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Commission reviews Module 2 of zoning rewrite and hears staff departure announcement
Summary
Commissioners received Module 2 of the zoning ordinance rewrite and flash-survey results showing public interest; staff set an outreach schedule (open house Jan. 14, workshop Jan. 15) and said final draft presentation is planned for March–April with adoption targeted for May–June. Staff also announced Enrique will leave Dec. 19.
City planning staff presented results of a recent public "flash" survey and introduced Module 2 of a comprehensive rewrite of Bedford’s zoning ordinance at the Dec. 11 Planning and Zoning Commission meeting.
Staff member Wes summarized survey outreach — he said the flash survey went to roughly 500 recipients and returned a strong level of interest in zoning issues. Wes described Module 2 as the section covering design standards (building design, parking lot regulations, tree preservation and an approved/prohibited plant list), development-review bodies and procedures, nonconformities, enforcement and penalties, and definitions and word usage; an appendix will include the plant list. "This section is the fun section to read," Wes told commissioners, noting that chapter 4 will include design standards and chapter 8 will cover enforcement.
Wes outlined the near-term public-engagement schedule: an open house on Jan. 14 and a workshop on Jan. 15 to review Module 2 in detail; commissioners were asked to provide most of their review before those dates so the consultant (Kinda Keyes) and staff can incorporate comments. He said staff aims to present a final draft to the public in March or April, with adoption targeted for May or June but cautioned the adoption window could be aggressive given necessary legal review and cleanup.
Commissioners asked about coordination with the Beautification Committee on the plant list and about whether the existing overlay districts would be removed as part of the rewrite; Wes said he will invite the committee’s staff liaison and provide the plant list for review, and that overlay removal is a policy decision for the council that the commission will discuss before final action. Staff also said it intends to provide a cleaner downloadable draft after early drafts are finalized so commissioners can more easily see changes.
Near the end of the meeting, Wes announced that Enrique will be leaving the planning staff and that his last day will be Dec. 19. Commissioners thanked Enrique for his service and for preparing clear case packets during his tenure.
The Commission did not take a formal vote on the zoning ordinance at this meeting; it set outreach dates and asked commissioners to review Module 2 ahead of the January public events.
