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Board adopts 1st Street Overlay District with reduced stepback to balance fire access and downtown form
Summary
After public comment and lengthy deliberation, trustees adopted Ordinance 8‑86 on second reading, setting a 35‑foot maximum building height and lowering the 3rd‑floor stepback to 6 feet (measured from the façade) to address emergency access while advancing downtown form standards.
The Board of Trustees adopted Ordinance 8‑86 establishing the 1st Street Overlay District (FSOD) with modifications to previously drafted standards. Staff framed the ordinance as a legislative tool to implement the Downtown Subarea Plan — setting lot coverage, front/rear yard standards, pedestrian realm and facade articulation rules — and highlighted two contested elements: maximum building height and the 3rd‑floor stepback. Planning Commission Chair Reese urged trustees to pass the ordinance, noting the long public process and hundreds of engagements: "It took 2 years to get this overlay district... We had 334 separate citizen engagements... We did the 2 years' worth of work," he said.
Fire Chief Schmidtman explained practical constraints for ladder placement in the existing 1st Street right‑of‑way and supported a reduced stepback for safety: "the reason for the 6 foot setback is so we can have ladder placement and our ladder can actually reach the the Top Floor..." After trustee deliberation weighing design goals and operational realities, Trustee Larson moved (with a second) to adopt Ordinance 8‑86 on second reading with modifications setting building height to 35 feet and a 3rd‑floor stepback of 6 feet; the motion passed 3–2 (three yes, two no). The ordinance will be finalized by staff to reflect the board's direction.
