Willows holds public workshop to guide rewrite of Title 18 zoning code

Willows City Council and the Planning Commission held a joint public workshop July 10 to review a proposed update to Municipal Code Title 18, the city’s zoning regulations. The session, led by city staff and consultants from Harrison Associates, aimed to gather direction from elected officials and commissioners before a public outreach phase and town-hall presentation.

Vice Mayor Thomas opened the meeting by framing the session as a foundational step for future development: “This is a extremely important for our city, the zoning code. It's It's setting in place how we grow, how we become business friendly, and responsive to our citizens and promote positive growth.” The council and planning commissioners reserved specific technical questions for staff and Harrison Associates while asking for guidance on priorities.

Why it matters: Council members and commissioners said the current Title 18 is outdated, difficult to use and inconsistent with the general plan adopted after a long delay. Jim, the community development and service director, summarized the policy linkage: the general plan provides the vision and the zoning code is the tool to implement that vision. He told the panel the general plan was updated and “was approved at council in the spring of '22,” and…