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Petaluma planning commission begins study session on comprehensive zoning code update
Summary
Petaluma planning staff briefed commissioners on a comprehensive update to the implementing zoning ordinance (IZO), linking the work to the general plan, housing element and climate blueprint; commissioners prioritized consolidating PUDs/PCDs, batching updates, and clearer community engagement.
Petaluma Planning Commission held a study session on Jan. 27 to solicit nonbinding feedback on a comprehensive update to the city's implementing zoning ordinance (IZO), staff said.
Heather Hines, the city's Special Projects Manager, told the commission the IZO "implements the general plan" and has remained largely unchanged since 2008, leaving gaps and ambiguities that the update aims to correct. "So we are here tonight to talk about the zoning code update," Hines said, summarizing the staff's goals to modernize definitions, improve usability and ensure consistency with state law.
Planning Manager Andrew Bridal summarized national zoning trends that have shifted away from strict Euclidean separation of uses toward form- and performance-based approaches and said Petaluma's update should support housing, climate action and economic vitality while improving predictability for applicants. "As Heather mentioned, we're long overdue for a comprehensive update," Bridal said.
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