Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

Now it's in my head. Oh, it never got to my chest. I get scared when I start getting started in my chest and it only just moved into my head like the last two days. And so now I'm like negative for everything and negative everything. I haven't had a fever the whole time. Hopefully shot like was funny. He goes I go I'm not going. He goes I'm getting my flu shot. We should have gotten the flu. Thanks. [laughter] I've got an extra lift.

All right. Are we ready? Okay, we will call this meeting to order. Um I am vice chair in um Michael's absence. So first item on the agenda is the approval of the minutes from the December 2nd meeting. I would entertain a motion to approve. So moved. Second. Second. Second. All in favor? I. All right. Motion passes for minutes. All right. Next item on the agenda. Are we supposed to do a roll call thing? Oh, are we starting roll call? Yeah. Oh, it's all right. We can do it on the COA. So, okay. The minutes, it's still new. So, sorry, I forgot about that.

Okay. Next item on the agenda is the COA for 111 East Morford Street sign. And Tammy is not here. Do you want to speak to that, Sean? Yeah. So, we have the application. Um, she sent two signs. The first one is larger 3x8, which is 24 ft total place above the awning. Um there's quite a bit of that area so it wouldn't cover a lot of that wall. Um it wouldn't be larger than necessary. All other required are met. Uh separate is approval of the COA for the sign. Um no larger than 3T by 8T or 24 ft in size and that uh it gets placed awning as proposed and then of course the sign permit is granted.

Okay. Did you say there was a second one to you? She sent another size. It's just a little bit smaller. I told her we would just move the board with the 3x8 and then we could go from there if need be. So the design would be exactly the same. Okay. Where where would it go? It's going up above the awning. Yeah, that one. Yeah, right there. Oh, the big one's here. But where's the little one going? She's not doing a little one. It's just the big one. She's sending two different sizes. She just sent two different sizes to be placed up in that area. Yeah. And that's the size that all of those buildings have been putting up. Correct. Yeah, that's pretty close to to that size. What do you mean? Pretty close. Is it bigger, smaller? No, that's been pretty average. Okay. Large size in the area.

Okay. Any discussion, questions, comments? You said Sean, what was staff recommendation to approve those questions? Okay. All right. Then I would take a motion to approve. There are no further discussion. So moved. A second. Second. Okay. And we'll do roll call vote. Uh Dan I. Ben. I Rachel I and I have to abstain because we own this property. So um Okay.

All right. Any opposed or well? Okay. So moved. Thank you. All right. Next uh COA then is Jordan for the murals along the city mall area. Yeah. So a little background on this project. In um celebration of the 200 250th anniversary of the United States, Governor Lee has set aside two pots of money to provide to communities for uh heritage projects um that celebrate unique Tennessee stories. Um so there's two different pots of money. The first is for project grants. The second is for community support grants. Um, I did apply for the project grant as of August or September of 2025 and was awarded $20,000. That project will be a festival, three-day festival that will be held in the coming calendar year um that will celebrate our nursery heritage. So, the second uh part of that project is I would love to see a living walking exhibit that would tie into this festival. it would be a permanent um addition to our downtown that celebrates our nursery heritage. We looked at a couple areas throughout the downtown and felt that the farmers market walkway was going to be a really excellent space for that. Um, so the idea of the project is to have a mural on the vanilla bean building, which Sally Robertson is completely fine with, that would reflect our nursery heritage. And then I've spoken with John Austin, who oversees uh urban forestry and is the assistant director of public works regarding the foliage in that alleyway. So, it's originally um from what the architect had planted there. However, it's gotten to the point where they're starting to having to remove quite a bit of it because it's outgrown the space. [cough] it's falling over, the roots are growing into the irrigation system and causing damage in the sidewalk. So, they're at the point where they're going to have to start removing a lot of those items. Um, so being that being the the time as far as the longevity of the current foliage

and this opportunity to get a grant for $25,000 to build a walking living exhibit of the various iterations of the nursery industry over the uh past couple centuries. Just wanted to present it to you whether that be something you'd be open to me applying for the mural and then the exhibit down that alleyway. But it would be landscaped and not just bare. Correct. Okay. And then mural on vanilla bean's wall like is the mural going to be the whole walkway? Um I think it depends on how far the money is able to go and then what the design from the artist is which I assume that design would come before you all again for approval. Is the 25 in addition to the 20 for the

Yes. Okay. So the 20 will go towards the festival, the 25 would go towards this project. Uh so it help us replant that, get a new irrigation system in and then the mural as well. and plaquing systems. So, it's something that people can read as they go through. Okay. Sean, we don't have any historic guidelines for any murals. Um, so this would represent the heritage. We can bring the design back in front of the board. Um, once it got there, everything gets approved and then proceed forward from there. So, this was just kind of discussion to see about openness of it. There's any concerns or anything you guys would like to see in that. Okay. Before we move forward. So, do we actually have to vote on this then?

No. If you guys want to do something small just to say we're open to it and move forward outside of that, I don't think we need a a full vote on it. Just wanted your feedback before applying for that grant next week. I see no reason this wouldn't be beneficial. Yeah, I mean I agree with Dan. I agree. Um, I would like to see the mural before obviously, but I think both the landscaping design, the plaques, the the murals, I [clears throat] think that's something we would bring before you all. Do you have any artists in mind for the mural?

Uh Kristen Luna out of Tal. She was owns the or oversees the nonprofit that did the Hei mural. Okay. Um and she's one of my she's one of my friends. So, she would be probably the first person to reach out to. But with the price being what it is, it's probably something we have to put to RFP. Okay. I guess I I think that's a great place. That's it's a great walkthrough. I think all of this is very positive. But that place is and I would just have to think about all of McMinnville for a minute. Um it's kind of visible, but it's kind of not. It's very visible if you go through there, you know. Um I I just would like to drive around and think about it. But yes, I think it's all great.

Yeah. And I think there's opportunities to continue expanding our installations as far as nursery heritage goes. Um, but it just seems for for this moment with its connection to the farmers market, walkability from parking spaces and that that area is going to need quite a bit of work anyway. Um, and if we can get grant funding to so would it be starting from but taking everything out pretty much that's there and starting from zero. I mean, John Austin has said it's they've already had to remove a couple of those red buds and they're at the point where in the next couple years they're they're going to have to come down. They've outgrown the space. They're falling over and they're ruining the irrigation system.

It's starting to get dark and kind of your fields closed in. It'd be nice to have it fresh and open and you I think you should consider some extra lighting in that space. Yeah, I think so, too. That's all things that we can put into that grant. Um, considerations like that. So, yeah, I think lighting would be additional lighting to make that draws people to the, you know, that way to the farmers market, you know, especially in the night time with, you know, the skate rink there.

Right. Yeah, I think it'd be great. Um, I can talk to public works about that. And then Scott Moore as well. I I'll put it in the grant whether it fully comes to fruition. I think it's dependent on price, but he said his block wall in the back, too. Um, so that could be something that people can easily see from that back parking lot to draw them into that space if we were to extend the mural onto that side onto that block wall back there. Okay. Any further discussion? Okay. And you said, "Do you don't want us to vote on this?" You can, but I think you guys want to see the mural again. So, um, if you just want to wait on it, like I said, that that'd be fine. This just gives a base approval to move forward.

Yeah. I didn't want to apply for a grant because it's not a reimburseed grant. They give you the money up front. So, I didn't want to have to turn that down. If we came to you with the concept afterwards and you were in I would make a motion in support just you have it in the minutes. Okay. Motion. Second. Great. Thank you all very much. Okay. All right. We'll do a roll call vote to it just to Dan. Hi, Ben. Hi, Rachel. Hi. And I thank you. All right. Next on the agenda is staff updates. Sean, anything?

So, I don't have any at this moment. I've been looking um reached out to the state a little bit and getting some feedback. Um I know we've kind of talked about that side of Chancery being a little different from historic nature um versus this area. She says she doesn't have any cities that really have that. Um there's some that's been split, but they've kind of ran into some headaches. So, we'll kind of revisit that and and move forward on that. So, and see what what we can kind of do to find some middle ground on that. So,

could you be just a little more specific? [laughter] So there there's just been a lot of talk because of the historical nature on the west side past Chancery versus down here, the building styles, the architectural styles, the general nature of it. Um kind of having a little bit different set of rigs for that end of Main Street versus this end. Um it's just kind of something that's been thrown around. That's there's not too many people that have that. A few that have have kind of ran into a little hiccup on that. most combined. So, we can kind of go through the guidelines and see what maybe little tweaks can be made to to try to fit and cover the whole area, but give some flexibility down there. Um, if if that's the desire. So,

so as uh King red does that strip mall or whatever, that won't be necessarily under the same guidelines as somewhat down here. It is currently, but that's Yeah, that's the thing though is Yeah. I was just curious. Okay. I saw them doing work down there. I can't imagine they're doing they're redoing next to that car dealership on Oh, I saw that, too. What are they doing there? They put a parking I think he's just rehabilitating it, but like I don't know your parking I just saw. So, I didn't know if they were putting a parking lot there or what. I don't know. I think they were redoing the drive down there for I'm not sure. Yeah. redoing the

driveway that goes around going down and around. So you would want to kind of loosen some I mean not so much constraint on them down there on that side of it's a discussion discussion. Yeah. The comments had been that if the city's not willing to invest you know the same way they've done on this side that why are they held to the same standard? You and that was a very good point. You know that was you know that was the point that [laughter] this man made right here. Yeah. Yeah, it it's a very good point. But the but you know since I am on the seabboard, you know the the the price tag was incredible. Oh, phase three or what? Yeah,

it was just I think that that price tag was absolutely ridiculous. I don't think that's what it would actually cost. I don't either, but I would agree with you on that for sure. I think that that was I think a lot could be done in house. Yeah, I think the $24 million was extracted and Yeah. to make it um tie into this. You know, it doesn't we don't have to be at the tip top of things, but you know, somewhere above median just to make it look good. We just need to get the city to even give us an inch to get to that median though. I'll vote yes. [laughter] I'll vote yeah, I think.

Okay. Well, uh anything further then? I would take a motion to adjurnn. So moved. All right, we stand a journ. Thank you very much. Thank you [music] very much.