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Highland Council reviews land-use, modern-income-housing strategies and next steps for ADU ordinance
Summary
During a work session on the city's general plan, Highland City Council and consultants from Landmark Design revisited town-center goals, modern-income housing strategies and a proposed accessory dwelling unit (ADU) ordinance. Council members asked staff to include an infrastructure-capacity study as a separate implementation step.
Highland City Council held a work session focused on the city's general plan, land use and its modern-income-housing element, with consultants from Landmark Design reviewing priorities for the town center, mixed-use development and accessory dwelling units.
Consultant Aubrey Larson of Landmark Design said the group heard support for a more active town center: "hosting regular events and creating traditions around those events will support our local businesses in the town center," she said. Landmark and the council discussed mixing retail, office and residential space in the town center and at the nearby Highland Mains property.
The discussion centered on three strategies the city is pursuing under the state's moderate-income-housing requirements: (1) enabling accessory dwelling units (ADUs), (2) zoning for higher-density or mixed-use residential development adjacent to commercial centers, and (3) developing age-restricted senior housing options. Landmark showed the city a matrix of 29 possible state-recommended strategies and recommended focusing on those most relevant to Highland's land-use character.
On ADUs, presenters proposed drafting an ordinance that would allow detached ADUs in specified zones while protecting neighborhood character through limits such as maximum footprint, owner-occupancy rules and rental restrictions. Council members and staff repeatedly raised infrastructure and capacity concerns: a council member in the meeting said an infrastructure assessment should be an explicit, separate step before wide ADU expansion, and a participant noted the city has placed an infrastructure study in this year's budget.
Council members debated zoning and market realities at the 10700/Town Center site and Ridgeview plan development. Several members said the market has shifted toward residential demand while office space remains weak, which may justify allowing more flexible mixed-use housing above retail to support commercial viability. Council members also discussed whether Highland Mains and other PD (planned-development) areas should be revised to allow different housing types if market conditions continue to hamper previously approved commercial/office concepts.
On senior housing, council and planning commissioners discussed the difference between 'age-targeted' and 'age-restricted' products; several council members said they prefer age-restricted zoning so a rezoned site delivers the senior unit types the city intends. Landmark recommended a mix of implementation measures including a senior-housing PD overlay and possible city-facilitated projects on publicly owned or high-priority sites, while council members cautioned that a city-led development would be resource-intensive and should not be assumed without identifying funding and a lead department.
Votes at a glance
- Amendment to May 13, 2025, meeting minutes (add Aubrey Larson and Sam Taylor as 'others present'): motion by Council member Sherry Kramer, second by Ron Campbell. Roll call recorded in the meeting transcript indicated unanimous support and the motion passed. The minutes amendment was recorded as approved.
What happens next
Landmark and city staff will draft an ADU ordinance for council and planning commission review and are to add explicit infrastructure/capacity review steps to the implementation timeline. The consultant outlined an expedited schedule for the general-plan adoption process: additional elements in coming meetings, planning commission review in September and council consideration in November'December.
Why it matters
The state's moderate-income-housing rules require municipalities to show how they will provide realistic opportunities for moderate-income housing over a five-year period. Highland's choices about ADUs, mixed-use zoning and senior housing will be reported to the state as part of that compliance process and could influence future funding and regulatory outcomes.
Ending note
Council members asked staff to return proposed ordinance language and a timeline that includes a separate infrastructure-capacity assessment, plus a clear zone-by-zone approach that limits detached ADU locations and size to address neighborhood character and service capacity.
