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Why it matters: Council members and commissioners said the current Title 18 is outdated, difficult to use and inconsistent with the general plan adopted after a long delay.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 that the code update is intended both to align regulations with that plan and to modernize practices.

Key topics raised

- Enforcement and compliance: Multiple council members said enforcement lacks “teeth” and that the city’s enforcement capacity should be considered when choosing how prescriptive the code should be. Council member Pride and others emphasized that many long-standing violations exist and that staff resources for enforcement are limited.

- Signs and roadside character: Council member Busby and others flagged the sign regulations as a major issue for business appearance and the city’s entry corridors. Busby counted numerous pylon and pole signs along the I‑5 corridor near Wood Street and asked whether the code can encourage consolidated identification signs without unduly restricting business advertising.

- Garage conversions and flood risk: A former council member who spoke during the workshop urged continuing restrictions on illegal garage conversions, citing historic flood vulnerability and the practical problems created when garages are converted to living space.

- Design standards and color palettes: Commissioners and council members discussed options for objective design standards (for example, an approved palette of earth tones and wood tones) paired with a discretionary path for more unusual or culturally distinct color choices. Delaney Garlick and other consultants described a hybrid approach: developers and business owners could follow an administrative, objective pathway if they choose common palettes, or pursue planning-commission review for more idiosyncratic designs.

- Zoning map clarifications and overlays: Participants suggested refining the zoning map to reflect the city’s “central commercial” and “entryway” areas and urged consideration of overlay districts for specific corridors to preserve historic character while allowing compatible growth.

- Streetscape and Caltrans jurisdiction: The consultants showed examples of reconfigured four-lane corridors converted to more pedestrian-friendly streetscapes, and staff noted that sections of the main thoroughfare are in Caltrans jurisdiction. That raises grant and design constraints because some state-funded roadway projects carry long-term conditions.

Guidance from consultants

David Mack, senior project manager for Harrison Associates, said the firm can reflect the meeting’s priorities in a revised draft: “Codify everything you would like to enforce, whether you can enforce it or not,” he said, noting that uncodified rules are harder to enforce later and that permitted uses left out of the code can create interpretive disputes.

Public process and next steps

Consultants and staff asked council members and commissioners to narrow top priorities and to submit written comment cards that were distributed at the meeting. Harrison Associates said it will consolidate the feedback, refine the draft code language and prepare materials and images for a town-hall style public meeting or charrette to solicit broader community input. Marty Brown, a city staff member who coordinated the meeting, closed the session by asking attendees to submit comment cards and saying staff would relay them to the consultant team.

No formal vote was taken during the workshop. The council and planning commission provided direction but did not adopt code text at the meeting. Staff and Harrison Associates will return with revised materials and public-engagement plans for further review.

Ending: Harrison Associates will combine the oral direction and written comment cards into a revised Title 18 draft and suggested outreach materials for a forthcoming town-hall meeting. Staff stressed the update will treat existing uses as grandfathered where required by law and that newly submitted permits would be reviewed under the updated code once adopted.