Planning staff presents sweeping subdivision and zoning ordinance updates; commission forwards recommendations to council

Town staff presented a bundle of proposed changes to the subdivision and zoning ordinances on Sept. 2 that respond to input from a stakeholder working group and the development community and that would revise street design, construction sequencing, connectivity, driveway standards and other procedural items. The Planning Commission voted to recommend all three ordinances to Town Council.

Cauley Casper, a planning staff member, summarized the work as the product of a stakeholder working group that met from September 2023 to April 2024 and said the changes will be captured in three ordinances (2082, 2083 and 2084). The proposal covers street design items (allowing roll‑top curb in single‑family districts except infill situations, adopting VDOT vetted smaller street sections with required no‑parking signage where applicable), requirements for sidewalks on both sides of streets in higher‑density zones, full cul‑de‑sac sidewalk loops, medians on arterials/collectors with variance criteria, and clarified public‑utility easement standards.

Why it matters: The package changes how new subdivisions will be designed and built, including when paving and sidewalks must be completed, how many connections a subdivision must provide to adjacent streets, and the circumstances under which…