Cathedral City begins development code update; consultants outline schedule, outreach

Cathedral City held a study session Feb. 26 to begin a comprehensive update of its development code, the regulatory document that implements the city's 2021 general plan and shapes land use, design and development review.

The update's consultant team, Minteer Harnish, told the City Council the project is in an evaluation phase and that a zoning diagnosis report will be released in the next month. Brent Givens, principal planner with Minteer Harnish, said the update will cover zoning districts, use regulations, design and development standards, administrative procedures and required environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act. "This evaluation phase usually takes 2 to 3 months," Givens said, describing the study and outreach schedule.

The update matters because the zoning and development code are the implementation tools for the general plan adopted in February 2021; they determine what can be built, where and how. The consultants said the code will both implement City policy and aim to be more user-friendly for applicants and staff while remaining consistent with state law.

Givens said the process is intended to be community driven. He outlined an outreach schedule that includes a community workshop on March 13 and a series of design-oriented walking tours the following…