The Dubuque City Council held a work session Wednesday focused on a technical review of a proposed Unified Development Code (UDC) update, and staff said the next step is drafting an ordinance for public review and open houses.
Planning Services Director Wally Wernemont introduced consultant Arista Strunges of Camaros, who reviewed findings from a technical report, two surveys (about 250 resident responses and a technical group survey of professionals), stakeholder interviews and a public meeting. "I've been doing this for over 25 years," Strunges said, noting Dubuque's unusually high survey response rate for an online planning process.
Wernemont said staff will take the consultant’s recommendations and draft ordinance language for internal review, followed by public open houses and additional public comment periods. He estimated the drafting and public‑engagement steps would take the next three to four months under the current contract, and he said public input will continue through the formal adoption process.
Major proposals in the technical review include reorganizing use rules into a single global use matrix, simplifying and renaming residential districts (proposed RN1–RN5), consolidating some commercial districts into clearer scales (neighborhood, mixed‑use, general commercial and central business district), and creating an industrial mixed‑use overlay for adaptive reuse. The consultant recommended keeping specialized overlays such as flood hazard and restricted height but moving long flood rules to a separate article for clarity.
On residential zoning, the consultant proposed combining R3 and R4 into one district, creating an RN5 district for higher‑density townhouse and multifamily development, clarifying impervious‑surface definitions, adding front‑setback averaging, and offering options for cottage court development and limited opportunities to convert large houses into multiple units under standards.
Strunges presented new and emerging use categories that the draft code would address explicitly: neighborhood corner stores ("neighborhood commercial establishments"), maker/creator spaces, artisan food production (such as coffee roasters and commercial kitchens), food truck parks, specialty retail and temporary uses like fireworks stands and outdoor events. She said accessory dwelling units would be aligned with recent state law changes.
Parking and transportation drew repeated comment. The report recommends updating parking ratios, parking design and circulation standards, and adding flexibilities such as exemptions for downtown and historic areas and for existing structures that lack parking. The consultant asked the council to consider a more radical option used elsewhere: removing minimum off‑street parking requirements in some districts. "We heard support for this during this process," Strunges said, while also warning that market forces and lenders often still drive developers to provide parking.
Councilmembers raised concerns about neighborhood spillover if parking minimums are reduced. Councilmember Resnick cited a recent example in another city where reduced requirements led to parking impacts and urged caution. Wernemont and Strunges said exemptions can be targeted and that the city can keep minimums in certain residential contexts while relaxing them in commercial areas.
Other technical changes would clarify sign rules (including a proposed "classic sign" designation for character‑giving signs typically older than 50 years), introduce basic private‑property exterior lighting controls to reduce glare and trespass, reorganize landscape requirements to focus on functional areas (parking interiors, buffers), update parking‑lot and EV space design, and add clearer administrative processes for site plan review, traffic study thresholds and formal zoning interpretations.
The consultant proposed an alternate approach to planned unit developments (PUDs): instead of rezoning a property to a permanent PUD district, the council could approve a site‑specific PUD approval that overlays the base district and expires if not acted on (Arista cited a commonly used two‑year expiration). That approach, she said, preserves predictability and reduces the proliferation of unique PUD‑only rules that complicate enforcement.
Strunges and Wernemont also recommended codifying payment responsibilities and timing for off‑site improvements in subdivision rules, folding some sustainable and solar incentives into subdivision points, and tightening nonconforming use and structure rules while providing limited replacement and modest expansion allowances to protect existing housing stock.
Council questions covered a range of topics the consultant had listed as "emerging principles." Councilmember Sprang asked how urban farms and commercial greenhouses would be handled; Wernemont said the city recently expanded allowances for commercial greenhouses and that urban farmsteads are typically zoned Agricultural or handled as specialty uses in commercial zones. Councilmember Farber/Barber and others sought clarification on condo ownership vs. land‑use definitions, second‑story additions on nonconforming walls, and standardizing when traffic studies are required.
On process, Wernemont said staff will draft the ordinance from the technical report, then publish a public draft UDC, hold open houses with posters and staffed stations, produce a red‑line second draft showing changes, and present the document to the Zoning Advisory Commission and then to the council for formal adoption. He said the public can continue to submit comments via the project website and a city comment form.
No formal council action or vote was taken at the work session; the meeting was a presentation and discussion. Wernemont asked the council for feedback and emphasized the staff and consultant expectation that the document will be refined through public comment and additional drafts before any adoption vote.
The city posted project materials and a comment form online; Wernemont invited residents and stakeholders to continue providing input as staff prepares the ordinance for public drafts and hearings.