Willows City to align municipal code with new general plan; planners highlight zoning and design options

Delaney Garlic and Amy Rosic of Harrison Associates framed the municipal code update as the implementation step that turns the general plan’s vision into enforceable rules.

Garlic said the recently adopted general plan sets policy direction and that the municipal code should be revised to implement that vision through zoning and development standards. “If you want your main street downtown corridor to feel like a pedestrian‑oriented, friendly place… then we need to change the development code to reflect that kind of design and that kind of structure,” Garlic said, describing measures such as narrower travel lanes, on‑street parking, required storefront orientation, street trees and minimum sidewalk widths.

Commissioners discussed the “entryway district” overlay in the general plan and the need to decide what uses should be permitted, conditional or prohibited in different zones. Staff and consultants suggested the commission focus on a few priority areas — zoning categories, downtown form and design review standards — rather than trying to revise the entire code in a single meeting. Presenters also noted Willows’ existing combined planning/design review practice and said the code rewrite could either preserve a combined architectural/ planning review or split design review into a separate body with clearer, objective standards.

Garlic and Rosic said consultants will return with draft code elements and examples for the July meeting, and encouraged commissioners to identify local priorities (infill, mixed use, commercial corridors) so staff can craft standards that achieve the general plan’s goals.

Ending: Staff and Harrison Associates recommended commissioners review key general‑plan chapters in advance of the July meeting and come prepared with priorities for zoning, permitted uses and design standards to focus the municipal code update.