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Consultant outlines 12–18 month plan to rewrite Charlestown zoning and subdivision ordinances
Summary
Michael Baker International project manager Troy Truax told council the firm will perform due diligence, draft hybrid form-based zoning and a subdivision code, and conduct advisory-committee outreach; staff and council will need to appoint committee members to begin the 12–18 month process.
Troy Truax, project manager for Michael Baker International, presented the firm’s scope for a comprehensive rewrite of Charlestown’s zoning and subdivision ordinances, saying the work would include a forensic audit of existing code, district mapping and a public outreach process.
"When we get into your ordinance writing, we're going to overhaul, we're going to get in, work with staff to actually look at where the problem areas are," Truax said, describing a hybrid, form‑based approach that calibrates districts by the form and function of the built environment. He said the firm typically sequences zoning first, then subdivision, and that the full enactment process can take 12–18 months.
Truax reviewed tools and visuals Michael Baker uses—graphics, transect diagrams and illustrative standards designed to reduce ambiguity in use definitions—and recommended working closely with the city solicitor and an advisory committee the council appoints. Councilors asked whether form‑based options (e.g., Euclidean vs. transect-based zoning) would be considered; Truax said a hybrid model is his firm’s standard practice and that committees and public outreach inform final choices.
Council moved to appoint two council members to the advisory committee and discussed sequencing the kickoff meeting once committee membership is resolved; no final kickoff date was set at the meeting.
