Belton adopts Imagine Belton standards to guide denser, walkable growth; council raises notice and due-process concerns

The Belton City Council on Jan. 14 voted unanimously to adopt the Imagine Belton development standards, a package of zoning changes intended to implement the citys Imagine Belton plan and guide more compact, walkable development patterns in the plan area.

City staff described five new zoning districts and a corresponding land-use matrix that assigns permitted, permitted-with-conditions and conditional (SUP) uses to those districts. The standards also introduce new housing types such as live-work units, cottage lots, courtyard housing and multiplexes, and include provisions to streamline certain by-right forms of development while preserving clarity on variance and rezoning paths.

Staff emphasized the public outreach effort behind the standards: workshops, open houses and a Planning & Zoning Commission review that ultimately recommended approval to council. City staff also outlined a phased approach to rezoning: if the council adopts the standards, staff will proceed with rezoning steps focused first on the central downtown and uptown zones and follow with other areas over time.

Council members pressed staff on notification and due-process safeguards for residents in areas that will permit new uses by right. "When we start doing a lot of things by right, we don't have the same due process we used to have," a council member said, urging clear outreach to residents and property owners. Staff noted mailed notices and other outreach that had taken place but agreed additional communication would help as rezonings proceed. Council adopted the ordinance and directed staff to begin the phased rezoning process and to continue public outreach ahead of property-level rezoning actions.