Even if Grassroots Production officials turn in a completed special land use permit application for the 2008 Dunegrass festival, the Empire Village Zoning Ordinance may not allow such an event on the Deering field property.

The Village Council and village Planning Commission held a joint meeting Tuesday to discuss issues in planning and zoning the village is facing. Council president Sue Carpenter said in a phone report yesterday that the main issue, at least in her opinion, stemmed from her and village Zoning Administrator Hal Pendleton’s discovery that the Zoning Ordinance only allows the village to issue special use permits for community festivals held on property zoned Commercial Residential.

“The property on which they’ve held the festival is zoned Mixed Residential,” Carpenter said. Apparently, when the Planning Commission updated some of the zoning language last year it omitted community festivals as a special use on Mixed Residential land.

Carpenter said the village Zoning Board of Appeals may take up the issue, but more likely the Planning Commission would have to amend the Zoning Ordinance to allow the festival.

“Community festivals are part of the goals in our Master Plan, so I’m sure we will figure something out,” she said.

But getting a Zoning Ordinance amendment passed in time to allow the festival may be a problem. The process could take more than five months, which would extend into July — one month before the festival is scheduled to be held.

Other areas of concern were discussed by the council and Planning Commission, including a lack of a definition for the term “change of use” in the Zoning Ordinance; whether the zoning administrator should be authorized to issue land use permits for non-conforming lots; and street and sidewalk width standards.

Carpenter said the planning commission will need to create a definition for change of use, and determine how to handle non-conforming uses.

As to streets and sidewalks, the council reached consensus to require a 50-foot
right-of-way for all new village streets, four foot-wide sidewalks in residential areas, and five foot-wide sidewalks in commercial areas.

Carpenter said the council also agreed to eliminate parking in designated “green spaces,” but only in front of new development.

Carpenter said the planning commission held its own meeting after the joint session. “Overall it was a good, lively discussion.