A step back

Explaining the tricky stuff

Photo by Dan Freeman on Unsplash

As I thought about how to set up part two of my report “Planning Commissioners send Silo developer back to the drawing board: part one” it became apparent that I first had to step back to the bigger picture because so much is interconnected.

I have a few reasons for writing these reports. One of them is to try and explain how something you see today most likely has a connection to something else that you might not know about. Seeing the big picture can help bring things into focus and assist you in making sense of what’s going on. I’m not saying you will like it, but at least you might have more understanding. So, hang on while I weave a few things together that will lead to the planning commissioner’s meeting.

AH YES, THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN

If you’re a new subscriber welcome, and heads-up, I mention this a lot. The comp plan is considered to be the twenty-year vision document for the community. Created with resident input, though not created by the residents, it’s a guiding document. It has no teeth but is full of aspirational policies and strategies. A new comp plan was formally adopted by the city council in December 2021.

I served on the Community Advisory Committee (CAC) for the update. (I also served on the CAC for the 2003 update). Depending on who you talk to, I was either a major pain in the neck or tenacious in my work in this role. I wanted to ensure residents’ voices were heard, and since I spent many years watching and listening, I thought I had a fairly good idea about what matters to many who live here.

Here’s what it says on the first page of the comp plan executive summary:

I spoke to the council before they voted to adopt the plan.

I told them I had suggested to city staff and the consultants who worked on the document that they reach out to the community and ask for their photographs of Lafayette. That outreach happened, and if you look at the comp plan, you’ll see it is full of great images from our fellow residents.

At one point I asked the consultant if we received a lot of photographs and he said yes but most of them didn’t have people. I thought that spoke volumes about our community’s love of our natural areas. The pictures they felt best showed their Lafayette were of open spaces. When you look at the comp plan you can see that running all the way through. Parks, recreation, open space, and wildlife habitat is the only element to fit into two frameworks, community character, and environmental stewardship.

I also said:

“We see in this plan support for mom and pop businesses and the arts, a desire to keep our small town feel, and to make connections, not only by bike or foot around the community but personal connections too. Affordable housing is there, as is an emphasis on preserving our mobile home parks and our historic buildings. Old Town now has its own typography. The inclusion of the history of Rose Lueras and the swimming pool, and what our community did to make amends, provides a snapshot of who we are today and a reminder of who we want to be in the future. The words inclusive, eclectic, diverse, creative, and sustainable are prevalent.”

Page 26 of the plan:

SOME OBSERVATIONS

The public might have had a role in influencing the policies in the comp plan, but some things came directly from the consultants and city staff. For instance, any plans for specific properties were not created by us all sitting around a roaring fire, singing campfire songs, roasting marshmallows, looking at the moon, and saying what we wanted, because that would probably have stopped all new development. I know what you’re probably thinking right now!

Another part of the plan I didn’t like then and don’t like now is the “focus areas”. When they were first introduced to the CAC, I thought they were a gimmick. Get this, they were called “activity nodes” then. Gag. I made a bit of noise at the meeting about that horrible name and how it was so not fitting to our little city and vibe. So they became focus areas because that gimmick was going to stay, just with another name (insert a standard Karen eye roll here).

PUTTING TEETH INTO A VISION

OK, Karen, you have a document full of nice images and text (and dopey focus areas) but it’s only a vision, now what?

Enter the city land use code. Ta-da and snooze. Hold on, I know that sounds boring, but it’s super important if you like that fancy vision stuff. The land use code is what brings that vision to life. It’s good to have recommendations, policies, and strategies, but that’s not enough. The code is what makes them work. It puts all that language into a format that becomes a code that must be followed.

Our current code was written in the 1980s so it’s quite out of date. I wrote about it in February, And the Code Word is - part one: background and explained that we couldn’t update the code until the comp plan was adopted. Right now, city planning staff, a consultant group, and the Land Use Code Update Working Group are drafting the new code.

WE ARE STUCK AND FLOATING BETWEEN THE OLD AND THE NEW

Here’s the crux of the situation. We have a shiny, new vision document and an old, out-of-date code. The code literally rules, but not in the good way that chocolate rules.

We still have to follow the old code until the new one is adopted. And since the state took away our managed growth amendment, we have all these developers chomping at the bit to build here. The city can point to the comp plan and say this is what the community wants, but in reality, that old code lays down the law. We can only hope the developers will be willing to use the comp plan vision in their designs.

For instance, we might want to have code that says all new developments must include 12% deed-restricted affordable units. But we don’t have a code that says it yet, so the city can’t ask for that.

PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT FOR THE CODE UPDATE HAS ARRIVED

Since I am on this topic it gives me an opportunity to tell you that the city will be asking for your input on parts of the draft code very soon. There is already a page on the Lafayette Listens site and it includes a virtual open house with informational boards. The city wants your opinion on two topics.

#1: Missing Middle Housing

#2: Neighborhood Serving Commercial.

Here are the questions the city is asking you to answer after you have visited the virtual open house to learn about these topics. This is your first chance to have an impact on this new code. Tell your friends and neighbors. The city wants to know your opinion on these potential changes. Your voice matters I encourage you to use it.

Questions about Missing Middle Housing:

• Should duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, and other attached housing types be permitted on corner lots and along collectors in existing neighborhoods, as stated in the Comprehensive Plan?

• How or under what conditions would these building types be appropriate? Are there certain design elements that would support compatibility, such as converting an existing single-household structure with minimal change to the exterior appearance of the structure?

• What feedback do you have about the proposed residential use allowances throughout the city?

Questions about Neighborhood Serving Commercial:

• Are there certain businesses or activities that you would like to see in your neighborhood?

• Are there certain businesses or activities that you think would have a negative impact in your neighborhood?

• Are there operational, design, or location limitations you would like to see applied to neighborhood-serving commercial uses? For example, limiting businesses to busier streets, known as collector streets, or arterial streets, or requiring the adaptive reuse of a residential structure.

CAN YOU SEE WHERE I AM GOING HERE?

The Planning Commission was asked to vote to approve the changes to Silo Phase 2 knowing we have a new comp plan and an old code. It’s tricky. Staff knows it’s tricky. I know it’s tricky. Now you know it’s tricky too!

See those questions the city is looking for you to answer? All the planning commission members are part of the Land Use Code Update Working Group. The comp plan and the code are the core documents they use in their role on the commission. They know these ideas might become part of the new code as they sit and assess new developments with the old code.

I’ll be back to finish out the Silo Phase 2 update asap. I just wanted to give you some insight into what else was hanging over that meeting, and every similar meeting until the code update is finalized in 2026.

Want to offer more support? Awesome!