Milton council adopts Deerfield form‑based code changes and urban design manual to guide redevelopment

The Milton City Council on Monday approved RZ25-07, a suite of text amendments to the Deerfield form-based code, and adopted the Destination Deerfield Urban Design Manual as a nonbinding visual guide for future development.

The package, presented by Robert Buscemi, director of special projects, and Allison Baker of Cooper Carry, reorganizes the regulating plan into four subdistricts, changes allowed uses and incentives, adjusts density and height rules, and adds design guidance for public spaces and multiuse trails.

Buscemi told council the changes reflect roughly a year of public outreach and Planning Commission review. ‘‘We are currently under a moratorium,’’ he said, and council action would lift that moratorium if it approves the amendments. The changes are intended to clarify expectations for redevelopment along the Highway 9 corridor and in the Deerfield area.

Key code changes include creation of T4, T5 and T6 subdistricts with distinct use and density rules; incentives for increasing open space from 10% to 20% to gain additional residential/nonresidential ratio benefits; a parking-structure incentive; limits on maximum unit density by transfer of development rights (TDR) reduced from 36 to 16 units per acre; and new concurrency requirements that tie nonresidential construction to residential phases.

The amendments also narrow several architectural and dimensional rules. Examples: maximum height for most uses in T6 is now four stories, with office and hotel uses allowed up to eight stories; T4 is generally limited to three stories (and some regulating-plan locations restrict to two); the code removes an allowance that effectively counted attics as additional stories to prevent developers from adding habitable attic space that would visually create an extra floor. Buscemi said the attic change responds to community feedback intending to keep selected areas visibly low-rise.

Design guidance in the Urban Design Manual supplements — but does not replace — the code. Allison Baker said the manual is ‘‘not just the form, but more detailed aesthetics’’ to communicate the ‘‘look and feel’’ the community prefers, with precedent images and clear examples of acceptable and unacceptable treatments for streets, facades and civic spaces. The manual also includes standards for multiuse trails, linear parks (which can count toward required civic space when they meet standards), and recommendations for public-restroom-equipped trailheads and hubs.

The amendments change several use classifications and table entries, including stricter controls on hotel unit counts, changes to townhouse limits and a new limit on attached townhouses (six units max per grouping). The code now permits loft apartments above retail in limited numbers — five units in T5 and 10 in T6 per development — while larger multifamily projects continue to require a council use permit.

Council Member Jan Jacobus moved approval of the text amendments and the urban design manual; Council Member Phil Cranmer seconded. Both the text amendment (RZ25-07) and the urban design manual resolution passed unanimously.

Council discussion emphasized implementing the public‑realm elements and ensuring the design manual provides clear direction to staff and the Design Review Board. Staff said final implementation steps will include lifting the moratorium and publishing the design manual as a reference for pre-application meetings and development review.