process and there's no simple answer," said
Planning Commission Vice
Chairman Fred Bowen.
And it may be better if the county waits awhile before getting too specific
in its regulations, said acting county engineer Dave Borkowski. "We
may be a little bit ahead of the curve on this," he said.
New regulations are working their way through state and federal channels
and soon the county will be required to regulate the collection and treatment
of rainwater runoff, to prevent pollution from being washed into lakes
and streams, Borkowski said.
Those new federal regulations may affect the county's ultimate solution,
he said.
The new regulations may provide incentives to entice developers to use
the porous paving products, which often are more
expensive than traditional asphalt or concrete, Borkowski said. For instance,
he said, developers who reduce rainwater runoff may be allowed to build
smaller detention ponds.
"In another year or so, or maybe even less, we'll be rewriting this
whole storm water thing in painstaking detail," he said.
The Planning Commission also will consider changes in county laws requiring
that new subdivisions connect to county water if they're close enough.
The proposed change increases the distance from existing water service
for purposes of deciding whether a subdivision is required to hook on,
for fire safety reasons.
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