Commission reviews Phase 1/2 zoning amendments, Vision Zero and TOD overlay; schedules follow-up workshop

City planning staff and commissioners reviewed progress on Phase 1 and 2 zoning amendments, the Vision Zero initiative (an expanded successor to the active-transportation plan), and a proposed Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) overlay at the Jan. 28 meeting and agreed to schedule deeper workshops to review the materials before they return for formal recommendations.

Staff said the Phase 1/2 amendment draft dated Nov. 27 had been submitted to the county and that City Council scheduled a hearing for Feb. 18. The amendments include updates citywide and address adaptive reuse, short-term rentals, sidewalk cafés, food trucks, parking and loading regulations, and medical-marijuana rules. Commissioners and staff noted the need to coordinate with the county and to present a clear implementation/funding path.

On Vision Zero, Tim (staff) said the scope broadened from bicycle/pedestrian corridors to a citywide safety objective that seeks to reduce serious crashes across all modes and to align with implementation funding; a public meeting on Feb. 5 was set where the consultant would present and solicit comments. Commissioners requested an internal workshop (proposed for March) to allow commission members and staff to reach consensus before broader outreach or council-level hearings.

On the TOD overlay, staff said it generally follows a half-mile guideline around transit stations but indicated that the overlay boundary and permitted uses may be adjusted to avoid encroaching on industrial districts. Commissioners asked for more time to review the written drafts and for targeted meetings to unpack areas of concern.