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Commission reviews proposed zoning districts and hillside/grading ordinance; staff to refine exceptions and footnotes
Summary
Planning consultant presented three new zoning districts and a grading/hillside conservation ordinance limiting lot grading and requiring connected open space; commissioners asked for clearer footnotes on minimum lot thresholds and reworded exemptions before the draft LDRs return for public hearings.
City planning consultants presented proposed land‑development regulations that would add three zoning districts (Residential Country Estate; Residential Estate; and Planned Development/Conservation Subdivision) and a grading and hillside conservation ordinance intended to protect natural contours.
Tara Salmeri of Plan Active Studio described standards including minimum lot areas and setbacks, a 20% maximum lot coverage example for an acre, and conservation subdivision criteria that would require 50% of gross acreage to be preserved with perpetual protection and connectivity of open space. Salmeri also said grading standards would limit elevation changes to 10 feet for subdivisions and to 15 feet for nonresidential site development and include 100‑foot buffers from roadways and adjoining rural lands in some contexts.
Commissioners pressed staff to clarify several drafting points: the Residential Country Estate section included a 10,000‑square‑foot minimum that conflicted with intent, several footnotes need clearer application to principal structures versus accessory/agricultural uses, and exceptions in section 612.7A (grading exemptions) should not create loopholes that allow developers to circumvent hillside protections via piecemeal lot applications. Salmeri agreed to reword the exceptions, add clarifying footnotes and math checks, and return the full LDR package for first and second readings and public hearings.
