Tonight’s city council meeting will include a public hearing on a Northgate Commerce Park, an update on the city’s Census 2010 participation and a staff report on family transfers.

A city council work session begins at 4 p.m. at City Council chambers, 441 Market St. The regular meeting begins at the same location at 7 p.m. Both meetings will be broadcast live on cable channel 8 and streamed on the city’s Web site.

The public hearing is for a subdivision variance request in Northgate Commerce Park. The property owners, Upton Farms, Inc. and Prologis, hope to eliminate Bowen Parkway as a public street from the development and make it into a private driveway serving the future development in the park. Doing so would result in a longer cul-de-sac than allowed in that zoning district, as well as the elimination of a second way in and out of the development, typically something the city strongly suggests.

The developers have stated that the second entrance in this case has little benefit.

“As a company, we prefer to have multiple points of access to our industrial park projects, however the unique circumstances of this property couples with the limited benefit of the secondary access at Bowen Parkway are the reasons for this request,” says a letter sent to Planning Director Scott Mills from representatives of BlackRidge Real Estate Group.

City staff and the Planning Commission both have recommended denial of the request.

Also on the agenda, the City Council will consider a resolution making the city an official partner of the 2010 census, and hear a staff report regarding the family transfer ordinance.