Planning staff outlines Phase 2 of UDO rewrite; steering committee to review property maintenance code

Planning staff told the City of Riverside Planning Commission on May 21 that work on Phase 2 of the Unified Development Ordinance rewrite is underway and that the consultant and steering committee have drafted Article 1 and are preparing materials to make the code more user‑friendly.

Naya Holt, planning staff, said the rewrite will include a consolidated table of uses, a larger glossary adjacent to regulations, new graphics illustrating lot widths and buildable lots, and clearer definitions for sign types and other terms. “We wanna make it user friendly,” Holt said, adding the goal is for anyone using the code to be able to find applicable rules without flipping between sections.

Holt said the steering committee will meet next week to review the property maintenance code, which staff have used for nearly two years and want to refresh. She also described proposed changes to district names and a move to hybrid mixed‑use districts focused on the city’s key corridors — Valley, Linden, Burkhart and other corridors discussed during the meeting — so commercial uses and entertainment options can be better accommodated.

Commission members discussed streamlining minor applications so routine matters could be signed off administratively rather than brought before the planning commission. Chair Denning encouraged commissioners, business owners and residents to submit examples of items that could be handled administratively via the city’s contact channels; staff said they intend to hold at least one community meeting before the rewrite advances to the planning commission for formal consideration.

No formal actions were taken; staff will bring subsequent drafts and steering‑committee recommendations back to the planning commission for review.