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Planning commission reviews draft zoning-code update, previews public draft and potential fall public hearing
Summary
Staff and consultant HKGI presented a draft update to Farmington City's zoning code (Title 10), proposing new downtown districts (DR, DC, DE), parking and screening rules, and a reorganization of the code; staff aims to release a public draft end of June and hold a hearing in August or September.
Farmington City planning staff and consultant HKGI presented a progress update June 9 on a proposed zoning-code update focused on Title 10 (zoning). The project is intended to align zoning districts with long-range planning objectives and prepare for the 2050 comprehensive plan.
Beth Richmond of HKGI outlined the scope: the update is not a full code rewrite but focuses on zoning districts, technical edits, development standards and procedures. Staff plans a public draft release toward the end of June and tentatively discussed an August public hearing for adoption — commissioners suggested September could improve public participation.
Key draft changes presented include restructuring downtown into three districts — DR (downtown residential), DC (downtown core) and DE (downtown expansion) — and proposed standards for DE intended to allow limited commercial expansion while protecting existing residential areas. Proposed DE dimensional standards include a minimum non-residential lot area of roughly 19,000 square feet and a minimum apartment-lot area of about 30,000 square feet; a build-to requirement would pull 60% of frontage close to the street to foster walkability.
Beth also described downtown parking and screening proposals: a baseline of two parking spaces for all uses in DE, a mechanism to reduce parking demand for non-residential uses that calculate more than five spaces (applicants could provide 50% of calculated spaces and count on-street frontage spaces), and screening requirements that call for a six-foot opaque fence for parking areas within 15 feet of shared residential property lines or full opaque screening where buildings sit within 30 feet.
Staff said other changes include moving Highway 3 and Spruce Street overlay standards into a general building design chapter that would apply to new multi-unit residential, mixed-use and non-residential development, as well as technical updates for electric-vehicle infrastructure, accessory structures, industrial screening, parking and wetland standards. Beth described a code reorganization from six chapters to 12 to improve usability.
Commissioners discussed notice language for potential rezonings and emphasized the importance of clearly explaining to residents that a rezoning notice does not require property owners to change current uses. Staff explained some rezonings will await alignment with the adopted 2050 comprehensive plan; others can proceed under the existing 2040 plan where consistent.
