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Commission backs removing mandatory gridded‑street overlay outside downtown
Summary
Planning commissioners voted to return the transportation map to the earlier (2017) thoroughfare plan that does not mandate a bridal/grid street network outside downtown, citing maintenance costs and topographic constraints that make a city‑wide grid impractical.
The Planning & Zoning Commission voted to recommend that the city restore the previous thoroughfare map (adopted in February 2017) and remove the mandatory gridded‑street overlay that was added in 2019 with the B‑3 code.
Assistant City Manager Andre Esporoz and staff presented maps showing the 2019 gridded overlay and alternatives. Staff said the overlay could require the city to accept and maintain many small public streets inside new developments (for example, streets running through apartment complexes) and that paving and long‑term maintenance costs for additional public alleys and streets are significant. They showed an example where the overlay required a public street through an apartment site, which staff said made private development design and long‑term municipal maintenance impractical.
Commissioners debated balancing walkability and street connectivity with fiscal sustainability and emergency access. Commissioners and some residents urged keeping the downtown grid and other areas where traditional blocks are appropriate; staff said the change under consideration preserves the downtown grid but removes the mandatory requirement across the rest of the city, making the grid an option rather than a requirement for new development.
The commission made three linked recommendations: (1) replace the current Chapter 5 thoroughfare plan with the earlier adopted plan (2017) without the city‑wide gridded overlay, (2) remove references to the mandatory street network in the B‑3 technical manual, and (3) amend the B‑3 code text to remove mandatory gridded‑network language (leaving the downtown grid as an option). Staff said the amendments will allow more flexible designs for topographically constrained sites and reduce the number of city‑maintained streets built through private developments.
The commission approved the recommended changes and the motions to forward the technical manual and B‑3 code edits to city council with staff’s revised language.
