Roswell staff to draft unified development code, council asks for consultant and February update

Meredith, a community development staff member, told the committee she has compiled recent discussions and initial ideas for rewriting Roswell’s zoning ordinance and subdivision regulations into a unified development code that could better accommodate housing and retail patterns. “I’ve just compiled our discussion recently onto this one list,” she said, and recommended the city consider hiring a consultant to do the heavy work of organizing and drafting the full code.

Council members described the current code as dated and urged staff to prioritize attainable‑housing measures. One councilor said the zoning map needs a complete rewrite, not piecemeal amendments, and pressed for a draft to return to committee in February. Meredith agreed the list is a starting point and said she would align any zoning map changes with the new master plan.

Members raised practical design issues for older neighborhoods — parking, narrow streets and trash collection where alleys are absent — and asked staff to evaluate implications for infrastructure and enforcement. A resident during public comment also highlighted neighborhood design concerns, urging that the rewrite address safe play areas for children and trash collection logistics.

The committee did not vote on code language at this meeting; it asked staff to continue work and return with a draft and options for consultant support and potential grant funding sources to pay for consulting services.