17 - Amend Zoning Ordinance No. 1710 specifically modifying provisions for Planned Development Zoning

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Item No. 17 memorandum TO: Mayor & Council FROM: John Godwin, City Manager SUBJECT: PLANNED DEVELOPMENT ZONING DATE: June 14, 2019 BACKGROUND: A mixed-use district is a planning tool used to provide for and encourage development and redevelopment that contains a compatible mix of residential and nonresidential uses within close proximity to each other. Mixed-use districts define the uses of land and the siting and character of the improvements and structures to promote compatibility between uses. Buildings are typically oriented so as to maximize visibility and provide a higher level of open space, landscaping, and architectural features. The districts are also intended to recognize areas to encourage redevelopment of underutilized parcels and infill development of vacant parcels in creative ways. In Paris, the zoning ordinance provides for a Planned Development, or PD, zoning district, which is a type of mixed-use district. There are not a lot of specific requirements for the PD district, however, and there is also no minimum size. In many cities, PDs are required to be at least 50 or even 100 acres, because a PD is supposed to be a large, mixed-use development, something too complicated and too integrated to be addressed with traditional straight zoning. The result here is that PD has been used as an easy fix for troublesome areas, and has become a sort of small, legalized spot zoning tool the result of what amounts to improper contract zoning. STATUS OF ISSUE: Comprehensive Plan Recommendation 15.18 instructs, "Improve the Planned Development process to ensure they are large functional zoning units as intended by PD principles." Planned Development districts are intended to be used to: Allow integration of multiple land uses on large tracts; accommodate the use of alternative development standards and integration of uses that result in a higher quality of development that can be achieved by other zoning districts; and allow the imposition of development regulations specifically tailored to that single development. Basically, it is a powerful tool by which a city and a developer can create a unique zoning district that suits development of that single project and property.