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Gladstone council adopts Title 17 code changes to streamline design review and comply with state law
Summary
The Gladstone City Council unanimously adopted ordinance 15‑43, updating Municipal Code Title 17 to clarify design‑review standards, move some partitions to staff review, tighten public‑notice language and add numerical lighting and irrigation standards intended to speed permitting and improve predictability for applicants.
The Gladstone City Council on Oct. 14 unanimously adopted ordinance 15‑43, amending Title 17 of the Gladstone Municipal Code to update design‑review criteria, limited‑land‑use notice procedures and partition review processes.
The changes, presented by planning contractor Heather Alston, revise how the city handles design review (including numeric standards for lighting and native, drought‑tolerant landscaping), exempt small park or publicly approved improvements, and move certain partition reviews to staff level to reduce delays, Alston said.
Councilors and staff said the goal is to make review criteria clearer and quicker to apply so applicants and decision‑makers know in advance what is required. "We wanted to make everything numerical if we could," Alston said, adding the planning commission spent months turning subjective language into measurable standards and recommended the amendments unanimously. She pointed to an example used elsewhere that limits off‑site light trespass to a maximum of one foot‑candle at a property line.
The ordinance also updates public‑notice procedures to reflect state rules for limited land‑use decisions, reducing the mailed‑notice radius from 250 feet to 100 feet for those types of actions while encouraging expanded digital notice via the city newsletter and website. Alston told the council that the 100‑foot boundary already applies in several staff‑level reviews and is the state standard for limited land uses.
Council discussion focused on community protections and implementation. Councilor questions included whether the same standards apply to private projects as to public works, how the new requirements address metal siding and fence heights, and whether the city should replace references to a county tree list with a City of Gladstone‑approved street‑tree list. Alston said the code will require a construction management plan for projects undergoing review so neighbors can see schedule, truck routes and erosion control measures.
Mayor Michael Milch closed the hearing after staff clarified that current changes do not retroactively alter existing projects and that planning commission would continue to conduct design reviews under the newly clarified standards until state law requires more staff‑level actions.
Councilor Garlington moved to approve City File TXTDash25Dash03 updating chapters 17.44, 17.46, 17.80 and 17.94 and adopting ordinance 15‑43, with a single modification updating the city tree list reference to the City of Gladstone standard. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously on a roll‑call vote.
The ordinance takes effect as provided in the text of Ordinance 15‑43; staff said updates and the planning commission’s recommendations will be available in the city packet and on the city website.
The council closed the public hearing with no public testimony recorded and directed staff to publish the staff report and the adopted text on the city’s project page.
