Council reviews proposed PUD code rewrite; public hearing scheduled May 27

The Garden City City Council held a work session on April 29 to review CPA FY2024-6, a proposed Title 8 amendment that would repeal and replace the city’s Planned Unit Development (PUD) code and related sections. Planning staff presented the planning and zoning commission’s recommendation, discussed key changes and answered council member questions. A public hearing on the ordinance is scheduled for May 27.

Key proposed changes: staff said the recommendation would repeal the existing PUD section and replace it with a clearer, reorganized code. New elements include a purpose statement stressing that the PUD is an alternative to standard code that may include subjective decision-making; a requirement that applicants provide "proportionate" PUD enhanced improvements tied to any requested adjustments or waivers; and consolidation and reclassification of design standards and amenity requirements that would apply across housing and subdivision applications.

Required enhanced improvements and proportionality: Director Thornborough and staff explained that applicants who request waivers (for example, reduced setbacks, increased residential density or more-than-four units on a common drive) must demonstrate proportional, enhanced improvements in exchange. Examples of enhanced improvements discussed included added outdoor space, preservation of natural systems, housing affordability incentives (subject to state law limits), neighborhood activation features and sustainable design. Staff emphasized that the enhanced improvements listed are examples, not an exhaustive mandate.

Findings, administration and subjectivity: staff noted the draft reduces required findings to five and explicitly acknowledges a degree of subjectivity inherent to the PUD process. Council members discussed whether the code should expressly require an applicant to adopt the PUD in full or allow piecemeal application; staff said the intent is that an applicant choose either the PUD process or standard code, not a hybrid. Council members also asked for clearer language on guaranteed implementation: staff and legal counsel agreed the term "guarantee" carried legal weight and should be replaced with more achievable documentation or assurances (for example, affordable-housing covenants or tax-credit commitments would be one form of verifiable documentation).

Amenities, common open space and other standards: staff described a new matrix of class A/B/C amenities intended to give credit for a range of improvements (class A being easier to meet, class C being more substantial). The draft ties required amenity quantities to project size but also allows for proportionality and waiver requests through the PUD process. Common open space requirements were clarified to permit adjacent developments to coordinate shared open space and to provide incentives for public access. Staff also proposed clarifications to definitions (private open space, common open space) and relocation of some provisions (property maintenance) to more appropriate code sections.

Technical clarifications and administrative procedures: staff and legal counsel discussed options for who drafts required reason statements in the decision record; staff recommended administrative support drafting recommended findings for applicants less familiar with the process while leaving appeal rights intact. The council asked staff to refine language for clarity on several points (for example, the phrasing around whether a proposed use is "not in conflict" with surrounding neighborhoods) and to update terms that carry strong legal significance (for example, replacing "guarantee"). Staff indicated they will revise language before the May 27 public hearing.

Next steps: planning staff recommended moving the draft into ordinance format for the scheduled public hearing on May 27 and said they will work with legal counsel to soften or clarify terms such as "guarantee," refine proportionality language and ensure consolidated code cross-references and buffer-ordinance changes are synchronized. No formal action was taken at the work session; the council directed staff to prepare ordinance language for the public hearing.