Chico Planning Commission backs Title 19 code amendments, asks staff to study wider parking reductions

The Chico Planning Commission on March 6, 2025, voted unanimously to recommend that the City Council adopt an ordinance amending Title 19 of the Chico Municipal Code to implement a "Residential Readiness" package of land‑use changes and clarifications. Later in the meeting the commission voted 5–1 to direct staff to include study of wider reductions or elimination of minimum parking requirements in a Phase 3 follow‑up to the code amendments.

The amendments are intended to align Chico’s zoning code with several recent state laws and the city’s 2022 housing element, streamline permitting, and expand options for small‑scale and affordable housing. Commissioners discussed changes ranging from new standards for low‑barrier navigation centers and accessory dwelling units (ADUs) to parking, drive‑through lane widths and landscape requirements.

City planner Kelly Murphy said the package is the second phase of a multipart Residential Readiness Program meant to "streamline existing permit processes, reduce barriers for residential development, and facilitate housing production." Murphy told commissioners that converting some uses from conditional (use permit) review to principally permitted uses would reduce costs for applicants: "A use permit runs around…