The Clayton Planning Commission reviewed a draft set of revisions to the town’s Unified Development Ordinance (UDO), focusing on district classifications and permitted uses. Commissioners said the changes aim to remove outdated or inapplicable rules and better tailor zoning to Clayton’s character.

Commissioners recommended eliminating the separate "open space" district because Lambert Park is the only property that currently meets that designation and the park property already functions under an institutional classification. "We have one property in town that meets the open space criteria, Lambert Park," a commissioner said, and the commission proposed treating the park as institutional use instead of retaining an open‑space district.

On agricultural uses, staff flagged that the current UDO language is broad enough to permit a concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO). Commissioners said they do not want large livestock operations inside town limits and discussed explicitly listing permitted agricultural uses (for example, crop production, small‑scale farm sales) while excluding CAFOs. One commissioner described the local example of a large hog farm outside other towns and warned of the nuisance impacts of permitting similar operations in Clayton.

The commission also reviewed residential classifications and noted that R‑1 (single‑family residence district) and R‑4 (multifamily residence district) in the current text have nearly identical standards in setbacks, lot size and other dimensional requirements. Commissioners proposed consolidating or clarifying the two categories so the UDO is simpler and more locally appropriate.

Commissioners cautioned that any change to zoning classifications will require public hearings: the commission will recommend changes to the town council, both bodies will hold the required public hearings and the council must vote to adopt any amendments. Staff will continue drafting a revised UDO that omits the open‑space classification, narrows permissible agricultural uses, and proposes changes to residential zone definitions for commission review.