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City staff outlines Century Code fixes, clarifies accessory-structure and floodplain rules
Summary
City planning staff presented targeted Land Development Ordinance edits in a Century Code overhaul, clarifying plan-unit vesting, accessory-structure rules (including a 1,500 sq. ft. garage limit example), glazing transparency changes and floodplain definitions; staff said materials and online guidance go live Oct. 1.
City planning staff presented a package of technical corrections and clarifications to the Land Development Ordinance tied to the Century Code overhaul, telling the council the package is intended to correct omissions and inconsistent language left from the multi-year rewrite.
Ned Noel, the presenting staff member, told the council the amendments make explicit that vested rights tied to plan-unit developments remain in effect, but that future amendments to those PUDs should be brought into conformity with the currently adopted zoning provisions. He said Chapter 3 language was revised to make clear certain rules apply specifically to residential accessory structures and called out an example correction to a dimensional table noting, "In no case shall we have a garage... over 1,500 square feet," to keep detached structures scaled to principal houses.
Noel also described changes to transparency/glazing rules in downtown mixed-use areas (removing a strict 100% transparency requirement to allow spandrel glass where appropriate) and said the city re-inserted a missing flag-lot provision into the subdivision chapter. On floodplain language he said the city worked with the Department of Natural Resources to clarify lowest-floor elevation standards so non-habitable lowest floors could be used for parking or garage space in certain downtown buildings.
Staff said the planning commission recommended the clarification amendments and that the city will publish a set of instruction sheets and online checklists for developers and the public to ease the transition; Noel told the council that the new guidance and portal content are scheduled to go live Oct. 1. No members of the public spoke during the hearing on these specific code cleanup items.
