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Planning Commission Meeting – Zoning and Subdivision Ordinance Revisions – Work Session #3 – July 9, 2025 6 Planned Unit Developments – The “General Purpose” statement for PUDs makes it clear that the City is willing to consider flexibility in zoning standards in exchange for aspects of the proposal that further the goals of the City’s Comprehensive Plan. However, there is no language to h elp guide staff, the Planning Commission, or the City Council in how to evaluate how much flexibility is being granted and what public benefit is being obtained in return. HKGi recommends developing a list of the public benefits the City would desire when considering relaxing certain standards. In addition, the code requires approved PUDs to be mapped onto the City’s zoning map and this has not been done. Comprehensive Plan amendments – No significant comments or concerns Variances – No significant comments or concerns. The provision to temporarily allow the use of a one - family dwelling as a two-family dwelling should be removed as it serves as a use variance which is not allowed by State statute. Site plan review – HKGi recommends the conditions under which site plan review is required be revisited to ensure the City’s goals are being met. Currently, site plan review is required for a new building, changes to parking, or significant site modification within the Multiple Dwelling zoning district or any business or industrial zoning district. To ensure good planning and site design, HKGi recommends revising the requirements to reflect the types of development that should trigger site plan review rather than simply relying on the zoning districts in which they are located. Additionally, criteria for review should be developed to ensure approvals or denials are not being made subjectively, but based on sound rationale. HKGi has noted that for many zoning districts (Neighborhood Business, General Business, Service Business, Civic Center, I FLEX, Gateway Business) a conditional use permit or a PUD is required for any new construction, redevelopment, or significant modifications, superseding the permissions listed in the land use table. This seems unnecessarily burdensome and adds time and money to the process in most situations. Best practice is to clearly define which uses are allowed by right without the need for a pubic review process and to process them accordingly, reserving the more extensive reviews for uses that truly have the potential for generating impacts to surrounding properties. All amendments to site plans, conditional use permits, interim use permits, and PUDs are processed in the same manner as a new application. HKGi has found that for some minor modifications, it is more efficient to allow staff to approve an amendment admini stratively, or to move a lesser amendment forward for City Council consideration without going through a full public hearing process. Thresholds may be established to help determine when an amendment to a PUD, for example, can be handled administratively and when it rises to the level of either a minor or major amendment. QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION • Where are there currently bottlenecks and challenges with the review and consideration of land use applications?