Residents and planning commission clash over proposed District 11 changes; council urged to slow process

Several Hudson residents told council on March 17 they oppose adding residential uses to the proposed District 11 boundaries and urged the council to follow the comprehensive plan and planning commission recommendations. Cynthia Curtin, a longtime Hudson resident and former planning commission chair, said the comprehensive plan “is the operative growth management policy for the municipality” and that the proposed legislation includes residential components not reflected in the plan.

Curtin told council the comprehensive plan was the product of months of public input and that many residents oppose more residential development in the area. “If what you were proposing was good for the city, it would be in the plan, and it’s not,” she said, asking why council would move more quickly than planning commission and why there was a perceived rush.

At a later workshop session, Planning Commission representatives and staff (the vice chair spoke) described a narrow proposed amendment to the Land Development Code to strengthen the connection between the comprehensive plan and the code’s purpose statements. The Planning Commission vice chair said the recommendation mostly clarifies verbiage and the role of the comprehensive plan as a guide for applying the code; he also said that the comprehensive plan’s future land use map did not approve residential for most of the District 11 area, and that the steering committee had debated but ultimately did not accept broad residential uses there.

Councilors asked for clearer wording and for planning commission to explain which map areas permit what kinds of uses. Several councilors also raised concerns about inconsistent resident responses in the plan’s outreach (for example, tensions between wanting more housing options and wanting to maintain the city’s character). The Planning Commission representative noted that the comprehensive plan is not rewritten for nine years and that background surveys and the steering committee’s deliberations shaped the plan’s recommendations.

The council did not take a final vote on any rezoning tonight. Several councilors and residents asked that changes to D11 and any LDC amendments be accompanied by additional public input, clear mapping and a referral back to planning commission for a formal public hearing if council elects to begin formal legislation.

What to watch

- Whether council forwards the planning commission’s recommended wording as draft legislation and refers it back for public hearing.
- Any formal legislative readings for District 11 rezoning (timeline not set).