Garden City adopts major rewrite of Planned Unit Development code

Garden City—s City Council on June 23 approved Ordinance 10-56-25, a comprehensive overhaul of the city—s Planned Unit Development (PUD) code that officials said will make PUD review shorter, clearer and more objective.

City legal counsel Charles Wadhams told the council the rewrite repeals and replaces provisions across Title 8 of the Garden City code, consolidates and shortens ordinance titles and reduces the number of required findings for a PUD to five objective criteria meant to be answered yes or no. Wadhams recommended several scrivener and clarifying amendments for third reading.

Supporters on the council said the rewrite pares back duplicative findings and closes loopholes that had allowed applicants to use PUD procedures solely to seek variances. "The PUD process shall not be used solely for obtaining variances," Wadhams said as an explicit clarification added to the code. He also described new sections covering accessory dwelling units (ADUs), multifamily and mixed-use standards, property-maintenance requirements and added definitions for terms such as "enhanced improvements" and "private open space."

Council members emphasized the code—s objective criteria. One councilmember said the new structure makes it easier for staff and decision-makers to write findings of fact without navigating 13 or 14 separate findings as in the prior code. The ordinance also includes a life-safety provision requested by the police department: certain large nonresidential developments with secured common corridors will be required to provide a Knox box or equivalent approved by the Garden City Police Department.

The council moved for a third reading and adoption as amended and approved both motions by roll call. The ordinance summary, as read into the record, notes the code change spans chapter and article reorganizations across Title 8 and provides an effective date in the ordinance text.

The council record shows the third reading and the subsequent motion to adopt and publish passed by roll call; the council also approved related clerical amendments Wadhams recommended. Wadhams told the council the rewrites reflected staff recommendations and stakeholder input gathered during the review process.

What happens next: the ordinance goes into effect on the date specified in the ordinance summary and will replace the prior PUD and minor PUD provisions across the code. Councilmembers and staff said they expect the clearer findings and reorganized sections to streamline future PUD applications and reduce contested variance requests.