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| Mt. Lookout Community Council E-Newsletter |
DEMOLITION AND LOT SPLIT UPDATE
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NEXT MLCC MEETING: AUG 20, 7:30 PM
Hello Mt. Lookout -
In follow up to the Demolition and Lot Split Update we sent last week, we have some additional details and documents to share with you, and have outlined the highlights below. We understand this is a lot of information to go through. Please don't hesitate to contact us with your questions and comments.
NEIGHBORHOOD CONSERVATION DISTRICTS
Enabling Legislation
In order for an area to be designated as a special district - Urban Overlay District, Hillside Overlay District, Planned Development District, Neighborhood Conservation District (NCD) - the City's zoning code must contain language that allows that specific district to be established. Currently, the City's zoning code includes provisions for creating all the above-mentioned districts except for Neighborhood Conservation Districts. Therefore, the Subdivision and Zoning Working Group has been working very hard this summer to prepare a new chapter of the City's zoning code that will enable NCDs to be established. Below is a link to this proposed enabling legislation:
Briefly, this legislation:
- Defines the purpose of an NCD. (Section 1436-01)
- Allows neighborhoods like Mt. Lookout and Hyde Park to apply for a Neighborhood Conservation District covering areas that we specify. (Sections 1436-07 through 1436-09)
- Allows us to designate which types of development standards we wish to further regulate beyond the City's baseline zoning code. (Section 1436-11 through 13)
- Outlines the NCD administration process. For us, this essentially states that once our NCD is approved, any proposed development within our community that meets the standards specified in our NCD plan will be approved for construction by the City. If a proposed development does not meet the standards, it will proceed into the public hearing process. (Sections 1436-15 through 1436-17)
This legislation also:
- Defines demolition as the "full or substantial destruction, demolition, removal, dismantling, or defacing of two or more walls or a street-facing façade of an existing principle structure." This is a much tighter definition of demolition than that which is currently in the City's zoning code.
- Requires that plans for new replacement structures must be submitted for review along with demolition permit requests. This revised application process will provide developers/builders with more upfront certainty about their proposed projects, while at the same time, provides our community with more certainty that new houses will better fit the context of our neighborhood.
- Specifies that the notification process for public hearings will follow the City's Zoning Hearing Examiner Procedures. Currently, these procedures state that at least 14-days notice will be issued to properties within a 100-ft radius of the subject property. However, the Working Group has agreed to pursue expanding the notification radius and notification window for NCDs. Specifics have yet to be finalized as this issue will be further addressed in upcoming months.
Mt. Lookout's Neighborhood Conservation District Plan
It can take up to a year or more to develop a comprehensive Neighborhood Conservation District Plan. This time is needed to work amongst the community to determine which development standards our community wants to manage and the degree to which each standard will be regulated.
However, the Interim Development Control (IDC) Overlay District No. 81 (which requires additional review of demolition permit requests) expires on Sept. 6. Rather than let the demolition permit application process revert back to prior practices, the Mt. Lookout Community Council board has elected to develop a streamlined NCD plan which focuses exclusively on demolition and replacement structures. A link to our initial NCD plan is provided below for your review.
(Mt. Lookout's plan follows Hyde Park's plan in the document linked above)
This initial plan:
- Applies an NCD over the entirety of Mt. Lookout, except for Mt. Lookout Square, which is already covered by an Urban Design Overlay District
- Limits the width, depth, and height of new replacement structures within our NCD
- Defines where new houses can be placed on a cleared property
During upcoming months, we will be asking you to participate in a process to explore further expanding our NDC plan and define which measures we, as a community, wish to regulate. In the meantime,
the MLCC Board believes that the initial standards being proposed at this time, coupled with updating the Subdivision Regulations (see below), will address many of our community's concerns.
SUBDIVISION REGULATIONS
As mentioned in last week's update, the Subdivision and Zoning Working Group has made great progress with identifying updates to be made to the City's Subdivision Regulations. These regulations control changes to property lines - either to the splitting of lots or the transfer of one portion of a lot to another. However, because these new regulations will be enacted City-wide and will affect many city processes across multiple departments, more time is needed to finalize them.
At this Friday's
City Planning Commission meeting -
August 17 at 9 a.m., 805 Central Avenue
- the Working Group will ask the Commission to extend its temporary suspension of the subdivision regulations for Hyde Park and Mt. Lookout. Doing so will allow City Planning to continue providing additional regulatory review of lot split applications while the updates to the subdivision regulations are being finalized.
Below is a draft of the Subdivision Regulations working document for your review and consideration. Also provided below is a link to a summary of proposed changes. Please remember that these documents are works in progress and are not final.
NEXT STEPS
As a reminder,
the following three dates are critical:
- August 17 - City Planning Commission:
- Extension of the subdivision regulation suspension
- Recommendation of the NCD enabling legislation to City Council
- Recommendation of the Mt. Lookout NCD to City Council
- Sept 5 - Economic Development and Zoning Committee
- Proposed passage of NCD enabling legislation
- Proposed passage of the Mt. Lookout NCD
- Sept 6 - City Council
- Proposed passage of NCD enabling legislation
- Proposed passage of the Mt. Lookout NCD
Public comment related to the above topics is welcome and will be considered at each of these meetings. You can share your opinions and comments by speaking at the meetings or by emailing them to the following:
Department of City Planning
Members of the Economic Development and Zoning Committee
Members of City Council
Additional information about these topics is available on the Hyde Park & Mt. Lookout IDC Study page of the City's website. We will also be discussing this information at our next MLCC Community Meeting next Monday, Aug. 20, at 7:30 p.m. Please come and join us. In the meantime, you can send any questions or comments you may have to info@mtlookout.org.
Thank you for your continued interest in these important discussions.
Sincerely,
The MLCC Board
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Next Regularly Scheduled MLCC Public Meeting
Monday, August 20, 7:30 pm
Christ the King Parish Center
Our next regularly scheduled meeting is this coming Monday, August 20 at 7:30. In addition to providing general community updates, we will also be discussing the information shared above and answering questions.
We hope you are able to join us. In the meantime, please send any questions or comments to the Mt. Lookout Community Council board at
info@mtlookout.org
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Please Support our
Mt. Lookout Business Association Members
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Boardwalk Hobby Shop
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1032 Delta Ave
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871-2110
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Delev & Assoc. LLC
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1050 Delta Ave
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621-0930 |
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Delta 1018 Fitness Center
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1018 Delta Ave
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871-1018
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G.H. Rohde & Son
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3183 Linwood Ave
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321-0404
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Redfin Realty
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1006 Delta Ave |
828-8852
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Keepsake Photography
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1008 Delta Ave
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321-1125
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Lookout Joe
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3181 Linwood Ave
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871-8626
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Lash and Brow Studio
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1028 Delta Ave |
321-9200
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Nailtique
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3181 Linwood Ave
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321-5666
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Mt. Lookout Shoe Repair
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3152 Linwood Ave
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871-8160
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Millions/MLT's
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3209 Linwood Ave
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871-9633
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Mt. Lookout Dentistry; DDS D. Croop
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3197 Linwood Ave.
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871-2852
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Mt. Lookout Chiropractic
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455 Delta Ave
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321-8484
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Mt. Lookout TV
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1010 Delta Ave
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321-2830
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Muse
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1000 Delta Ave
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620-8777
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Ramundo's Pizza
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3166 Linwood Ave
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321-0978
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Romer and Co. Inc.
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1021 Delta Ave
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321-5900
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Salon M of Mount Lookout
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1018 Delta Ave
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533-2352
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Retirement Designers, Inc.
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3181 Linwood Ave #22
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871-0990
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Subway
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1018 Delta
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321-0123
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The Redmoor
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3187 Linwood Ave
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871-6789
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Watch Hill Bank
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3549 Columbia Parkway
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233-4037
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Zip's Café
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1036 Delta Ave
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871-9876
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Huwel Insurance
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1981 Madison Rd
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321-1400
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