[0:04] The January 27th uh 2026 meeting of the Stillwater Planning Commission will now

[0:09] come to order. It will be the process this evening to call for items on the

[0:13] agenda. The commission will hear briefly from staff first, then the applicant

[0:18] and/or their representative, then open the public hearing and hear from those

[0:21] in favor and/or in opposition to the request. When you come to the podium,

[0:25] please clearly state your name and address for the record. And then before

[0:28] closing the public hearing, both staff, the applicant and or their

[0:32] representative will be provided an opportunity to respond to provide

[0:35] additional information and answer questions. After all interested parties

[0:39] have spoken, the public hearing will be closed. We will hear closing remarks and

[0:43] alternatives from staff. So the first item this evening um on

[0:48] under public hearings is to receive public comment regarding a text

[0:52] amendment to the Stillwater City Code. And we shall hear from staff.

[0:57] Yes, ma'am. Good evening, um, commissioners, chair. Um, my name is

[1:02] Henry Velheimer with development services, and tonight we're looking at a

[1:06] text amendment. This text amendment was tabled at the last planning commission

[1:10] meeting as there was some recommended changes. Um, so we went ahead and made

[1:14] those changes so we can present that to you. We know ahead of time there has

[1:17] been one other change since then based on meetings we've had um with the Greek

[1:20] ne Greek neighborhood association. So, we'll get into that as we go. I'm going

[1:24] to do kind of a summarized presentation compared to, you know, what I did last

[1:28] time. Um, so definitely feel free to jump in if you have any questions. So,

[1:32] this is a text amendment to the RMI and RMU zoning districts. Um, specifically

[1:37] updating the way we regulate Greek houses.

[1:40] Here's the current definition, which is in 237. It's a generally defined term in

[1:44] our code. We are moving this to section 2396 and adding in this green portion.

[1:49] I'll go ahead and read that green portion. Um, but this is requiring that

[1:53] a Greek or a fraternity or sorority be affiliated with a university recognized

[1:58] chapter of a fraternity or sorority. And it's moving the section to 2396, which

[2:03] is our use definitions. What this means is we're defining a fraternity or

[2:07] sorority as a use. Since we're now defining it as a use instead of a

[2:11] general term, it means we must then say what zoning districts it's allowed in.

[2:15] So, we're adding it to 23140, which is the RMI or residential multif family

[2:20] intermediate zoning district as an allowed use.

[2:23] We're also adding it to 23141, which is RMU, residential multif family urban um

[2:29] to again allow fraternity or sority house as a use in that zoning district.

[2:33] We're also changing those sideyard setbacks. So, I'll go ahead and read

[2:36] that section outlined in green. fraternity or sorority house. When a

[2:40] sideyard has a common boundary with property in any single family

[2:43] residential district or use, the minimum minimum setback is 15 ft. When a

[2:48] sideyard has a common boundary with a property in any district or any other

[2:52] district or use, the minimum setback is 5 ft. Um, functionally what this is

[2:56] saying is throughout the Greek neighborhood, it's very common for the

[2:59] Greek houses to be beside the Greek houses. There's a few scenarios, there's

[3:03] like two or three that we could find where a Greek house is abuing a single

[3:06] family um district or use. Um our intent was not negatively affect that single

[3:11] family house or district. So that would have the same 15t side setback if you're

[3:16] abing that single family house. But if you're a Greek house, abuing a Greek

[3:19] house, um there have been multiple variances to decrease that side setback.

[3:22] So, we've decreasing this to the 5-ft side setback, which mirrors the

[3:27] requirements in RMI, which is that multif family intermediate district. Um,

[3:32] one caveat I will add to that is there's still a 3-ft additional side setback

[3:37] added to that 5-ft for each story above the first story. So, if you're a

[3:41] two-story house, you would have an 8ft setback. If you're a three-story house,

[3:44] it would be 11. Moving on to the exceptions. These are

[3:49] the exceptions that are written into both RMI and RMU. These are for both

[3:53] districts. Um, so starting from the top, residential structures not divided into

[3:57] dwelling units shall have densities determined as each four beds shall be

[4:01] deemed to constitute one dwelling unit. To make that makes sense, when we use

[4:05] this as calculating density, each zoning district has a maximum dwelling units

[4:09] per acre that are allowed. It's really easy to calculate with that when you

[4:12] have like an apartment complex. There's 10 apartments in it. That is 10 dwelling

[4:16] units. Easy to calculate. gets more tricky when you're looking at a

[4:19] fraternity house because although that's one kitchen, that's not one dwelling

[4:22] unit. You know, there's a lot more people living in there. So, the way

[4:26] we're calculating that is four beds shall be deemed as one dwelling unit.

[4:30] The previous calculation was very similar, but just more confusing. So,

[4:33] this was just for clarity. Uh, moving on to that second bullet point, a structure

[4:37] being built for a fraternity or sority house shall be built to have a

[4:40] residential appearance, which shall include a front porch. Um, street facing

[4:46] facades shall be constructed of masonry material which shall include brick, cast

[4:50] stone, stone or ephus and stucco. Um, and at least 50% of which shall be brick

[4:56] or stone. Um, again that's just that facade requirement trying to have that

[5:00] quality residential appearance. And that last point is a landscape plan shall be

[5:05] submitted which meets the require requirements of 23230F.

[5:09] Um, based on the discussion we had at the last planning commission meeting,

[5:12] um, we heard your feedback that the landscaping requirements should be in

[5:15] the landscape plan, which we agree with. Um, so we've added in 23230F, which

[5:19] we'll look at in just a second. Um, and lastly, all fraternity and sorority

[5:23] houses shall have a maximum height of two stories for any portion of a

[5:26] structure that is within 30 ft of a single family residential zoning

[5:30] district or use. Um, in the meeting we had with the Greek Neighborhood

[5:34] Association, there was some confusion on this requirement. So, just to clarify

[5:38] real quick, um if you're building a house beside a

[5:42] Greek house beside a single family house, which we did find, I think two

[5:46] instances where this would apply. Um the Greek house already has that side

[5:51] setback of 15t since you're abing a single family house. So, you would have

[5:54] have that setback of 15t. Let's say you're building the house right up to

[5:58] the setbacks as generally is done. Um that means that first 15 foot of the

[6:03] structure has a maximum height of 30 feet of two stories or 30 feet.

[6:10] Two stories so sorry. So only the first 15t of that structure would be within 30

[6:15] ft of that property line. Any portion of the structure within 30t of the property

[6:19] line has a maximum height of two stories. The rest of the building has

[6:22] the maximum height of 50 foot which is the the maximum height for RMI or RMU.

[6:27] So, it's not affecting the entire building, just that portion within 30

[6:30] foot of the single family house. And then 23230F landscaping. Ignore the

[6:37] red for now. I'll talk about that in just a second. Um, but this is the

[6:40] section we're adding in. The verbiage is very similar to that which we proposed

[6:43] last time, which is that a fraternity or sority house, a landscape plan with at

[6:47] least one tree, and 10 shrubs per 30 ft of lineal frontage. Um, reading this

[6:53] without the red first. Corner lots shall provide landscaping for both front

[6:58] yards. Landscaping shall be a minimum requirement for the lot which can be

[7:01] clumped or spread throughout the parcel. I've mentioned that neighborhood, the

[7:05] meeting with the Greek neighborhood association. Their primary concern was

[7:09] the landscape code being um negatively affecting the Greek neighborhood. Um

[7:15] they pointed out that the decks are a big part of Greek row um specifically

[7:20] for homecoming and that happens in the front yard. So, they wanted to make sure

[7:23] that this didn't negatively affect the neighborhoods. Um, especially since most

[7:27] Greek houses, which we did look and they're correct, most Greek houses are

[7:31] on two frontages. Some of them even have three frontages as they reach from one

[7:34] street to the other. Um, so with that in mind, to make sure that this landscape

[7:39] code didn't negatively affect the Greek houses, staff is proposing the changes

[7:43] in red, which is that corner lots shall provide landscaping for the primary

[7:48] front yard, which is the front yard that the property is addressed from. Um to

[7:53] make that clear, that's just setting the requirement for the parcel. As in if you

[7:57] have 100 foot of frontage onto university and university is what you're

[8:01] addressed on, that sets the landscaping requirement for the site, which is one

[8:05] tree and 10 shrubs per 30 foot of that 100 foot. Um the landscaping can still

[8:11] be on your other frontages or even your backyard. It just that that's the

[8:15] requirement for the site. Um, so that was the change that was proposed to not

[8:21] negatively affect those neighborhoods. Any other changes can of course be

[8:25] discussed. I'm open to answer any questions if you have any.

[8:42] » I have a couple questions. >> Yes, ma'am. Um, so when you're talking,

[8:46] we're talking about the setback and the restriction of the two stories. What is

[8:51] the definition of portion to limit the height of any portion

[8:57] that's within 30 ft of single family zoning district to use two stories? What

[9:02] would what breaks up a portion so that could it could then another portion of

[9:08] the house go up three or is this saying a portion is the

[9:14] entire structure or a portion is a structural bay or a portion is 3 ft.

[9:19] » Yes ma'am. >> Um so it's not we don't actually have a

[9:24] definition of a portion of a structure. Um, but the way it was intended to be

[9:29] interpreted when we wrote that is that like

[9:32] » so you would have that 15t setback from the side property line and this is

[9:36] generally from the side property line because that would be beside the single

[9:39] family house. So then the first 15t of that structure if the structure was

[9:43] built right up to that setback line would have to be two stories because

[9:46] that would be within 30t of the property line.

[9:48] » So a portion would be equal to the setback distance.

[9:52] » It would be 30 foot from the property line. So if you had a 30-ft setback, you

[9:57] wouldn't have any restrictions here. It's just if you're within 30 foot of

[10:00] the property line of that single family use or district.

[10:05] So it's just that >> that was intended to be the the line

[10:10] there is if you're within 30 30 foot of the property line, that portion that is

[10:14] within 30 >> portion within the 30 ft.

[10:17] » Yeah. The the intent is the rest of the structure that is more than 30 foot

[10:20] would have the same maximum height as the rest of the houses, which would be

[10:23] 50 foot. Okay, got it.

[10:28] And then I want to clarify the landscape requirement for corner lots.

[10:33] » Yes, ma'am. >> So now we're recognizing a front lot.

[10:38] We're not recognizing both frontages. We're just saying one's

[10:42] a frontage. So

[10:47] I'll just use it for instance of one that's currently under construction.

[10:52] So if university is the addressing street then it would be required to have

[10:59] one tree and 10 shrubs per 30 lineal feet of frontage if there is frontage

[11:06] along say Monroe. >> Mhm.

[11:08] » Nothing would be required over there. >> Yes ma'am.

[11:13] And the landscaping is not required to be along university. It's just required

[11:16] to be on the parcel and that would that front university dilute it. Yes, ma'am.

[11:39] » And that that's that's deemed a hardship by the Greek neighborhood.

[11:45] » I would say a concern more than a hardship.

[11:50] I think that that depends on the design of the house as well because the thing

[11:54] is is like >> you're referencing a very specific

[11:58] house. >> Well, I was just the first neighborhood

[12:01] that came to or the first corner that came to mind.

[12:03] » If that house is facing if that house is angled facing the intersection,

[12:10] » I would think that they're going to probably use symmetrical landscaping on

[12:16] each side regardless. But for example, the house across the street,

[12:21] » correct, >> is different and faces directly towards

[12:25] university. And it kind of does make sense for them not to have to have the

[12:30] landscaping on the Monroe side because of the way that that house is oriented

[12:35] on that corner. Mhm.

[12:41] And I can and I can see for house decorations wanting to preserve an area.

[12:46] Um but shrubbery can be adjacent to could be next to the

[12:52] building. It wouldn't have to have clearances say like a tree would

[12:56] » right >> tree needs more space,

[13:04] » you know? So I mean is there I I was thinking about this as well as you

[13:08] mentioned that is there a specific definition of a tree versus a shrub.

[13:14] » What is a tree? [laughter] >> Um I do believe in our code it has

[13:20] different it technically defines small, medium and large trees. We don't have um

[13:26] like an approved tree list um like some cities have of this is what we would

[13:30] consider an approved tree and we don't have them broken into separate

[13:33] categories. Um that's one thing we're considering to get more specific. Um

[13:37] » don't we have like a recommended list of trees

[13:42] recommended for longevity or something? I thought we had

[13:46] a list. >> That list sounds like something that

[13:49] might exist but not something that I'm aware of. So I can't say for sure. I I

[13:53] don't believe it's in our code. If it is there,

[13:55] » may not be in the code. >> Um

[13:57] » there's a tree definition, >> but um I know for example it gets a

[14:01] little tricky looking at stuff like crate myrtle which

[14:04] » is defined is technically a tree >> um but for example that's a small tree

[14:08] that functions more like a bush in some scenarios. So

[14:11] » there's a definition in here >> of a tree. Perfect

[14:17] » tree

[14:31] shrubs also defined.

[14:41] » Sorry for the distraction there, but I was just thinking about that. So,

[14:45] continuing on what you were saying with >> the front yard versus sideyard more or

[14:52] less, >> right?

[14:55] » But it's it's like of of the fraternity and sority houses, the way it typically

[14:59] works here in Still Water, generally speaking, the fraternities are

[15:04] the ones that have that host the house decorations, and so they'd like to

[15:08] preserve a sideyard. There are

[15:12] several in my mind for sorority houses that have sideyards.

[15:18] Um, they wouldn't have to be preserving something for a house decoration.

[15:24] I mean, I would think most of them would want to still

[15:28] have the landscaping to look nice.

[15:36] So, let me let me let me pose this question. So out of the

[15:42] one tree and the shrubbery as is defined, how does that

[15:48] correlate to our current point system? Is that would that meet the requirements

[15:52] of the current point system or is it greater or less than what we would

[15:56] typically do?

[16:00] » I hate to say for sure off the top of my head, but um in any scenario that I've

[16:04] seen, this would meet those requirements. Um,

[16:08] » so it wouldn't it wouldn't exceed what we're currently asking and it's not

[16:12] » it would it would likely exceed.

[16:15] » Yes, ma'am. >> I'm just trying to figure out are we are

[16:17] we creating something that's more or less than what we would currently have

[16:21] in place. So, um, David Bar, Development Services. Um, you know, we asked our

[16:27] consultant to help us with this and we did a comparative analysis, um, looking

[16:31] at Lawrence, Kansas, Columbia, Missouri, other um, college towns um, and looking

[16:37] at um, specifically zoning uh, requirements for Greek houses. And um we

[16:43] felt like and and their recommendation was if we were going to reduce the

[16:48] setbacks for these fraternities and sororities that are right next to each

[16:51] other that um one thing that we might want to consider is to require some

[16:57] additional landscaping to soften that. And so all this particular section does

[17:03] is establish a requirement. The requirement can be on the sideyard. It

[17:08] could be in the front yard. They could put all the trees on the side. all of

[17:11] them on the front. They could all it's saying is for that frontage though you

[17:15] need to add 10 shrubs and one tree per 30 ft of frontage but it doesn't tell

[17:20] you where you put those items. And so what we have noticed is some of the

[17:24] newer Greek homes are and um well actually you asked a question about our

[17:29] landscaping code. Right now our landscaping code in most instances

[17:32] people can meet the point requirement by using grass and so there is no

[17:36] requirements necessarily to have trees or shrubs. Um, but you know, people do

[17:41] do that because it looks nicer. And so what we were trying to do instead of a

[17:44] of a big fraternity just putting sound sod and meeting their point system, we

[17:49] were wanting them to actually have to have some, you know, vertical um

[17:54] vertical landscaping. Um,

[18:00] I was going somewhere and then I or I I went back to your landscape plan and

[18:06] what was I talking about right before that? Um,

[18:11] » you

[18:16] right >> that that we were looking at trying to

[18:19] soften what we have. So, if we were going to if you're going to

[18:23] » decrease the setbacks and have greater density, then having the plant material

[18:28] is going to soften. >> Oh, I know what I was saying. So, what

[18:31] we we we've actually looked at some of the newer Greek houses and they've got

[18:35] trees, but they're these like spruce trees that are really tall and small

[18:40] diameter right up in the build against the building um with shrubs next to

[18:45] them. Well, those would still work and they wouldn't combat with your house

[18:48] decorations. Um, and yeah, we've noticed that most of the sororities have a lot

[18:53] more landscaping than the fraternities. And I think for the reason that they're

[18:56] trying to protect that yard for their house decorations. Um, and we're not

[19:00] trying to, um, inhibit that in any way. Um, but we would like to see, I mean, I

[19:05] can think of one fraternity, um, it's probably the biggest one, um, right on

[19:09] university that has almost zero landscaping in front of it. Um, I mean,

[19:13] they've got a nice lawn, but there's nothing else. And so, um, we would like

[19:18] to see, um, you know, as we as we make some adjustments here, we would like to

[19:22] see some more landscaping. Um, but we're not saying that it has to be out there,

[19:27] um, in harm's way of every year's homecoming. Uh, so

[19:34] that's all I have. >> Thank you.

[19:37] And so then the setback on the front yard is, remind me again.

[19:44] Are we at 25? on the front yard.

[19:48] » Don't remember off the top of my head. So, sorry.

[19:52] Um,

[19:59] I was just looking at the short notes. We can go back and look at the section.

[20:26] Sorry, I thought I had a faster way to get there and it's taking me longer.

[20:32] » Front yard. >> Front yard 20 ft.

[20:36] » RMI >> abetting the right away.

[20:41] and you >> it's also 23.

[20:51] [snorts]

[20:55] » So I guess what I what I'm gathering is what we're asking for here is more than

[21:00] we would currently have and it's addressing

[21:04] the setbacks being tighter.

[21:08] Okay.

[21:11] Thank you for indulging that discussion. >> Of course,

[21:18] » those were the questions I had. Does anybody have any other questions?

[21:21] » Yeah, I have one. How how does the staff ensure if it's even possible that that

[21:26] these reduced setbacks remain limited to fraternity and sorority houses and don't

[21:30] create pressure to extend similar standards to other high occupancy

[21:35] residential uses? >> It's a good question. Um

[21:41] to your first point, um it would only apply to fraternity or sorority houses.

[21:45] And then that's kind of why we tightened up that definition to say it has to be

[21:48] with a university affiliated fraternity or sorority. Um so for example, if you

[21:54] were building an apartment complex, you would still have those 15t side

[21:57] setbacks. Um, but to the second point of your question that like it could

[22:01] increase pressure to decrease the setbacks for those other types of

[22:05] highdensity housing. Um, I could see that. Um, and I think that's

[22:10] just something we'll have to work with moving forward specifically with that

[22:13] bigger picture code update. That would be one of the questions we'd have to

[22:16] look at is whether for like a multif family we would want those smaller

[22:20] setbacks as well. >> Yeah, I could see a developer would try

[22:23] to use that as an argument if they needed it.

[22:26] But the fact that you've put it as specific to sorities and fraternities

[22:30] has got to be helpful. >> Yes, sir. At at least for this point,

[22:33] the way this update is written, it would only affect fraternities or sorities,

[22:36] but I could see it putting pressure for us to update the code to decrease it for

[22:41] others. And >> yeah.

[22:43] » Yeah, that's all I had.

[22:50] Any

[22:55] other questions for staff?

[22:59] Thank you. We open the public hearing and ask if there's anyone in the

[23:03] audience who would like to speak in favor of this item to come forward.

[23:08] Seeing none, we'll ask if there's anyone in the audience who would like to speak

[23:11] in opposition of this item to please come forward.

[23:15] Seeing none, we'll close the public hearing and ask staff to present

[23:18] findings and alternatives. Yes, ma'am. So, our findings are um the proposed

[23:26] text amendment updates the how the city regulates fraternity and sorority

[23:30] houses. The proposed text amendment updates the definition of fraternity or

[23:33] sorority house and moves the definition to the use categories. The side setback

[23:38] for fraternity and sorority houses in the RMU zoning district is proposed to

[23:41] be reduced to align with the sideyard setback requirements in RMI. Design

[23:46] standards for fraternity and sorority houses are proposed to be incorporated

[23:49] into the RMI and RMU districts to ensure quality of residential design.

[23:55] Um so your alternatives tonight are to um accept findings and recommend the

[23:59] city council approve the proposed text amendment to conditionally approve the

[24:02] proposed text amendment to table discussion or um deny it. Recommend city

[24:08] council deny it. Staff recommends alternative number two, which is what I

[24:11] was changing as I was rushing down here last minute. Um, with the proposed

[24:16] changes to 23230F as presented. Um, so that would be to accept findings and

[24:21] recommend the city council conditionally approve the text amendment with those

[24:25] proposed changes as presented. >> I'll have to [clears throat]

[24:30] recommend that you include the change specifically.

[24:33] » Okay. So, um, with the changes to 23230F,

[24:38] um, to apply to the primary front yard only for corner lots.

[24:41] » Okay. >> Yeah. The wording of that is what I was

[24:45] trying to get right with like the last minute. I was like, I'll just go

[25:02] Anyone entertaining a motion?

[25:07] » I would if I could figure out how to say it. [laughter]

[25:12] » I can give you a recommendation. >> Option two as they recommend it would be

[25:16] what I would >> Okay. So, um

[25:19] » if go ahead. >> A re I think I got it.

[25:22] » Okay. I would motion that we approve the text

[25:27] amendment as presented with the changes made to 23230F

[25:33] regarding the sideyard landscaping requirements.

[25:41] » Is that good enough? No. Just to slightly amend it to apply to the

[25:45] primary front yard only for corner lots >> to 23230F

[25:50] to the primary front yard for corner lots landscaping requirements.

[25:58] » Fantastic. Do I hear a second? >> Second.

[26:01] » We have a motion and a second. We shall now vote.

[26:06] » Motion passes 5-0. The next uh item on the agenda is the

[26:13] meeting summary for review and possible action. We have the um meeting summary

[26:17] for the regular meeting on January 6th. Are there any uh corrections or

[26:22] additions to the draft?

[26:36] I move to accept the summary as presented.

[26:39] We have a motion. Do we have a second?

[26:44] » Second. >> We have a motion and a second. We shall

[26:46] now vote.

[26:50] » Motion passes 5-0. Next item on the agenda is miscellaneous

[26:54] items from staff, planning commissioners, or the city attorney for

[26:57] discussion and possible action. >> Nothing for me.

[27:01] » All right. Seeing none, uh we do have a note here that says the next uh regular

[27:05] meeting is scheduled for February 3rd. And the last item on the agenda is

[27:10] adjournment. Do I hear a motion to adjurnn?

[27:12] » So moved.

[27:15] » Second. >> We have a motion in a second. We shall

[27:17] now vote. [snorts]

[27:21] Motion passes 5-0. We now stand adjourned.

Stillwater Planning Commission 01/27/2026

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