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Council reviews draft Murray City Center form-based code; planning commission recommended approval 6-0
Summary
Planning staff presented a draft form-based code to rezone and guide design in the Murray City Center District, describing five form districts and standards for building form, streetscapes and open space.
City planning staff on June 3 presented a proposed form-based code and rezoning ordinance for the Murray City Center District (MCCD), describing new form districts, street and building standards, and a recommended rezoning map.
Zachary Smallwood (planning staff) said the draft implements objectives in the general plan and the downtown strategic plan and that the planning commission held a public hearing April 17 and voted 6–0 to recommend approval. The proposal would rezone properties in the MCCD into five ‘‘form districts’’ (Civic Center, Boulevard, Neighborhood Corridor, Transit Neighborhood and Residential Transition) with tailored building-form standards and street-type rules intended to create a coherent downtown character.
Smallwood said the proposal generally controls form—setbacks, build‑to lines, heights, and façade articulation—rather than relying primarily on use categories. Staff showed blocks designating where two‑ to three‑story structures would be allowed by right, where up‑to‑eight‑story development could occur near transit, and where residential transitions would step down to abutting neighborhoods. He noted certain parcels (including the TriNet group'owned properties with active applications) would be grandfathered as existing entitlements and would not be affected by the rezoning.
Council members asked detailed questions about sign rules, landscaping (including xeriscaping and irrigation concerns), historic structures and nonconformities, administration/decision-making panels to replace the MCCD review committee, and a staff proposal to include the former city‑hall parcel in the new code. Smallwood said the form‑based code has chapters on uses, building types, open space, landscaping, parking, signage and administration; nonconforming buildings could remain and additions would be required to meet the new code standards in most cases.
Staff said the code will return to council for the formal adoption hearing (staff indicated the adoption hearing is scheduled for June 17). No rezoning action was taken June 3; councilmembers were invited to provide additional input to staff prior to the hearing.
