Does the rezoning process actually work as a way to implement the 2040 Land Use Plan and its targeted upzone goals for Town Centers? Why is the Minnesota cheese grater still there? And who pulls the strings to decide which zoning reforms are “straightforward solutions” that merit a PZC review waiver and which zoning reforms are not?

“…the language of the code actually says that a Title 21 text amendment can be initiated by the assembly or a decision making body, but it doesn’t provide the authority for the planning department to initiate a text amendment, which is odd, because it seems like that’s where the majority of our text amendments since 2015 have come from.”

“Staff concludes that this study proves out that there’s no problems with the ordinance…I’ve come to the exact opposite conclusion.”

“...it’s indicative of how problematic Title 21 is as a whole. It’s too complicated. Every time we touch it it has unintended consequences…an urban neighborhood context area–to me is word salad. How do we just create areas where we can build housing for people to live.”

This week: sidewalk dining downtown, a new park on Hillside (?), and the Site Access code is back at the Assembly… again.

Bear with us here, but could it be that new multifamily buildings look ugly because of the 21.07.110C design standards? Would we be better off without the building articulation, variation of exterior finishes, roofline modulation, and the sunlight menu?

This week: The impacts of the removal of parking mandates 2 years ago are now showing up in development, SLs restrict housing development (again), the Geotechnical Advisory Commission talks HOME, and Nerd Night is back, baby!

“I’m baffled by the idea that there would be preliminary alternatives released before any kind of cost study...” While there was no direct answer about the final price tag, AKDOT's representative did offer that the historical estimates for the costs of taking property, demolishing housing, and then potentially relocating/rebuilding housing elsewhere could be “hundreds of millions of dollars”

“What is the opportunity cost of doing nothing?”

“The Planning Department is supportive of the concept and general direction of more flexibility in the zoning regulations, reforming zoning to improve equity and housing opportunities, and allowing mixed-use where appropriate…”