TO: Mayor and Members of City Council
THRU: Jay Reinstein, Assistant City Manager
FROM: Gerald Newton, AICP, Development Services Director
Marsha Bryant, Development Advocate
DATE: February 5, 2018
RE:
Title
Request guidance from Council regarding Unified Development Code (UDO) Amendments and plan updates.
end
COUNCIL DISTRICT(S):
Council District(s)
All
b
Relationship To Strategic Plan:
Goal III: High Quality Built Environment.
FY18 Targets for Action: Complete Comprehensive Land Use Plan, Review changes to the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO
Executive Summary:
The Development Services Department has been directed by City Council to bring forth UDO Code Amendments twice a year, spring and fall. A concerted focus on the current comprehensive land use plans is also a council directive. Both are underway. This document provides an update to the Council to provide further insight and policy direction of both. The memorandum is also designed to open the conversation of which items the Council most desires to be accomplished with existing staff resources
Background:
Text amendments addressing some inconsistencies (housekeeping), offering flexibility without compromising quality in landscaping, buffering; review processes, and administrative and enforcement items have been identified.
Longer term items of the regulations appear to be getting coordinated with an ad-hoc committee anticipated to be formed by either the mayor or a city council action. Similarly, the staff is examining existing uses, on the ground, to zoning for inconsistencies. Combined, staff would like guidance from Council on proposed staff initiated and the development community initiated, as well as any Council initiated items.
Zoning Map and Zoning Text are a form of a Comprehensive Plan. The city’s zoning map and text are also considered as a part of the city’s comprehensive plan per state statute. Essentially, the UDO’s zoning is an additional component of existing land use plans, all of which become a comprehensive plan. This becomes important as it allows City Council to examine if there are areas of existing zoning that are setting up future inconsistencies or incompatible activities based on the current zoning.
The current and long range planning staff are also working through an update of demographics, prior area plans current relevance, and identifying areas of significant anticipated change (whether growth or re-development). The blend of changes and development by market-driven and regulations becomes an issue that Council policy affects.
In offering further detail, staff has created a summary of code amendments that range from general housekeeping items, allowances for developers to submit an additional alternative plan request, and clean-up verbiage to make Chapter 30 of the Code easier to interpret and enforce. These items do not affect a comprehensive plan but are tied to the regulations. These items will be shared at the work session meeting along with other maps.
Development Community. Staff has also summarized some concerns provided by the development community. Comments are still coming in and will be shared at the meeting. These represent one sector of the city and those most directly aware of the regulatory process. Staff would like guidance from Council on what amendments should be pursued and Council’s input prior to moving forward with preparing text amendments.
Issues/Analysis:
Text amendments are required by Code to be reviewed by the Planning Commission and forwarded to City Council for final disposition. Prior to taking amendments to the Planning Commission, for their recommendation, staff would like to receive input and guidance from Council on how to proceed.
Staff levels. The Planning Division is the part of the department that works in these two areas. Currently, the division is without a planning manager, long-range planner, and another senior planner position. The process of filling these vacancies is expected to continue for several months. The result is that some of the items will take longer to complete while the existing staff continue to perform all current roles and the additional ones shared in this memorandum.
Schedule. It is anticipated that clean-up text amendments can be prepared and presented to the Planning Commission in March. Final work on a western area plan, the Medical Village Plan, can also be presented to City Council in March. In the second quarter (April-June) it is expected that prior area plans will be understood and presented to Council as benchmarks. A combination of proposed text and map amendment items are anticipated to be presented in the July-September time-period when the staff levels are expected to be back to full levels.
Without insight of the potential UDO Committee actions, it is anticipated that a combined set of amendments will be presented in the October-December time-period.
Budget Impact:
None, at this time.
Options:
The options mentioned are not exclusive and are written as suggested points for discussion.
1. Review the types of text and map amendments, then act on some, all, or none of the proposed staff and development community initiated amendments in what will still be bundled amendments.
2. Review and adopt the Medical Village Plan as it comes to Council in March 2018.
3. Add to the list of proposed amendments other items to bring forth to Council.
4. Provide further Council insight based on the 2018 Strategic Plan as to specific
focus areas for review and new examination of existing area plans so as to
complete.
Recommended Action:
Review and discuss the items presented as well as other items of concern by Council.
Attachments:
None