ZCC reviews code recommendations from Council; homes in on final issues

ZCC Special Session

At a special session of the Zoning Code Commission, chairman Alan Greenberger led a discussion about City Council Resolution No. 110741, which recommends 40 amendments to the draft zoning code. The commission focused on responses to 21 recommendations that had not been previously considered by the full group. The goal was to gain acceptance for as many responses as possible in order to prepare a final report by November 9 and keep the code on target for adoption in 2011. The ZCC was able to narrow the list of unresolved issues to six. The ZCC Work Plan Committee and the City Council zoning subcommittee will continue to work together to address concerns related to home occupations, group medical practices, existing overlay districts, group living, sky plane provisions, and uses in parks and open space.  

Commission members are confident that none of the remaining issues will prevent the code from being approved by City Council. ZCC member and Councilman Bill Green agreed. “Council has had a very good working relationship with the Work Plan Committee this past month and we’ve made tremendous progress,” Green said. “We are hard-pressed to find any recommendation that gets in the way of the broader mission of the ZCC – producing a clear, transparent, predictable code that allows development.” Councilman Frank DiCicco added that although the resolution passed Council with a unanimous vote, some issues may need to be re-explained if the ZCC proposes a different change or remedy.

The ZCC could not reach immediate consensus on the remaining six issues, which will be discussed in further detail over than next two weeks. The commission wants to avoid the unintended consequence of regulating methadone clinics that could put up barriers to community wellness centers and clinics, for example, so did not fully accept Council’s recommendation. In the case of sky plane, some ZCC members agree with Council that the economic impacts of the provisions have not been fully tested, while others think the new massing requirements are a powerful and well-reasoned tool that will increase design opportunity. And existing safeguards against oversaturation of uses and uses that may be deemed a nuisance must be maintained in a way that does not discriminate or undermine revitalization efforts.

The timeframe for resolving these issues is tight. The ZCC must take a final vote on the amended draft of the code at its next regularly scheduled meeting on November 9. City Council must then introduce the code and master ordinance on November 17 so that a public hearing on the final report can be held December 5 and a final action by City Council can take place on December 15, the last session in 2011.

To view the October 26 PowerPoint presentation on changes, click here.