Staff outlines major zoning and historic-preservation rewrite; commission urged to help with outreach

City planning staff gave a comprehensive update on Aug. 11 about a substantial rewrite of zoning ordinances and the standalone historic-preservation code.

Bill Dean, the city staff liaison, said work on the ordinance paused after staff turnover but is resuming; he told the commission the team is targeting an Oct. 20 planning-and-zoning hearing and wants a property-owner meeting before Sept. 15. "We've put all this work into it…Yesterday, we made the bold statement internally that we are targeting the October 20, have a hearing at planning zone infusion," Dean said, describing a compressed timeline to finalize materials and outreach.

Dean described the project as citywide in scope — rewriting commercial zones, downtown rules and historic-preservation language — and emphasized procedural safeguards: clear findings for approvals and explicit rules about what decisions can be made at the director level versus the planning commission. He warned the commission to expect heated public comment online and urged in-person engagement: "We're gonna move forward as best we can. I care about what people think. I care about important discourse. I don't care about Facebook," he said, stressing the need to encourage residents and property owners to read materials and attend open houses.

Commissioners discussed logistics for outreach (mailings, open houses, possible Zoom options for absentee owners) and agreed staff will compile a mailing list and draft presentation materials for property owners. Staff said it will publish detailed binders, hold office hours and host open houses and property-owner meetings to explain proposed changes before the planning hearing.