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Council schedules workshop with planning board to refine special-use permit criteria in zoning code
Summary
Council agreed to hold a workshop with the planning board to resolve specificity gaps in proposed objective criteria for special-use permits (Chapter 18.16.040), including buffers, setbacks and aquifer protections.
The council discussed proposed changes to Chapter 18.16.040 that would add objective criteria for uses requiring special-use permits. Planning staff and councilors identified several areas needing clearer, measurable standards — for example, the depth of landscape buffers adjacent to residences, measurable setbacks for cemeteries and wells, and how special-use criteria should interface with the APOD ordinance for aquifer protections.
Councilors and planning-board members argued for making requirements explicit to avoid ad-hoc, arbitrary decisions during permit review. Planning staff said much of the language was intended as 'food for thought' and that changes could be refined through public hearings and a workshop. One councilor asked that minimum lot sizes be re-examined and that planning staff craft specific metrics for buffers and screening.
The council voted to schedule a joint workshop with the planning board to continue work on chapter 18.16.040 and to consolidate advertising for future public hearings to reduce costs. Staff indicated the advertisement for the public hearing would be combined with other zoning amendments to avoid multiple ad costs.
Council asked staff to prepare the next draft with greater specificity and to present it at the workshop for detailed review.
