Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Zoning Ordinance Update topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Study session reviews Milpitas comprehensive zoning ordinance draft; focus on organization, parking and streamlined review
Summary
City staff and consultants presented a public‑review draft of a comprehensive zoning ordinance update, proposing a reorganization into a new Title 13, updated use tables, modest parking reductions tied to multimodal measures, and streamlined permit levels; the Planning Commission provided feedback on clarity, parking, and enforcement.
City planning staff and consultants presented a public‑review draft of a comprehensive zoning ordinance update to the Milpitas Planning Commission and asked for feedback on the document and key policy changes.
Holly Pearson, project manager for the comprehensive zoning ordinance update, said the update shifts zoning regulations into a new Title 13, modernizes definitions and land‑use categories, and reorganizes the code into five parts to improve usability. Consultant Jen Murillo of Lisa Wise Consulting walked commissioners through the draft ordinance and map, describing objectives to promote compact mixed‑use and transit‑oriented development where appropriate while protecting single‑family neighborhoods.
Murillo said the draft includes consolidated land‑use tables, clarified permit levels that in some cases reduce discretionary review for selected uses, and a moderate reduction in minimum parking standards intended to be consistent with state law and the city’s climate goals. The draft adds more explicit bicycle parking requirements, alternative parking strategies (for example, car‑share and electric vehicle charging), and a mandatory transportation demand management (TDM) requirement for projects that meet defined thresholds. The update also introduces objective single‑family design standards for new construction, revised sign and landscaping sections, and new procedures such as a minor deviations process and a temporary use permit.
Commissioners asked detailed questions about implementation and enforcement. Several commissioners sought clarification about whether reduced parking minimums count covered versus uncovered spaces and whether driveways would be treated as meeting parking requirements; consultant Murillo and staff said the draft treats required covered parking as a minimum for many housing types but that details could be refined in response to feedback. Commissioners asked how the TDM measures will be enforced and whether the city must add staff or a transportation‑management entity; staff said the draft makes TDM mandatory for projects that meet thresholds and that the initial strategy is to place compliance documentation responsibilities on applicants while staff monitors and refines enforcement as the program matures.
Commissioners also asked about the relationship between the zoning update and the separate Housing Opportunity District (HOD) project; planning staff said the HOD work is geographically focused and was developed separately but that both efforts implement the general plan and are not in conflict. Staff noted the public‑review draft was published on December 18 and that the public comment period remains open through March 7; staff will compile comments, revise the draft, and return it to the Planning Commission for a recommendation to City Council, with a Council study session planned for March 4.
No formal action was required or taken at the study session. Staff encouraged commissioners and members of the public to use virtual office hours and the project website (milpitaszoningupdate.org) to submit detailed feedback.
