Planning commission approves conditional‑use transfer for Heller House; proposes land‑use reference sheet

Planning Commission Chair Arnold told the council the commission considered two items at its Sept. 8 meeting: a conditional‑use permit transfer for the sale of Heller House to prospective owner Jennifer McKenzie and a temporary sign approval for a business for the upcoming arts festival. The commission emphasized that a person must live on the property when it is rented under current land‑use rules and provided the buyers with the relevant land‑use code.

"We reminded them of the specific rules that, hey, somebody has to be on property living there when you're renting it out," Chair Arnold said. He also said the commission recommended creating a reference sheet in chapter 1 of the land‑use code that would point to state code provisions rather than embedding statutory text into local code, a change the commission said should save time but that it will verify with state law and whether public hearings remain required.