Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Udo Native Invasive topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commission schedules UDO consultant presentation; native/invasive plant rules may be tweaked
Summary
Staff told commissioners that UDO consultants (Inspire) will present findings on native/invasive plant rules at the Aug. 24 meeting and that consultants suggested adjusting nursery letter requirements and canopy/percentage calculations; staff and commissioners discussed a projected March 2027 wrap‑up for the UDO work.
Planning staff told the commission that consultants working on the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) will return on Aug. 24 with a peer‑review presentation, including recommendations for the native/invasive plant ordinance and other zoning text amendments.
Staff said the consultant review had identified provisions that may be too broad or legally difficult to implement and offered concrete alternatives. "She mentioned that the letters, from a from a actual nursery to say that we don't have those particular plantings here, it was a little bit broad and too heavy to place on a business," staff reported. As an example, the consultant suggested changing certain numerical requirements (for example, adjusting a 60 percent threshold down to 50 percent and allowing multiple smaller trees to meet canopy requirements) to achieve the same landscape goals without imposing unduly burdensome criteria on property owners.
Commissioners also discussed timeline expectations. The commission heard that, based on the consultant's presentation to council, the UDO work could be wrapped up by March 2027. "Based on what they have communicated so far to city council was that this would be wrapped up by March 2027," one commissioner said during the meeting. Staff noted the comprehensive plan adoption is due in June 2027, so completing the UDO by March would allow code changes to follow the plan.
Staff said consultants are preparing data, trend analysis and use tables intended to simplify future zoning determinations. Commissioners asked that consultant recommendations be brought back for commission review so the commission can decide whether to send proposed edits to council.
