Zoning administrator Bill Johnston outlines standards for proposed text amendment

Bill Johnston, the city's zoning administrator, outlined the criteria council members should use to evaluate a proposed zoning text amendment and noted that special-exception uses must meet a separate set of standards.

“At a minimum, ask: Is the use suitable with uses on the nearby properties? Does the property have a reasonable economic use as currently zoned? Will the proposed zoning adversely affect the use of nearby property?” Johnston said, listing the review factors council members should consider. He told the council that special exceptions are governed by a series of standards labeled in the draft text as items “a” through “t,” and that a public hearing is required for any special-exception approval.

The presentation was introductory. Clerk read the item into the record and emphasized that the discussion was for information only; no motion, amendment, or final action on the zoning text change was recorded in the transcript. The administrator also noted procedural requirements that counsels should verify — including the public-hearing requirement for special exceptions — before any final decision.

The discussion did not include specific property addresses, ordinance numbers, or a timeline for a formal public hearing. Council members did not take a recorded vote on the amendment during the portion of the meeting captured in the transcript. The next procedural steps implied by the presentation would be to schedule a public hearing and to map the draft standards to the ordinance language before any formal action is put before the council.