White House planners present draft Unified Development Ordinance; council and public press for more discretion on density and stronger stormwater rules

City of White House planners and consultants presented a first draft of a Unified Development Ordinance on an agenda item titled “land use regulations update,” laying out consolidated zoning, subdivision, design and parking standards and seeking feedback from the Board of Mayor and Aldermen and the public.

The draft, presented by Anna Willis, a land planner working on the project, and Michael Reynolds of the project team, would combine the existing zoning ordinance, subdivision regulations and design standards into a single code. "This is our first draft including comments and feedback from staff," Willis said, adding the engineering sections remain under staff review.

The ordinance aims to streamline the city’s use table and standards so residents and developers can more easily find permitted uses and cross-reference section citations. Willis said the final deliverable is expected to include an interactive online version in which clicking a use would link directly to its standards. The presentation also highlighted proposed changes to zoning-district consolidation, cluster subdivision options with density incentives, updated parking and loading tables, landscape buffers, and a proposed gas-station overlay for major corridors.

Why it matters: the UDO would set the city’s rules for what kinds of housing, commercial uses and subdivisions are allowed, how open space and stormwater are counted, and…