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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — OCTOBER 28, 2024 2 Jason Zimmerman said as part of Phase 1, HKGi provided an introduction and overview to the City Council at a work session; met with City staff to discuss their recent experiences working with the zoning code; toured the city; and reviewed plans, studies, and documents related to zoning and development. This provided the consultants with an understanding of the structure and application of the existing zoning and subdivision regulations. In Phase 2, HGKi mapped the zoning districts to help assess their consistency with the adopted land use plan; reviewed the existing zoning code; and evaluated the overall structure and organization. Members of the City Council and Planning Commission were provided an opportunity to take an online survey to share their thoughts about the current code and issues related to development. The City of Arden Hills sought a review and update of the zoning and subdivision chapters of its City Code to remove inconsistencies, improve formatting, review standards, insert illustrative graphics, and explore new ideas and City Council priorities for inclusion. Upon evaluation, HKGi identified eight areas to be addressed as part of the update project: 1. Restructure code for better access to information. 2. Simplify code for ease of use: remove repetitive language, add illustrations, create tables in place of text, etc. 3. Address missing or dated provisions. 4. Eliminate infrequently used zoning districts and consolidate similar ones. 5. Modify site dimension standards to reduce common variance requests. 6. Add options to address a lack of missing middle housing. 7. Incorporate standards to respond to new trends and technologies such as EV charging, reduced parking requirements, sustainable and resilient design and construction, etc. 8. Streamline processes for review of land use development proposals. Kendra Ellner said the current structure of the zoning chapter has become less organized and more challenging to work with as it has been amended over time. Similar types of information are segregated into different sections of the code, and a lack of hierarchy makes finding requirements quickly difficult. An Appendix contains specific procedures and application requirements for various land use approvals. The Subdivision Chapter contains six sections and is generally well - structured. HGKi recommends creating new sections specifically to cover Park Dedication and Definitions so that this information can be found more quickly and easily by City staff and the public. The Zoning chapter contains 16 sections, and there is a lack of organization or hierarchy. HKGi recommends rearranging the order to allow the code to logically build from the base districts up through the more detailed aspects of use and performance standards, ending with administration and procedures. Definitions should be in its own section for easier reference. The update will not address or modify the newer Section 1380, which covers the TCAAP Redevelopment Code. Throughout the subdivision and zoning chapters, language is repeated in different sections, adding to the length of the text and de-emphasizing the important information that may be buried within other standards. The codes lack simple and effective illustrations and tables that can also help reduce the amount of text used to describe various requirements. Information that is currently provided as text may be better shared through tables or charts. All these changes make the codes