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Zoning Ordinance Update Initial Process Overview <br />Economic Development Commission; 11-06-19 <br /> <br /> <br />Page 2 <br />6. The final ordinance can be formatted in a web-friendly manner to allow said regulations to be posted and <br />easily viewed on-line. <br />7. In working with the Code, staff has identified a significant number of individual issues that cannot be <br />addressed via a band-aid approach: <br />a. Some defined terms (i.e. Dog Kennel) are never used in code, while other terms that should have <br />definitions are undefined. <br />b. Some definitions make little sense. For example, the term “Highway” is defined as “the entire width <br />between the property lines of every way or place of whatever nature, other than an alley, when any part <br />thereof is open to the use of the public as a matter of right for the purposed of vehicular travel.” Per this <br />definition, we have two types of right-of-way: alleys and HIGHWAYS! Sammy Hagar would love it here! <br />c. The City cannot approve Interim uses as the tool isn’t established in the current code, and no uses have <br />been identified as being eligible for interim approval. <br />d. Zoning districts as currently written are considered “cascading” meaning a prospective business cannot <br />easily determine where in the City they can locate without looking at most/all of the commercial and <br />industrial districts. <br />e. The current organization at times puts the City in a poor legal position should it ever be challenged in <br />court. For example, the general performance standards meant to be applicable to all industrial <br />development (given how they were written) are currently listed as a subset of I-3 district requirements. <br />Anyone developing under I-1 or I-2 standards could argue the I-3 performance standards are ONLY <br />applicable to I-3 zones, and that would be a reasonable position. They could further argue that because <br />the City has NO I-3 zoned property, they had no reason to look at that section of code for guidance on <br />their I-1 use (also a reasonable argument). Bottom line, all such organizational challenges will be <br />addressed via an update process. <br />f. Some language in code is simply unintelligible and can only be rectified via a wholesale re-write. For <br />example, with regards to who reviews site plans: <br />“The plans shall be referred to the City Council except that the plans shall not be referred to the Planning <br />Commission for any site or landscape plan that does not conform to the requirements of this Section.” <br />Planners for 40+ years have read this language and have all come to the same conclusion: we have no <br />idea what is required, so site plans will just go to both the PC and Council to be sure… <br /> <br /> <br />