Mayor Farmer outlines housing outlook, residential zoning review committee and balanced budget

Mayor Farmer opened the meeting with an overview of the city’s recent activity and priorities for 2026, saying the council will form a residential zoning review committee to examine the city’s residential zoning rules and processes.

The council’s mayor, Mayor Farmer, said the committee will include elected officials (the mayor and two council members), appointed planning and BZA representatives, parks commissioners and residents from each ward. "We're gonna form a committee based of elected officials... and like a couple of residents from each ward to represent the interests of the wards with regards to our residential zoning," Farmer said. He said the group will be supported by staff and that he has drafted a plan he has shared with the city manager and Miss Bustos. Farmer said he expects the committee to start moving this month with progress into May.

Why it matters: Clayton is seeing new residential construction and commercial interest; the committee is intended to make zoning review repeatable and to identify any needed changes before development outpaces infrastructure. Farmer noted ongoing infrastructure work tied to Hunter's Path and Northwoods Estates and urged patience during construction.

In his remarks Farmer also highlighted personnel changes: an interim city manager appointment (Miss Whitman) and an interim law director (Miss Deidrean) were made permanent. He said four of seven council seats are newly occupied following the November election, and that Miss Bustos is filling the Ward 1 representative seat until the term's end. "This is our chance to look at where we are with this and where do we really want to go," Farmer said.

Farmer told council the city is operating under a balanced, approved budget for the year and does not anticipate changes. He framed the committee as a focused step — "I don't want to bite off too much at once, and that's why we're just going to look at residential zoning" — that could produce a repeatable process to speed future work.

What comes next: Farmer said he will circulate his draft plan to council and expects the residential zoning review committee to begin forming this month with work continuing into May. The meeting moved on to clerical and other agenda items after the presentation.