Council reviews zoning code redraft covering street trees and portable storage units

The New Franklin City Council reviewed a redraft of the zoning code that adds a tree inventory and street-tree requirements for new development and revisits rules for portable storage containers.

Council members and staff said the redraft (dated for a council meeting reference of 02/25) includes a new tree inventory and assessment section and a separate street-tree model that calculates required trees from the linear feet of new streets. Planning staff said the street-tree requirement applies to new development only and does not force owners of existing homes to replace trees removed after adoption.

The code language requires a tree inventory and an assessment before development proceeds; the street-tree requirement produces a count (for example, 50 trees for a given linear footage) and delegates species selection and placement details to the zoning department and the Planning and Zoning Commission. Council and staff discussed allowing the commission to grant modifications so the city negotiates from a position of strength rather than making exceptions by ad hoc agreement with developers.

Council and staff also spent substantial time on portable storage containers. Under the prior code language cited by staff, portable storage units were defined as "any enclosed unit ... designed for permanent or temporary storage, which can be transported by a vehicle and left on-site," and were permitted only in narrowly defined temporary situations (construction sites for a maximum of 180 days or moving uses for up to 30 days, not more than twice a year). Staff said that, under the prior code, most long-term residential or commercial placement was not permitted.

Council members said many portable containers are already in place across the city. Legal staff reported a legal opinion showing those units existed before the amendment and that enforcement must be consistent with zoning law. Counsel advised that the city cannot legally declare broad grandfathering for uses that were contrary to zoning without a formal code change.

Several council members recommended sending the storage-container question back to the Planning and Zoning Commission with instructions to draft clear limits (for example, whether containers are allowed in residential districts at all, placement limits relative to property lines and driveways, time limits, and maximum numbers per lot). Staff said the new code will be reorganized (Article 8 content merging into a new Article 3) and that the rewrite can treat shipping containers and dumpsters as separate categories with bespoke limits.

Council also asked for a specific definition for "shipping container," noting that some buyers convert containers into permanent structures and that a broad or poorly written definition can create enforcement problems. Counsel and staff said they would prepare drafts and recommended that the administration defer enforcement while Planning and Zoning reconsiders the rules; the intent to defer enforcement was to be recorded in the minutes.

Council members asked that any amendment explicitly state that the tree and street-tree requirements apply only to new development, and they requested clarity on whether monetary in-lieu options (payment to the city for tree planting elsewhere) would be allowed. Staff responded that the current redraft does not require exact spacing (for example, 60 feet) but relies on a table tied to tree type and linear feet; the commission or zoning staff would evaluate specific planting plans.

The discussion closed with unanimous agreement to refer the portable-storage issue to the Planning and Zoning Commission for specific recommendations and to await those recommendations before any broad enforcement actions are taken.