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Staff releases working draft of BelRed ‘Look Forward’ LUCA; commissioners press for walkability, arts incentives and housing flexibility
Summary
City staff released a working draft of the BelRed "Look Forward" land‑use code amendment (LUCA), emphasizing a consolidated mixed‑use district, a revised local‑streets approach, an amenity incentive system (including a mandatory affordable housing component) and incentives for affordable commercial and arts uses; commissioners sought clearer street and pedestrian details and stronger protections for arts and stream daylighting.
City staff presented a working draft of the BelRed "Look Forward" land‑use code amendment (LUCA) at the Jan. 14 Planning Commission study session and summarized phase‑1 outreach findings and next steps. Staff said the working draft was released Dec. 31 and will be refined through phase‑2 engagement with targeted stakeholder meetings, an in‑person open house in February, and a revised draft expected in March.
Nick, the city’s code and policy assistant director, and planning manager Christina described key components of the draft: consolidation of mixed‑use land‑use districts (drawing from the Wilburton approach), updated local‑street guidance that limits the number of mandatory publicly dedicated streets while keeping block‑size limits and requiring pedestrian connections, and a restructured amenity incentive system intended to be simpler and more outcome‑driven than the current tier system.
Christina said the draft includes a mandatory affordable‑housing requirement modeled on Wilburton (a baseline example is 10% of rental units at 80% AMI, with options including deeper affordability, on‑site/off‑site provision or fee‑in‑lieu) and noted that staff are coordinating with the Office of Housing and an updated affordable‑housing nexus study. "We are recommending moving forward with one mandatory affordable housing concept," Christina said.
Staff also described a new "affordable commercial" concept to preserve small, locally serving businesses and a proposed vetting and rent‑cap approach to keep certain ground‑floor commercial spaces affordable. The draft also seeks to incentivize costly public benefits such as stream daylighting by allowing them to take precedence in the amenity scoring where appropriate.
Public commenters and several commissioners emphasized arts, walkability and pedestrian connectivity. Bridal Gossavan of Theatre 33 told the commission the land‑use and zoning decisions matter to arts organizations’ long‑term viability: "When the land use policy supports arts‑intensive development, it sends a clear message that creativity is not an afterthought but a core civic value." Commissioners asked staff for clearer graphics showing cross sections and station walk‑sheds, and requested a deeper dive on private‑street typologies, the tradeoffs for interim streets, and examples of how stream daylighting can be prioritized without undermining other arts or affordability goals.
On parking, staff noted the council initiated parking reform and that state law already sets minimums (for example, 0 spaces for housing within a half‑mile of light rail), and staff are exploring going beyond the state minimums in transit‑rich areas. Staff said the affordable housing nexus study would be posted by the end of the month and further feasibility and economic analyses will inform later drafts.
Next steps: staff will continue phase‑2 outreach (including developer and business deep dives and an open house), post the nexus study, and return with a revised draft in March for more detailed review and eventual council action.
