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Planning board signals support, asks staff to draft memo recommending College Town zoning updates to Common Council
Summary
Planning board members discussed and expressed support for proposed College Town zoning and related changes that would adjust floor-to-floor height rules and some zone designations; the board asked staff to draft a recommendation memo to Common Council.
At the end of its March 25 meeting the Planning and Development Board reviewed proposed zoning changes affecting the College Town area and related map adjustments (including CR-4 and several zone reclassifications).
Board members said the ordinance changes would accommodate contemporary construction typologies by allowing shorter floor-to-floor heights while maintaining comparable floor-to-ceiling space; members also said the adjustments would permit denser housing forms in areas already surrounded by higher-density zoning and could shift required green-space calculations to provide more usable frontage landscaping.
After discussion members indicated they supported the changes as a step toward adding housing near transit and campus-adjacent areas. The chair asked staff to draft a memo that would communicate the board’s recommendation to Common Council; the board did not take a separate recorded vote on a final wording at the meeting but directed staff to prepare the recommendation.
Why it matters: the zoning amendments streamline development rules that can affect housing production and construction types in neighborhoods with high student and renter demand. Because some parcels would be adjusted to match surrounding zone densities, the changes also reduce nonconforming status for existing buildings.
Ending: Planning staff will prepare a draft recommendation memo for the board to transmit to Common Council; staff said they will share the Council agenda link and ensure board members can review the draft memo before it goes to Council.
