Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Land Use Planning topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commission backs staff to proceed with TND and TOD code updates, including a 'Main Street' option
Summary
Growth Management recommended simplifying phasing rules, relaxing some vertical mixed‑use requirements, clarifying glazing and setback rules, and piloting an optional 'Main Street' main‑spine approach; the board voted to have staff proceed with drafting the code amendments and return for ordinance advertising.
Christine Bersh, Development Review Manager with Growth Management, reviewed proposed clarifications to the county’s Traditional Neighborhood Development (TND) and Transit‑Oriented Development (TOD) regulations. Staff said the proposals respond to stakeholder feedback and to findings in a recent Urban3 analysis that denser, walkable mixed‑use patterns produce higher tax revenue per acre and are more fiscally sustainable.
Key staff proposals included simplifying phasing rules to focus on infrastructure triggers rather than detailed percentages of uses; expanding the types of small "minor changes" that can be delegated to staff (DRC); removing the strict requirement for vertical mixed‑use in favor of form‑based flexibility while still encouraging multi‑story scale; clarifying glazing (first‑floor window) requirements for residential uses; allowing some stormwater basins to function as pedestrian amenities; and an optional "Main Street" concept that concentrates building frontage and provides separate back‑of‑house areas to accommodate large users without undermining walkability.
Commissioners and consultants asked questions about financing, the sequencing of commercial and residential uses, how block phasing would preserve walkability and utility stub‑outs, and thresholds that determine whether a project should be treated as residential‑ or nonresidential‑focused. Staff and several consultants supported a tiered approach for auto‑oriented uses (drive‑throughs) based on context and road type.
After discussion the board moved and seconded a directive for staff to proceed with the draft code amendments (items 1–10 in staff’s bulleted list), continue stakeholder engagement and return with specific language and an advertising schedule. Consultants and industry representatives who spoke in public comment generally supported the direction but asked to remain engaged during drafting.
