Sept. 15. By Dave Vieser. The Cornelius Planning Board gave a unanimous thumbs up to a procedural change which will take some approval power out of the hands of the Town Board. The change, which was voted on at their Monday meeting, now goes to the Town commissioners for final approval.

Under the proposal, subdivisions with fewer than 25 lots would be allowed “by right” as long as all other planning requirements are met. Currently, any developments with more than four lots require town board approval.

The new category would be known as a Major-Standard Subdivision, and comprises primarily infill projects within the town’s previously developed areas. These projects would be more than four but less than 25 lots.

Projects of four lots or less would continue to have staff level review while those with 25 or more lots would still require Town Board level approval, which includes a full public hearing.

—The planning board also recommended the removal of certain types of buffers previously required in the Land Development Code for microbreweries and large breweries. Upon review, it was determined that the same requirements were contained elsewhere in the code making them unnecessary and duplicative.