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Piedmont staff previews narrower commercial-use list and CUP reforms to support by‑right mixed-use housing
Summary
Staff proposed changes to streamline conditional-use permitting, delegate CUP decisions to the planning commission with council appeals, and identify a curated list of by-right commercial uses in Zone D to enable ministerial review for mixed‑use housing under state law; council debated definitions, chains vs. local businesses and a 'call-up' provision for council review.
Planning staff outlined proposed revisions to Chapter 17 to streamline conditional use permit (CUP) processing and to designate specific commercial uses in Zone D as permitted by right to support mixed-use residential development consistent with state housing law.
"To comply with housing element program 4 m, staff recommends designating a few commercial uses as permitted by right in Zone D," a staff presenter said, explaining the change is intended to allow certain mixed-use projects to be processed ministerially under objective standards. Staff also recommended delegating CUP decision authority to the planning commission while preserving an appeal pathway to council and a call‑up provision allowing a council member to request review. The staff presentation summarized a citywide survey (640 respondents; about 85% live within a 10-minute walk of Zone D) showing strong community interest in restaurants, cafes and retail and opposition to liquor stores.
Council members pressed staff on the scope of permitted uses, how to define retail and cafes, whether to disfavor chain stores versus locally owned businesses, and incentives to attract desired ground-floor uses. Staff said the next steps are to craft a curated permitted-uses list, draft performance standards, continue community engagement and return code amendments for formal review.
