Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Comprehensive Plan topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Consultants present draft comprehensive plan and major thoroughfare updates at commission workshop
Summary
Planning consultants from Kennedy Keyston Collaborative reviewed revisions to the draft future land-use map and major thoroughfare plan, proposing changes to road classifications and a guidance framework for where commercial and higher-density housing might be considered over the next decade.
Consultants from Kennedy Keyston Collaborative presented the fourth workshop on the city's comprehensive plan and major thoroughfare plan update at the Planning, Development & Zoning Commission meeting on Aug. 11. The presentation summarized proposed changes to roadway classifications, a future land-use and character map and recommended actions for zoning and development standards.
Jennifer Mack, senior urban designer, and Gary Mitchell, project manager, walked commissioners through adjustments to the major thoroughfare map that reclassify several segments (for example, reassigning Patterson Road north of Del Bello Road from parkway to collector and removing some proposed Croix Road extensions). They explained the color-coded right-of-way widths on the map (parkways ~120 feet, arterials ~100 feet, collectors ~80 feet) and noted edits to reflect recent development patterns.
Gary Mitchell emphasized the planning rationale: the team categorized land by character (rural preservation, estate residential, suburban residential, master plan development, commercial and industrial) and tied those characters to appropriate roadway types. “Why did we change certain roads or other things? Now we'll show you the land use side of things, and that kind of makes the connection,” Mitchell said.
The draft future land-use map focuses higher-intensity master-plan development along the 288 corridor and more limited change in areas identified for rural preservation or estate residential. The consultants recommended treating commercial-mixed-use potential as a separate graphic that indicates locations where neighborhood-serving retail might emerge over time rather than placing all such areas as fixed designations on the map today.
On regulatory recommendations, consultants proposed a unified development code to consolidate zoning, subdivision regulations, signs and landscaping standards into a single, more user-friendly ordinance; they also suggested updating zoning districts and purpose statements to better match the map, adding mid-range residential zones between one-acre lots and small-lot single-family districts, and introducing standards for lot and site coverage to manage impervious surface and drainage.
Commissioners asked about how the map would be used relative to zoning, the handling of near-term traffic constraints and whether certain corridors should be protected from premature commercial sprawl. Consultants said the map is guidance for roughly a 10-year outlook and recommended periodic (annual or rolling) updates to keep the guidance current with market and infrastructure changes.
Next steps: consultants and staff will prepare an overall draft comprehensive plan that will be presented to city council in a workshop; the commission will be invited to that workshop and given an opportunity to comment before the plan advances.
