City planning staff propose quick amendments to mixed-use corridor rules to limit building massing and protect neighborhood edges

City planning staff on Wednesday presented proposed short-term amendments to mixed-use corridor regulations intended to control building massing, improve street-level design and strengthen transitions to adjacent neighborhoods.

Jim Hetzel, principal urban planner, told the public the package is meant to address development pressure and to create “form based” design criteria missing from existing regulations. “The purpose of it was to create new regulations or amend our existing regulations to create a form based code to have better design criteria that is missing from our existing regulations today,” Hetzel said.

The package was framed as a set of “quick amendments” the city commission directed staff to develop to manage an influx of applications while a larger form-based code project continues. Staff said it expects to bring the amendments to the planning and zoning board in October and then back to the commission for final action.

Key proposals

- Street-wall length and facade articulation: A maximum street-wall length of 300 feet along the public realm, with required articulation. Staff proposed that within the 300-foot length the building must shift forward or back at regular intervals (staff cited every 25 feet) and include architectural elements to break up large, monolithic facades.

- Podium stepback and shoulder height: The package would formalize a podium or shoulder height…