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City consultants outline timeline and major changes for Zone Ogden code rewrite
Summary
Consultant John Jackson told the council March 4 that drafts for a unified development code are underway; proposed changes include reorganized chapters, new residential infill options, a new R12.5 lot-size zone, modified administrative permit types and an airport flight-path overlay tied to FAA standards.
John Jackson, a consultant with Logan Simpson, briefed the Ogden City Council and RDA at the March 4 joint work session on progress for the Zone Ogden unified development code rewrite.
Jackson said the consultant team and city staff are drafting a combined code that will unify zoning regulations, sign rules, historic resource standards and subdivision regulations. He said the parallel general-plan update is on a slightly different timetable and the team hopes to begin public hearings on the code in summer or fall 2025.
Jackson described several substantive edits already drafted: reorganization into clearer chapters; consolidated special-use standards; conversion of repetitive zone design details into overlays; more permitted uses in some zones; and the creation of a residential R12.5 zone (2,500-square-foot average lot concept with “lot size averaging” in subdivisions). He said the team is also proposing shorter, more-flexible setbacks to reduce the number of variance requests.
On procedures, the draft code uses a five-type processing framework: Type 1 (over-the-counter), Type 2 (staff review), Type 3 (staff review with internal departmental meetings), Type 4 (public-noticed planning-commission review) and Type 5 (legislative hearings leading to council decision). Jackson said the approach is intended to make standard administrative matters faster and clearer while preserving public notice for discretionary matters.
Jackson said the team is working through chapters such as special uses, development standards, land divisions and infill options. He told the council the special-use chapter would go to the advisory committee and planning commission next week and that the full code will require cross-checking of references before adoption.
Council members asked about time frames for staff review, conditional uses, and corridor-specific standards (notably Twelfth Street and the Canyon Gateway). Jackson said some statutory time frames exist for subdivisions and certain notices but that many schedule choices are local; he said the updated code should be “easier and so therefore faster” to administer. He also described using FAA “imaginary surface” standards for a flight-path overlay tied to airport safety (height and use restrictions in approach zones).
Jackson closed by noting that adoption will likely be phased through summer/fall public hearings and planning commission recommendations; he emphasized additional editing and reference checking will follow initial drafting.
Ending: The draft unified code will proceed through advisory-committee and planning-commission review this spring; the council can expect formal public hearings later in 2025 before any final adoption vote.
