Commission tables broad UDO edits after discussion on rooftop art, parking and riverfront event uses

The Planning Commission heard an initial staff briefing on a package of proposed updates to Chapter 16 of the City of Jenks Unified Development Ordinance (UDO). Staff described changes intended to clarify how existing nonconforming setbacks are treated, to add specific prohibitions and allowances for driveway and parking materials, and to create rules for limited rooftop art exhibits or installations.

Planner Marcee Hilton said one change would make clear that minimum setbacks in some older industrial parks continue to be governed by the original plat or PUD that created the lots (rather than imposing new setbacks on existing development). She also proposed expressly prohibiting parking on residential lawns in residential zoning districts and offering clearer material standards for parking pads and ribbon driveways. Another proposed change would allow the planning director or designee to approve site‑specific, approved three‑dimensional rooftop art installations if they meet building code and any other development standards.

A notable policy question raised during the discussion was whether the downtown/riverfront area should allow places of assembly or event venues beyond the ground floor — for example, an upper‑floor event hall atop another use. Hilton said the question required more thought: “If you wanted, a Second Floor or a Third Floor event venue on top of something else, is that an appropriate place for it?” she asked the commissioners. The staff package also proposed allowing limited surface parking between building and street for small retail or service uses (under specific landscape screening rules); two prospective applicants had expressed a desire for that flexibility.

Commissioners requested follow‑up work on several items — including clearer language on rooftop installations, screening requirements when parking is allowed between building and street, and specific material standards for older homes that might qualify for a different parking‑pad treatment. After discussion, the commission voted to table the UDO update package to allow staff to refine the proposals and return with revised language.

The vote to table was unanimous. Staff said they will return with revisions that address commissioner questions and will coordinate any policy items that cross into economic development or downtown design objectives before bringing the item back for public hearing and action.