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Consultant outlines two-phase update to Covington's land-use code; outreach, fair-housing changes planned
Summary
A planning consultant team briefed Covington officials on a multi-phase project to implement the city's Plan 2030 through targeted code amendments, outreach and steering-committee review; priorities include fair-housing updates for group homes, building-code cleanup, subdivision regulation updates, and an April 30 community meeting.
A planning and consulting team presented an overview of a multi-phase code update intended to implement Covington’s Plan 2030 and to streamline several land-management processes.
Alex Carter, the project lead and a planning consultant working with the selected firm, told the board the effort would focus first on targeted, high-priority code amendments — including fair-housing alignment for group homes, building regulation updates, and clarifications to permitting and administration — before moving into a larger Phase 2 public engagement and comprehensive code assessment. Carter said the project will use a steering committee drawn from council and board members and will include developer and stakeholder working groups as needed.
Carter said the work will reference the city's recently adopted comprehensive plan (Plan 2030, adopted April 2021) and that the update will touch subdivision regulations (located in Appendix A of the current code), the zoning map and the wording of the code to reduce ambiguity. He described the approach as incremental and iterative: staff meetings, steering-committee review, public drafts, focus groups and multiple community meetings.
On fair-housing updates, Carter said the team's priority is to align local rules with federal standards and to streamline how the code treats group homes while considering distancing and state licensing requirements. “The goal of this is really to just make sure your current code is in alignment with federal standards,” Carter said, noting that unclear local code language can expose a small city to costly litigation.
On building-code amendments, the consultants described a mix of housekeeping (reorganization and renumbering) and substantive updates to reduce unnecessary administrative steps and to align permit language with current building-code practice. Carter and team members said fee schedules appear not to have been updated in decades and plan to recommend fee adjustments consistent with neighboring jurisdictions.
The outreach plan presented calls for a project website, a mailing list (sign-up via QR code), steering-committee meetings, a public community meeting on April 30, and printed copies of drafts at city hall and the public library on request. Carter said the draft code changes will be circulated to the board before the next meeting and that the overall timeline for the project is approximately two and a half years.
Commissioners and members of the public asked about access to materials. One attendee urged hard copies in city hall and the library; Carter said the team would provide printed outreach materials and post drafts online. City staff member Rod confirmed the city's zoning code dates from 2010 and that fair-housing language had not been updated in many years.
No formal action was taken; staff and the consultant team said they would distribute drafts to the board and the public and would continue steering-committee review and public outreach.
