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City Council Work Session — Zoning and Subdivision Ordinance Diagnosis — October 28, 2024 Add Housing Options Along with many other communities in the Twin Cities metro area, Arden Hills is facing pressures around housing and the lack of options in housing types, including affordable options. At least three goals from two chapters of the 2040 Comprehensive Plan call out the need for new approaches to housing. The existing Land Use Chart is limited in the types of housing that are defined and permitted. It also limits the districts in which housing that is more intense than one- or two-family dwellings is allowed. Expanding the number of housing types and the districts in which they are permitted would help address this issue, as identified in some responses to the survey taken by members of the City Council and Planning Commission. Respond to New Trends and Technologies As part of the request for proposals for the code update project, the City's asked for recommendations on land use or development standards that are missing from the current ordinances or that should be modernized to reflect new market trends and technologies. Items such as planning for electric vehicles, revisiting existing minimum parking requirements, considering complete streets policies, and embracing sustainable/green construction practices have been identified. HKGi is looking to the City for direction on prioritization and the addition of any other topics for investigation. Streamline Review Processes Arden Hills utilizes a Land Use Chart to document which uses are allowed in each zoning district, and to indicated if they are permitted by right, permitted conditionally through a Conditional Use Permit (CUP), permitted through a Planned Unit Development (PUD) process, permitted on an interim basis, or prohibited. A high number of uses (58%) are only allowed after they have received a CUP. In addition to creating barriers to development by adding time, money, and procedures to the approval process, the potential to have the City deny a CUP request upon the conclusion of the process may make some applicants reluctant to seek approval, thereby stifling investment. Adjusting the way in which uses are permitted — moving from "permitted conditionally" to "permitted with standards" or even simply to "permitted" — would help streamline the process for those seeking permits, for City staff, and for the members of the Planning Commission and City Council. To further complicate matters, the specific special requirements for up to ten zoning districts require land use applications for many uses to be reviewed through a CUP or PUD process (or both), even though the Land Use Chart indicates many uses are permitted by right. The discrepancies between the 4