Zoning Ordinance Rewrite

Current Status: September 2020

Round One Public Input

• Between January and July of 2020, staff facilitated approximately 30 in-person and remote public input sessions with community groups and advisory bodies. These sessions informed the community about the Zoning Ordinance Rewrite project and solicited their views on and experiences with the current Zoning Ordinance. Because of the pandemic, about ten of these meetings transitioned to remote focus group meetings as well as an online survey. 
• To see the themes that emerged from Round One, view the project update presented to the Transportation and Land Use Committee (TLUC) on July 22 (PDF)  or view the Powerpoint presentation from the July 22 TLUC meeting (PDF).

Online, searchable platform for Zoning Ordinances

• Significant progress has been made in building an online interactive platform for the county’s Zoning Ordinance(s) that will be linked from the county’s website. The 1972, 1993, Revised 1993, and Route 28 Overlay Zoning Ordinances have been migrated into the cloud-based software that supports collaborative drafting, archiving, and code publishing. 
• This online version of the Zoning Ordinances will allow the public to search all county Zoning Ordinances via text or GIS map interface, guide users towards appropriate ordinance sections based on their interests, and provide a mechanism for internal and public comments on proposed Ordinance amendments.
• Anticipated release date for the new online interactive Zoning Ordinance platform is Summer 2021.

Project Timeline

• The ZO Rewrite project timeline has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as multiple procurement processes, vacancies in key positions needed for the ZO Rewrite effort, and the inability to fill those vacancies during the COVID-related hiring freeze at the end of FY 2020. 
• The delay is estimated to be six to eight months, especially given that some Zoning Ordinance amendments (ZOAM) have been prioritized as standalone efforts with expedited timelines versus rolling them all into the overall ZO Rewrite effort.
• The project team is working to make up time where possible and minimize further timeline impacts, and is anticipating reaching out to the community for Round Two public input in late 2020.
• A general public open house on the Zoning Ordinance Rewrite is planned for future rounds of community engagement.