Council introduces PI‑zone amendment to allow hotels and increase retail cap to 30%

The Mayor and Common Council introduced Ordinance 2025‑09, a text amendment to the Planned Industrial (PI) zoning article that would add hotels as an explicit permitted use, increase the allowable acreage for local retail and service uses from 15 percent to 30 percent, and allow the Planning & Zoning Commission to approve certain PI development plan amendments related to those retail/service uses.

Zoning staff said the measure grew from prior ECDC and Planning & Zoning discussions to provide greater flexibility in PI zones and to streamline approvals for small retail/service insertions that the council previously required to come back to the legislative body. "The idea is to make this process less sporadic," said Mister Huff, describing the intent to be more business friendly. Councilmember Dayhoff expressed concern about transferring final approval authority: "I'm still uncomfortable with the percent ... that will replace the mayor and council's vision, in matters of approving amendments to the approved development," he said, and said he values elected officials retaining final review for major plan changes.

Staff and council clarified that substantial development plan amendments (for example those changing density or major uses) would still return to the Mayor and Common Council; the proposed delegation is limited to enumerated retail/service uses listed under the ordinance and capped acreage. The council voted to introduce the ordinance and referred it to the Planning & Zoning Commission for review and recommendation.