The Run for the Rolls organizers hope to add a 5-mile race to its annual 1-mile event that takes place just before the Chelsea Community Fair Parade on Aug. 29.
Cindy Triveline will explain the plan to the Chelsea City Council today, March 2.
Also on tap is the first reading of an ordinance change that would allow the City Council to extend the 60-day expiration date for granting of the use of public property for special events.
In the last few months, Council Member Melissa Johnson has voted against requests for approval for events not because she disapproves of them but rather because the ordinance language states that once the City Council grants a request for an event, it expires in 60 days. That expiration date is sometimes before the event takes place.
So, if approved, this amendment would allow the City Council to extend the permit period for groups who request this permit well in advance of their event. This is the first reading for this ordinance and if approved, a second reading would take place on March 16. If adopted later this month, the new ordinance would take effect 20 days after being published in a local newspaper.
Also on the agenda is a request to distribute a revised future comprehensive land use draft map to neighboring municipalities and other entities, which would include a change of zoning designation for 118 Middle Street from commercial to two-family residential.
The request for the zoning change was made by Jim and Kim Myles and the Planning Commission “reached a consensus that rezoning the property to RS-3 (from commercial) has merit due to the current alleyway being a strong dividing line between the downtown commercial and the residential district,” according to the agenda item summary.
In fact, prior to December 1999, the property was zoned residential, the agenda item states.
Also up for discussion is a proposed meeting date for an economic development training session on March 30 at 6 p.m. centered around the concept of placemaking. According to the agenda item summary, it would be conducted by an expert in the field and a number of different groups would be invited to the educational meeting.
In addition, the City Council is expected to discuss further revisions to the city’s economic development plan map, which lays out a timeline for putting together a city-wide economic development plan document that is scheduled to be completed by the end of the year and includes a number of meetings with residents to develop an action plan for the future.
(Publisher’s note: I am working on a series of stories about reader’s thoughts on economic development in Chelsea, which I have plan to publish over the next several months as this process gets underway.)
