Planning Commission hears wide-ranging public feedback on draft comprehensive plan; staff to refine land-use map

Planning department staff presented draft land-use directions and early text for the city’s comprehensive plan and invited public comment and commissioner feedback on the map that would guide zoning and future code updates.

Planning manager Lehi Leonard and Senior Planner Michelle Bennett walked the commission through major themes the project team has developed, including a proposed “low-rise residential” category to replace existing R1 and R2 single-family districts, expanded “mixed-use” corridors and hubs, and an “innovation/employment” area around North Campus. Leonard said low-rise residential currently under discussion would cover much of the city’s residential geography and that staff are examining how different unit counts, heights and form-based controls would translate into housing capacity. The presentation included staff’s baseline figures (staff said the city has about 53,000 housing units, 680 new homes over the last three years, and an approved-or-under-construction pipeline of approximately 53,100 units, with roughly 2,000 additional units under review).

The public hearing drew more than a dozen speakers and a large on-site turnout. Speakers who urged more permissive housing policy included Mr. Leaf, who called for removing districts that restrict…