Agenda Date: 07/26/2021
Subject:
Title
ULUC Policy Issues Introduction
Body
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Prepared By: |
Jennifer Henninger, Community Development Director |
PURPOSE:
To inform planning commission of policy level issues that are being raised during the Unified Land Use Code (ULUC) draft comment period and allow planning commission to provide input on the issues for city council consideration.
PRESENTATIONS:
Staff Presenter(s): Jennifer Henninger, Community Development Director
Michael Sutherland, Deputy Community Development Director
Additional Presenter(s): N/A
SUMMARY:
Since the draft ULUC was released in early June, staff sees several issues that do not seem to have community consensus on how they should be addressed in the code. Staff will present the issues at the July 26 meeting and seek planning commission input at later study sessions in August.
PRIOR ACTIONS OR DISCUSSIONS:
On June 7th, a draft of the ULUC was released to the public and in that time, over 400 comments have been entered into the online comment portal. In addition, staff has had several one-on-one meetings with council members as well as many members of the public. Yard signs, posters, surveys, and social media blasts have also been deployed and comments are trickling in from those efforts. Finally, several individuals have called the planner of the day phone line and talked with a planner about the ULUC.
Since May of this year, city council has held study sessions on specific ULUC items including:
• May 11: KKC and staff provided a briefing on the progress of the ULUC to city council
• Revisiting the project goals, the overall approach/methodology, outreach underway, parking lot items, and the logistics for commenting and reviewing the draft ULUC
• June 7: The draft ULUC was released for public comment and review. The draft is available
until July 30, 2021
• June 22: Council discussed the findings of the two economic models in the context of land use which indicated the need for both housing and commercial uses in the city.
• July 13: Discussion of ULUC by building block, summary of work accomplished since June 7 and detailed discussion on accessory dwelling units
Planning Commission has had the following study sessions on the ULUC:
• May 10-Discussion of downtown amendments and proposed parking regulations
• May 24-Staff walked PC through the online version of the ULUC and shared staff outreach efforts to date.
• June 28-staff facilitated a joint meeting with the Housing Task Force to discuss housing and specifically housing along corridors
• 7/12-HPB joined planning commission to discuss the proposed Downtown District and thoughts on the Historic Preservation Code. A discussion on Chapter 4 Neighborhoods followed the HPB presentation.
ANALYSIS:
Staff Analysis
Overall, submitted comments recognize and praise the giant leap to a new type of code. However, there are differences in opinion on the direction the city should take on a handful of issues such as accessory dwelling units, neighborhood design standards, size of larger uses such as big box retail, and what processes should be administrative vs. require a public hearing.
Staff will seek planning commission’s professional expertise to evaluate these policy level issues and provide recommendations to city council in August. PC feedback will then be given to council for their consideration as they finalize the ULUC.
All comments from the public as well as planning commission and other boards and commissions in the city will be integrated into a final public draft that will be released to the public on September 7, to begin the adoption process through Historic Preservation Board, Planning Commission and finally City Council on October 19.
Council Goal, Objective, and/or Guiding Principle
The ULUC is the number one goal and priority for city council in 2021.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that planning commission add at least one additional study session to their calendar to provide thoughtful and professional input on policy level issues raised in the ULUC.
REFERENCES:
Link to ULUC and Comprehensive Plan www.envisionlittleton.org <http://www.envisionlittleton.org>