The City of Springfield has released drafts of the new housing code sections for community feedback as part of Phase 1 for housing of the Development Code Update Project. The Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) for the housing phase of the Development Code Update Project has been working with staff for more than a year to provide input on how code language should be revised to meet the objectives of the project. Staff has also been working with the Planning Commission and City Council to receive their input. The City Council gave direction at their February 3, 2020 work session to release the draft code sections for the housing phase for community feedback.
The draft code sections are early rough drafts and need additional work before they are ready to move forward to the public hearing process later this year. The City is reaching out to the community early in the process to receive feedback at this time before more refined code language is developed and finalized.
The three draft code sections include:
1. A new Residential Districts section, 3.2.200, to replace the existing Residential Zoning Districts section, 3.2-200;
2. A new Special Standard and Regulations for Certain Uses in Residential Districts section, 4.7.300 – 4.7.400, to replace the existing provisions in 4.7-100 related to residential development and uses as well as some provisions in other sections related to residential development such as standards in 3.2-200, and the Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU) section, 5.5-100; and
3. A new definitions section, 6.1.100, to replace the definitions specifically applicable to residential development and uses contained in the existing definitions section 6.1-100.
The draft code sections as well as other supporting documents providing information on the changes are available on the project web page.
Staff will be coordinating public outreach efforts to provide information to community members and capture feedback. Additional information on public outreach efforts will be included in future e-updates and will be listed on the project web page. Community members can sign up on the project e-list through the project webpage and receive e-updates automatically.
Phase 2 – Employment Lands
Along with proceeding with Phase 1 for housing as discussed above, we are also kicking off Phase 2 of the project to update the code related to employment lands (commercial/industrial). The first step for Phase 2 is recruiting for a Technical Advisory Committee (TAC). Recruitment is open until March 4, 2020. Application and related materials can be viewed here.