Planning Commission Reviews Riparian Overlay Mapping and Steep-Slope Definitions

City staff presented proposed amendments to the land-development code to clarify the Riparian Overlay District and to add figures and definitions intended to make flood-zone and steep-slope boundaries clearer.

Staff said the draft text will add the FEMA flood-zone boundary as part of the Riparian Overlay District mapping and will include figure 9 (waterways/shoreline) and figure 10 (steep-slope table/legend). Staff explained a 15% slope threshold is being proposed for steep-slope treatment in the buffer area and that a hydrology/engineering drawing was prepared to help readers interpret the code language. Staff suggested the code reference federal definitions (Army Corps/EPA) for wetlands rather than relying on a local phrasing.

Commissioners supported the clarification and asked that the figure and wetland definitions be clearly reflected in the text. The packet will be revised to include the engineer’s illustration (figure 9) and the proposed text additions and return to a future meeting for final consideration.

Separately, several commissioners reported takeaways from a recent webinar on data centers: data centers are large, draw significant power and water, and can generate noise and operational impacts; commissioners asked staff to consider how to treat high-impact industrial uses in the zoning code, including decommissioning, bonding requirements, and formal complaint-response protocols.