Truckee planning staff propose new mixed-use zoning, debate centers on required residential and 'handcraft' use limits

Town planning staff on March 12 presented a first-round package of development-code amendments meant to implement the town's recently adopted 2040 General Plan, including two new mixed-use zoning districts (Corridor Mixed Use, or CMU, and Neighborhood Mixed Use, or NMU), zoning-map adjustments and multiple cleanup changes.

The proposals aim to increase infill housing and mixed uses along Donner Pass Road and other commercial corridors while preserving neighborhood-serving commerce in residential areas. Staff said CMU would allow horizontal or vertical mixed use with higher density ranges (in some subareas 12'24 units/acre; elsewhere 6—8 units/acre). NMU was drawn to create neighborhood centers on the West Side of Donner Lake with lower residential density (6— units/acre) and was described as intended to require mixed use and retain neighborhood commercial services.

Major areas of council debate

Should residential be required in Corridor Mixed Use? Staff asked whether new mixed-use development should be required to include a residential component. Several council members favored flexibility and opposed a mandatory residential requirement for every CMU development, arguing that some uses…