From
Chris Hartmann
Title
Discuss changes to Downtown/CA zoning regulations
Presenter
David P. Jones, AICP, Chief City Planner
Recommended Action
Approve
Analysis
Background
On March 19, 2019, Jason Claunch with Catalyst Commercial presented City Council with the Downtown Master Plan. This plan establishes the vision for downtown as an engaging, walkable, and livable place with a broad and attainable mix of housing options, niche destination restaurants and retail, and quality hangout places.
Zoning is one of the tools the City can use to implement this vision. However, the zoning standards in place need to be revised to function as an effective tool. Downtown zoning should address the following elements:
• Urban Form - Buildings should be placed close to the street in the downtown core to create a consistent street edge;
• Pedestrian Environment - Building design and streetscape elements should create an interesting and comfortable walk for pedestrians;
• Mix of Uses - Zoning should create conditions to achieve a mixture of uses that generate foot traffic throughout the day as well as a nighttime population; and
• Strategic Parking - Parking standards should avoid superfluous parking and large surface parking lots that interrupt the streetscape while prioritizing shared parking and use of public parking areas.
Zoning Analysis
Catalyst Commercial also completed an evaluation of the City’s downtown zoning and has identified issues and made recommendations.
Issues
1. Zoning districts are fractured and do not relate to a clear vision. There are multiple zoning districts within the current CBD2 Overlay, even though Central Area (CA) and CBD are often used interchangeably.
2. Lack of a connection between vision and zoning makes for an unpredictable development environment.
3. Information is scattered throughout the Unified Development Code, making it difficult for developers to determine which standards apply and where to find them.
4. Zoning standards are too permissive in some regards (building form, setbacks) and not permissive enough in others (mixture of uses, architecture, parking). Effective zoning creates predictability and harmony, without a heavy handed approach.
Recommendations
1. Create mandatory site design standards that reflect downtown character zones. These standards should include minimum building setbacks, parking location, building form, land use, streetscape, and public realm standards while focusing on pedestrian-oriented design.
2. Streamline the development review process to reduce the time it takes for approval and make the outcome more predictable.
3. Align the CA and CBD2 district boundaries and consolidate downtown requirements into a single Appendix so that all applicable requirements are in one place.
4. Make the Mixed Residential (MR) and Mixed Use (MU) designations more flexible and market-driven.
5. Evaluate which multi-family standards are appropriate for a downtown urban-style multi-family development such as density, unit mix, unit size, amenities, and gates/security. Adjust these standards accordingly.
6. Explore opportunities to allow for medium-density residential uses such as townhomes, four-plexes, rental and fee simple units to complement existing housing types on the fringes of the CBD.
7. Staff also intends to examine the use charts to determine if there are currently some uses which are permitted downtown but inconsistent with the downtown vision (heavy commercial uses) or if there are currently some uses which are not permitted downtown that may be consistent with the downtown vision.
Project Timeline
• Catalyst Commercial and Staff will present rewrite goals and general recommendations to CCDC on April 8, 2019.
• Staff will develop the revised standards during May.
• Staff will present the revised standards to the Planning and Zoning Commission, CCDC, and City Council in June.