Agenda

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Item # 1.

Council Meeting

Meeting Date:	04/27/2021
Department:	Development Services
Pillars:	Innovation in Entrepreneurship & Business
Milestones:	Leverage Airport assets to maximize business growth and expansion

AGENDA CAPTION:

Present and Discuss a Completion Plan for the Unified Development Code Project.

BACKGROUND:

Beginning in Fiscal Year 2018, the City Council's Strategic Plan included a milestone to review Town ordinances and regulations to modernize them and facilitate redevelopment. To address this strategic need, the Town engaged Clarion Associates in June 2018 to review the Town’s current development regulations and to create a new Unified Development Code (UDC) shaped by a robust public review process.

The UDC drafting and review process is comprised of four code drafting phases, a testing phase, and public review and adoption of the consolidated UDC document. The four code drafting phases are:

Zoning Districts and Uses
Development and Design Standards
Administration and Procedures
Signs and Communication Facilities

Following kickoff of the project in the summer of 2018, the project team initiated a thorough review of the Town’s existing zoning and development regulations, which ultimately culminated in the Development Regulations Assessment Report. This report was shaped by initial feedback received during the first UDC Advisory Committee meeting and through additional engagement with Town staff. The Development Regulations Assessment Report was formally presented in March 2019 at the second UDC Advisory Committee meeting, a subsequent community workshop, and a joint meeting of the City Council and Planning and Zoning Commission.

After receiving feedback on the Assessment Report, the project team began drafting the Zoning Districts and Land Use sections of the UDC. Drafts of these components were presented in September 2019 at the third UDC Advisory Committee, a subsequent community workshop, and at a November 2019 joint meeting of the City Council and Planning and Zoning Commission.

At the conclusion of the first code drafting phase, the project team began the drafting and review process for the Development and Design Standards section of the UDC. From December 2019 to September 2020, Town staff and Clarion Associates exchanged feedback on these components while public meetings associated with the UDC project were suspended due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. With pandemic conditions improving and the Director of Development Services position being filled on a permanent basis, the project team is ready to restart this project.

Based on remaining project needs, staff recommends the following completion schedule for the UDC:

	Start	Finish
Development and Design Standards	May 2021	August 2021
Administration and Procedures	August 2021	October 2021
Signs and Communication Facilities	October 2021	December 2021
Prepare and Review Consolidated Draft UDC	December 2021	March 2022
Final UDC Presentation and Adoption	April 2022	June 2022

With this proposed project schedule, the project team recommends funding two additional consultant trips during the Development and Design Standards project phase to support the facilitation of two additional UDC Advisory Committee meetings. This would allow the committee to take an incremental approach to this very lengthy and complex section, thereby providing additional time to work through challenging regulatory issues such as landscaping, parking, building design, and residential transition standards. The anticipated financial impact of this request is $16,000, pending any elevated travel costs resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Leading up to this meeting, staff has attempted to contact each committee member to confirm their continued participation in this process. Of the twelve appointed committee members, ten remain very committed to this project, one will soon be moving out of Addison, and another is nonresponsive and did not participate in previous committee events. Staff also seeks feedback regarding City Council’s desire to appoint new members to fill these positions.

RECOMMENDATION:

Staff seeks direction from Council.

Attachments
Presentation - Unified Development Code Completion Plan