2023-0714 - Zoning Code QA.pdf

Zoning Code Replacement Project –– RFP Q&A Response Document Page 1 of 4 2023-0714

PLANNING DIVISION

DATE: July 14, 2023

PREPARED BY: Joshua Clements, AICP

Planning Director

SUBJECT: RFP 23-PLA28 Zoning Code – Question & Response

The following questions have been provided to City Staff during the July 6th virtual open house for the Zoning Code Project, RFP 23-PLA28, with the corresponding staff response (summarized and formatted for publication).

1. Will the City Attorney be directly involved in the review of the proposed ordinance, or will the legal review be conducted by the consultant as part of the overall team? Is the consultant team be expected to have an attorney on the their team?

We expect the consultant to deliver a code consistent with current law and best practice. The City Attorney will be involved in the Zoning Code Project in a limited capacity, available to evaluate questions or situations where City Staff believe such internal consultation or opinion on interpretation is necessary, and they may be involved in seeking solutions or determinations concerning new or novel issues. It is at the discretion of the consultant to evaluate their familiarity and resources with pertinent Wisconsin laws to determine the necessary composition of their team to achieve the desired project.

2. Would the City feel more comfortable if the consultant team included a Wisconsin-based land use attorney?

It is not a requirement. We believe that, between city staff and a fully qualified consultant team, we likely have a good understanding of current law, with the City Attorney available as needed.

Including a Wisconsin-based attorney is at the consultant’s discretion based upon their level of familiarity with Wisconsin planning law. We recognize this may be a budget and scope constraint.

The RFP provides an option where the consultant can identify services or activities that may be outside of the given project budget, but is recommended for consideration if additional resources become available. An alternative may be to identify the inclusion of an attorney as an alternative bid or pricing item called out in your proposal.

3. The RFP speaks of integrating the Subdivision Ordinance into the new code. Is the City looking for a Unified Development Code?

The City is seeking a new package of development regulations that includes land division. This may be integrated into the same title in the City’s code of ordinances, as a uniformed development code or similar approach, or as a separate title, depending upon the approach of the consultant. All the regulations must be completely coordinated and aligned, and the city’s exercise of its land division and zoning authorities be clearly delineated.

Zoning Code Replacement Project –– RFP Q&A Response Document Page 2 of 4

Sun Prairie’s current code of ordinance places subdivision regulations in a separate title from zoning. City staff have not thoroughly evaluated scenarios between a separate or integrated arrangement to arrive at a preference.

4. How did this project get originated? What is the level of buy-in from the Plan Commission, the City Council, etc.? Who is pushing this project?

Significant changes to the zoning code have been a priority of city staff for over a decade.

However, due to limited staffing, competing budget needs, and policy/budget priorities of those Councils, a project has not been funded before now.

As briefly described in the RFP, a driving theme of the City’s 2019 Comprehensive Plan is transitioning from a suburban development pattern toward a vision of more complete neighborhoods with a variety of housing types and active neighborhood commercial nodes. The Plan includes many references to updating the zoning code, particularly to create design strategies for various building types and locations, improve housing supply and affordability, reduce environmental impacts, and to focus on physical design. The plan recognized that the city’s current zoning is not aligned, and often opposed, to pursuing community goals and desired changes to the built environment. Recommendations include considering a form-based code.

The City funded a project to complete the Housing For All study (2022), which inventoried existing housing supply conditions in Sun Prairie and recommended activities to improve supply, affordability, and accessibility. Removing barriers through zoning code updates was a significant area of broad support from all constituencies that participated.

This Zoning Code Project is funded utilizing a portion of Sun Prairie’s ARPA allocation and Planning Department general operating allocation for comprehensive plan implementation. The ARPA allocation was secured through an internal, competitive application process in August 2022, where City Departments proposed activities consistent with allowed APRA uses and aligned with the City’s Strategic Plan. The allocation was determined by the City Council. The justification described challenges with the existing code; the nexus of development regulations with housing accessibility, racial equity, environmental sustainability, economic vitality, public health, and other elements; and the critical role these regulations play in the overall future of the City. For context, the City Council also approved the department proposal to utilize APRA to partially fund a Housing & Equitable Development Planner position.

The proposed approach to the Zoning Code Project, specifically to begin with a form-based model, was discussed and approved the Plan Commission in March, 2023. The RFP was presented to and approved by the Plan Commission in June, 2023.

A big part of this Zoning Code Project is to improve the process of development entitlement.

When new developments are proposed we have experienced multiple situations where it becomes a conflict between some nearby residents and city goals, creating friction and difficult political decisions, making hearing and approvals fraught. Most of these types of developments must be considered as a planned development, making outcomes uncertain with no clear expectations or standards. A goal for the new code is improve predictability and streamline the entitlement process, with more types of development, particularly housing, allowed by-right.

https://www.cityofsunprairie.com/1697/Housing-for-All

Zoning Code Replacement Project –– RFP Q&A Response Document Page 3 of 4

The general momentum and support for the values and goals summarized in the RFP appears to be high, as indicated by the approval to fund the project upon those justifications, and for the Plan Commission to approve the RFP narrative. However, specific policy questions pertaining to how these values and goals are expressed through development regulations are largely untested.

An envisioned role for City Staff is to be attuned to this dynamic, and recommend a code that maximizes progress toward achieving those goals.

5. Are there any ordinances from specific communities that the City looked at that we feel would be good ordinances to emulate?

City staff dedicated the past year preparing for this project in part by reading recent literature on development regulations and studying zoning codes and projects from other places. One of these goals was to sample codes from other places in the structure and function of form-based or hybrid codes, and examples that we’re attracted to or do not find appealing. In addition, our study sought to better understand where friction and challenges have been encountered in similar projects to be informed and prepared.

There was no single example or process that City Staff have identified as a benchmark (although further consideration may reveal such an example). The search was not exhaustive or comprehensive. There are elements or components from several communities that we have examined as having favorable characteristics. The following are a sample of the communities’ development regulations that have components we found appealing:

• Rochester, MN

• Boise, ID

• Arlington, VA

• Madison, WI

• South Bend, IN

• Kingston, NY

• Sommerville, MA

6. Are we open to options regarding the approach to form-based codes? City-wide vs. districts, for example?

Yes. The approach must function equally well for redevelopment corridors, downtown, existing neighborhoods of various vintage, existing suburban commercial areas, and future greenfield development.

There may be areas of the city where form-based codes are more completely utilized, and other areas where a form-hybrid approach may be better suited or politically feasible.

Zoning Code Replacement Project –– RFP Q&A Response Document Page 4 of 4

7. The current ordinance is available in Municode. Has the City given any thought to how the new code will shared with the public, with developers, etc.? Both during the development process and after adoption?

We expect that Municode will continue to be utilized, as the entire city code is contained therein, although a boarder conversation about this has not been had. If there are alternatives that the consultant team recommends, these may be explored.

The City utilizes an ESRI web portal to display various spatial information in interactive map formats where people can navigate to a specific property and receive various information, such as current zoning assignment, future land use, and others. We hope that future improvements to our ESRI display, and the new zoning code, may improve how the public may access various zoning information through that platform.

Following completion of the code, we envision summaries, fact sheets, guides, etc. could be created to summarize specific elements or issues within the code to easily digestible pieces.

Draft iterations of the code must be available for city staff to easily comment, and for elected officials and the public to respond to. The format and method of sharing of these drafts should be recommended by the consultant.

For additional context:

Sun Prairie has been selected to participate as one of the four initial U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development Thriving Communities Technical Assistance (TCTA) program recipients. The TCTA will support city staff in two areas: developing “storytelling” skills to effectively communicate with residents about land use decisions, with the goal is to convey the rationale for increasing density and adopt a holistic approach to housing, transportation and land use that advances equity and sustainability; and to assist the city to be comprehensive in updating city plans and policies with the introduction of local bus transportation and regional bus rapid transit.

The TCTA will also help city staff identify best practices to update and align housing, transportation, and land use plans and zoning regulations. We anticipate beginning to work with that consultant team in September/October to conduct an assessment and create a work plan for that relationship.

The activities of the TCTA team will be separate from the Zoning Code Project consultant.

However, activities of the TCTA are intended to raise general awareness and knowledge of housing, transportation, and land use amongst the public, designed to improve public participation and responsiveness to the Zoning Code Project and related planning and development activities. Any coordination between parties and activities will be the responsibility of City Staff.

https://maps-sunprairie.opendata.arcgis.com/ https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/comm_planning/cpdta/tcta