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Council previewed design-standards stop, Native Oasis code and zoning housekeeping amendments
Summary
City staff previewed an extra council review step for updated design standards tied to the moratorium, a Native Oasis ordinance to allow intentional private native plantings in rights-of-way, and two zoning housekeeping amendments restoring sidewalk-cafe allowances and removing an outdated retail-size definition.
City planning and staff briefed the council on April 1 about several code and planning items that will move through the city process in coming weeks, including an added council review for design standards, a permanent “Native Oasis” allowance for intentional plantings on private property and two housekeeping zoning amendments.
Kim (staff member) and Seth (staff member) told council the city will host a presentation from RDG (neighborhood park master plan and design-standards updates) and that the council will have an extra stop in the review process so members can provide feedback on proposed design and use standards before the Planning and Zoning Commission completes its recommendation. "We wanted to make sure we had that extra stop with council to get that feedback," Seth said.
Seth also described the Native Oasis ordinance (originating from a NoMoMae opportunity) that will allow residents to install intentional native plantings on private property; staff said the parks department will review applications and that the city will produce a list of permitted species and restrictions (noxious weeds excluded). "It's going to be a permanent process that the parks department will review," Seth said; council asked staff to ensure the plant list is available when the ordinance is adopted.
Nicole (planning staff) described two housekeeping zoning changes: removing a 5,000-square-foot minimum in the definition of "retail sales, small" so that smaller uptown retailers are unambiguously included, and restoring sidewalk-cafe accessory-use entries to the Central Corridor use table (U1, U2 and UTC1) after they were inadvertently omitted during a recodification. The Planning and Zoning Commission had recommended the housekeeping changes 6–0 at its March meeting, Nicole said; staff will ask council to waive second and third readings on Thursday to expedite adoption.
No formal votes were taken at the work session on these items; staff asked council to attend the presentations and be prepared to provide direction. The items will next appear before council and the Planning and Zoning Commission according to the posted schedule.
