Richland council adopts 2022 comprehensive-plan amendments and matching zoning changes

The Richland City Council on Feb. 4 approved first-reading ordinances to adopt the 2022 comprehensive-plan amendments into the city's 2017 comprehensive plan and to amend the city's zoning code and official zoning map to match the plan updates. The council voted 6–1 on both first-reading ordinances: Mayor Richardson, Mayor Pro Tem Kent, Council members Luxon, Meyer, Witten and Van Dyke voted aye; Council member Jones voted no.

The measures bundle four docketed items from 2022: (1) an updated capital facilities map tied to the 2019–2025 parks and recreation master plan; (2) a CityView parcel rezoning proposal that would change about 10 acres from high-density residential to commercial (the Planning Commission had recommended denial); (3) a proposal from Hayden Homes to reclassify roughly 10.5 acres in the Clearwater Creek subdivision from commercial to medium-density residential and rezone from C-1 to R-2S; and (4) a roughly 13-acre amendment within the Badger Mountain subarea commonly called Tract C in Reatta Ridge, tied to concurrent updates to the Badger Mountain South Land Use and Development Regulations (LUDAR).

Mike Stevens, planning manager, explained that state law requires applications filed in a calendar year to be reviewed together, which is why the Tract C item remains bundled with the 2022 docket and why a companion contract amendment with Grama for Badger Mountain South will be brought to council at a later meeting in order to complete the second-reading consideration. Stevens said the Tract C request would remove a civic designation (originally intended as open space or civic use tied to the former golf-course plan) and reclassify those parcels as low-density residential with an R-1 12 zoning to align them with surrounding lots.

Stevens described the CityView application as a council-initiated proposal that the Planning Commission recommended denying, noting the commission concluded the parcel would be better suited for residential use. He also said the Hayden Homes application had been heard previously and that planning staff and the commission ultimately recommended approval for that item to address housing needs.

Council members questioned particulars of the Tract C request and the Hayden Homes proposal. Council member Kurt Meyer asked whether the affected area represented the only former fairway parcel that would need revisiting; Stevens said it was the only one. Council member Luxon noted the item’s prior history and that the council had previously voted it down before the 2022 docket returned it for consideration. Council member Witten asked about lot sizes for the proposed R-1 12 rezone; Stevens said the average lot would be 12,000 square feet and the smallest lot that could be created would be about 10,000 square feet.

Council member Jones said he was unsure he wanted to support the package and voted no on both ordinances during the roll calls. Both ordinances were advanced on first reading; Stevens told the council that second reading will be scheduled to coincide with the related contract amendment for Badger Mountain South to satisfy the single-public-hearing requirement for comprehensive-plan amendments.

The council’s action on the zoning ordinance will amend Richland Municipal Code Title 23 to conform the official zoning map to the adopted comprehensive-plan changes. Stevens said some items tied to the 2022 docket remain subject to additional regulatory updates that will be presented later.

What happens next: These ordinances passed first reading. Second reading and final action will be scheduled in a later meeting when the companion contract amendment for Badger Mountain South is available for concurrent consideration. No final development approvals were granted at this meeting; the ordinances advance the amendments to the next stage of council review.