Summit planning board advances DRO review; committee to study ADUs, stormwater, lighting and images

The Summit Planning Board on March 24 discussed a range of possible changes to the city's Development Regulation Ordinances, focusing on clarifying illustrations, accessory dwelling units (ADUs), stormwater management and lighting requirements for parks and downtown.

The board's vice chair, Paulson Alvarez, who is leading the DRO subcommittee, said the subcommittee is considering a provision that would give the board and city more flexibility to update images inside the DRO without submitting a full, separate ordinance package for each change. Alvarez said the goal is to replace or improve images that do not illustrate the text well.

Planning board attorney Warner cautioned that adding open-ended language to permit unspecified future images could be legally problematic. "It may be problematic to do it prospectively to simply say we're gonna add images," Warner told the board, and recommended consulting the city attorney about whether such language would require a formal ordinance amendment or could be handled as a de minimis change.

Board members described several substantive topics the subcommittee expects to study in the coming months: - Accessory dwelling units (ADUs): The board plans to explore ADU policies to align with master-plan goals of reducing demolitions and supporting environmental objectives by reusing existing structures. - Stormwater management: Members said recent project feedback and community comments suggest current stormwater requirements for new construction and additions may be insufficient; the subcommittee will consider strengthening standards. - Lighting rules: The board discussed revising a DRO provision that currently prohibits string lights, except for holidays, to reflect current downtown practices (for example, moving string lights from trees onto cable wires). Members also flagged sports- and pathway-lighting rules, suggesting motion-sensor controls may be inappropriate for facilities used after dark and that fixed curfews (for example, turn-off times at 9 p.m. or 10 p.m.) might be preferable.

Board members also noted related items to track: a condition in a recent consistency review for a turf field required replacement trees between the Summit Housing Authority property and the field; one member asked staff to follow up on grant opportunities to fund the tree work. That follow-up was noted by the chair as a future action item but was not the subject of a formal motion.

The board said its intent is to package recommendations and transmit them to the governing body before the end of the year, while using discretion to expedite items deemed urgent. The subcommittee will continue meeting and return recommendations for the planning board's review; if the governing body makes changes, the plan would return to the planning board for further consideration. No ordinance amendments were introduced or adopted at the March 24 meeting.

Ending: The DRO review and revision work will continue through the planning board's subcommittee. Board members asked staff to coordinate with the city attorney on the specific language that would allow limited image updates and to pursue follow-up on tree replacement and any identified grants.