Planning staff proposes impact‑based 'use table' to simplify commercial zoning categories

Planning staff presented a conceptual 'use table' and flowchart to consolidate roughly 83 existing uses into impact-oriented categories—such as consumer-facing commercial (small/medium/large), general commercial, vehicle-focused commercial, accommodations, and transit-required uses—to make the Land Development Regulations easier to apply and more responsive to scale and place.

Staff (S3) said the approach is intended to regulate by likely impacts rather than by a long list of individual uses. "The idea is that if you have fewer uses that are more encompassing and more focused on the impacts, then things can come and go more easily without site plan review," staff said. Commissioners raised practical questions about adaptive reuse, accommodations (hotel vs. bed-and-breakfast), and how to permit late‑night or 'off-hours' businesses without excluding neighborhood-serving venues. Several commissioners recommended coupling use definitions with node-based boundaries and size/time sliders so smaller neighborhood establishments remain allowed without permitting large, late-night venues in residential areas.

Staff said the exercise will require clear definitions and that the next round of drafting will refine scales, thresholds, and exceptions for unique uses that don't easily fit the clusters (for example, waste transfer stations). The commission supported continued work and asked for mapping and examples to accompany definitions at future meetings.