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Council signals interest in modernizing zoning code; staff to draft approach and goalposts
Summary
City planning staff briefed council on how Richardson's 1956 zoning ordinance drives reliance on special permits and plan development districts; council expressed support for updating the code, set policy guardrails (goalposts) and asked staff to return with options for making more uses by-right under performance standards.
Richardson planning staff asked the City Council for policy guidance about updating the city's comprehensive zoning ordinance (CZO) to better implement the recently adopted Envision Richardson comprehensive plan.
Tina Fergens, director of development services, explained the distinction between a comprehensive plan (policy-oriented) and a zoning ordinance (regulatory) and said Richardson's current CZO (originally adopted in 1956) often forces staff and applicants to rely on special permits and custom plan development (PD) districts to accommodate modern uses and development forms. Staff presented data showing numerous special permits and PDs in the last three years and few rezone requests between existing base districts, suggesting the ordinance does not reflect contemporary development patterns.
Fergens asked three policy questions: whether the council affirms the Envision Richardson vision (adopted Nov. 2024); whether council would allow more uses by-right if the CZO contained clear performance standards (the "goalposts"); and how council weighs strict compliance with existing regulations versus promoting economic development opportunities that further the vision. Council discussion covered the scale of the rewrite, how to set goalposts (for example, drive-through separations or queuing requirements), whether certain uses (event centers, drones, smoking establishments) should remain special permit items, and how frequently the city should update code provisions to avoid 50-year stagnation.
Several councilmembers supported starting the rewrite while acknowledging it is a large undertaking; members asked staff to benchmark other modern codes, propose a phased work plan, and return with specific options. Staff said they will prepare a plan, consult model codes and special redevelopment areas the city has already used, and bring more detailed proposals and draft performance standards for council guidance.
