Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Planning Policy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Planning staff outlines review of pre-2021 contract zones; city to refine process and seek council direction
Summary
City planning staff summarized a multi-week review of pre-2021 contract zones, categorizing existing contracts as completed, eligible for completion, or null and void, and said staff will deliver additional documentation and a proposed standard operating procedure to City Council.
Planning staff presented a review of the city’s pre-2021 contract zoning program at the April 15 Planning Board meeting and said they will return to City Council with additional documentation and a proposed standard operating procedure to clarify how contract zones will be handled going forward.
Planner Emily Cole Prescott summarized staff's analysis: of the pre-2021 contract zones reviewed, staff categorized 29 as completed (many now legally nonconforming but with existing site plans on record), three as having met the ordinance definition of substantial construction such that the projects could be completed under their contract terms, and 14 as null and void because requirements or conditions of the contract had not been fulfilled or the project was no longer needed.
Prescott told the board the city attorney’s office and outside counsel reviewed the analysis and that staff had presented a similar panel and briefing to City Council the previous evening. Councilor Phil Hatch, the council liaison present at the meeting, confirmed the panel included staff and outside counsel and said council requested additional review of how contract-zone conditions and site-plan conditions should be treated legally.
Staff said next steps will include finishing draft ordinance amendments and a standard operating procedure for contract zones, mapping and posting contract-zone records to the city website, and researching the legal status of conditions attached to older contract approvals. Staff emphasized the work will require checking archival site-plan records and may take several weeks.
Councilor Phil Hatch commended staff and the Planning Board’s work and said he expects the city will provide clearer policy direction to the board once council has reviewed additional legal research. Planning staff asked board members to flag any contract zones they believe were missed; staff said they had attempted to consolidate records and had not counted amendments as separate contract zones.
Planning staff also noted some companion issues—such as whether certain preexisting public-safety cell towers could be classified as essential services under current rules—will be addressed as part of the broader review.
