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Council gives staff direction on regional plan implementability; rejects map-level resort overlay, asks for PUD option and trails clarifications
Summary
City staff proposed changes to the draft regional plan to ease implementation; Council directed staff to keep the plan’s density/compatibility approach, rejected a map-level resort overlay, asked staff to add a PUD/PAD zoning tool action item, and accepted revised trails symbology.
City planning staff walked Council through detailed changes to the draft regional plan that would make it easier to implement at the front counter — including a simpler approach to land-use categories, a table linking future place types to compatible zoning, and proposed edits to the plan’s trails map.
Sarah Ducker, comprehensive and neighborhood planning manager, emphasized that the city must reconcile the plan (policy) with the city’s zoning and development code (implementation). Staff proposed four simpler density bands (low: 0–4 du/acre; medium: 5–14; medium-high: 15–30; high: 31+) and a compatibility table that would allow an applicant to use an existing compatible zoning category or meet the plan’s “future desired density/intensity.” Ducker and staff said the intent was to make front-counter decisions more predictable and to shorten staff reports for straightforward requests while reserving more extensive analysis for amendments that change plan categories.
A late-arriving and contentious topic was whether to include a map-level “resort community” (RC) overlay at the request of owners of the Little America property. Staff reported on what other jurisdictions do (Phoenix uses a resort/hospitality overlay and the county has a “resort community” zone) and explained the technical differences between a map designation and the zoning code tools (for example, a planned-unit development or planned-area development).
Council and the public debated the overlay. Several public commenters and civic groups urged caution: they said an RC overlay on hundreds of acres could reduce land available for housing and undermine the plan’s housing and climate priorities. City staff and Little America representatives said the RC approach is intended to allow flexible resort/hospitality development — including units that can be used as permanent homes in some models — and to avoid triggering a major general-plan amendment for future master planning. Little America’s representatives told Council they wanted flexibility to explore mixed outcomes on their property and asked the city to preserve pathways for a master-planned approach.
After extensive public comment and council discussion, Council directed staff not to add a map-level resort-community overlay to the future-growth illustration. Instead Council asked staff to:
- Proceed with the existing density-category approach and compatibility table as presented (the “or” approach: applicants may rezone to a compatible zoning category or meet the future desired density and guidelines), - Add an explicit action item in chapter 5 to create or modernize a planned-unit-development / planned-area-development (PUD/PAD) zoning tool in the city code as a vehicle that would allow master-planned flexibility (including hospitality/resort-type models) to be reviewed through the normal public process, and - Adopt the revised trails map symbology staff proposed (planned trails with/without property rights and a generalized depiction for parcels larger than 400 acres), while directing staff to prepare GIS data thoughtfully so staff do not publish navigable trail lines for paths that are not yet secured by property-rights agreements.
Staff told Council some items — especially any PAD/PUD code work and discussions about resort-style zoning or alternates — would be followed by code amendments or a separate staff project; any zoning changes would come through the normal notice and hearing process and could trigger voter requirements where property- or finance-related legal thresholds apply. Council asked staff to return with the code work and to coordinate closely with the county on cross-jurisdictional matters.
What’s next: staff will finalize the draft regional plan for public hearings using the clarified compatibility approach, include the PUD/PAD action item in chapter 5, adopt the revised trails map symbology and begin work on the PUD/PAD code option and other follow-up items for Council review.
(Reporting note: direct quotes attributable to Sarah Ducker and multiple public commenters and Little America representatives are reflected in the provenance.)
