City staff outlines broad development‑code amendments; Planning & Zoning Commission recommended unanimous approval

City planning staff presented a package of substantive development‑code amendments proposed by the Community Development Department and described as intended to improve efficiencies, clarify requirements and provide flexibility.

Staff summarized the principal substantive changes: definitions and standards for construction staging areas and temporary field offices to allow temporary storage and trailers during construction with screening, dust control and timeline rules; sign‑code changes to allow up to a 25% height increase for architectural features (no advertising in the added height), administrative waivers of a 5‑foot setback for existing signs on constrained sites, an expanded list of exempt signs (including murals, statues, window signs and interior reader boards), and new standards for portable signs and feather banners (feather banners limited to 21 days display, four times per calendar year, 20 square feet maximum, 10 feet maximum height, and rules limiting number by frontage).

Landscaping and buffering revisions call for water‑efficient, native plant diversity and durability standards, including that 25% of the landscaped area (which staff said is 15% of an entire site) be shaded within 10 years by mature canopy trees, a minimum of three tree species and five shrub/cactus species, permeable hardscape in nonvegetated areas, earth‑tone landscape rock of at least 1/2‑inch diameter and 2.5‑inch minimum depth, and a minimum of one tree plus two shrubs per landscape island. Staff also reported removing the separate minimum buffer chart and locating buffer distances in each zoning district section.

Residential conversion changes require owners of commercial buildings seeking multifamily conversions (for example, converting hotels to apartments) to apply for a conditional‑use permit with a concept plan so council can review density and other development standards rather than require variances. For manufactured home parks, staff proposed reducing the setback for attached carports and covered patios from 5 feet to 3 feet (matching detached accessory structures) and clarified that detached garages and carports generally would not be allowed in front yards; the fire marshal and building officials support the reduced setback if carports and patios use fire‑resistant materials.

Staff also proposed a technical change to semi‑detached single‑family residential setbacks so that the 5‑foot side setback would apply only to the end unit, accommodating zero‑lot‑line construction on one side. Planning staff said the Planning & Zoning Commission heard the amendments at its March 25 and April 29 meetings and unanimously recommended approval. Council members raised a typographical correction to the resolution number staff had listed; staff acknowledged the correction.