People can attend Tuesday’s Community Zoning Information Meeting to learn about, ask questions, and share opinions on proposed text amendments intended to better align lot creation with development intensity, preserve Milton’s rural character, and enhance clarity and predictability for property owners and applicants. 

The March 24 open-house style meeting will start at 6 p.m. in City Hall’s Council Chambers at 2006 Heritage Walk. While an official meeting, a Community Zoning Information Meeting (or CZIM) does not involve any committee convening, recommendations expressed, votes taken, or presentations given. Rather, this is an opportunity for people to engage with City staff on the ins-and-outs of potential zoning-related changes.

The exact same proposals will be discussed at the March 25 Planning Commission meeting, which starts at the same time (6 p.m.) and in the same place (Council Chambers). 

Those proposed text amendments to Milton’s Unified Development Code and Chapter 10 (Buildings and Building Regulations) in the City Code that are on agendas for both meetings can be found here: https://meetings.municode.com/adaHtmlDocument/index?cc=MILTONGA&me=31c860092baf4e6ea7299739e5e062f4&ip=true. (Click on the item beginning “Memo RZ26-03” for an overview, and “AG-1 Code Amendments FINAL” for the specific possible Code revisions.) 

Tuesday’s CZIM follows the Council’s approval earlier this year of a moratorium pausing applications to subdivide AG-1 property into three or fewer lots when those resulting lots are less than three acres in size. This moratorium was enacted to allow City staff time to evaluate developments trends, solicit and collect public input, analyze all available data, then draft potential text amendments that align with all that information. For example, the City conducted a survey and hosted a pair of community feedback sessions on February 26 and March 11 about this topic.

These proposed text amendments, which people can dive into at the CZIM and Planning Commission meeting, including elements such as:

• A revised definition and standards for what constitutes lot coverage
• New and updated standards for what constitutes buildable and usable area
• Establishing new natural area buffer requirements to preserve rural character, maintain tree canopy, and provide appropriate transitions between adjacent properties and roadways
• Establishing and clarifying as-built survey requirements
• Establishing a new provision aimed at preserving large tracts of land (10 acres and larger)
• Clarifying limits for repeat lot splits involving minor plats

Specifics on these and other possible changes can be found using the link provided above. The CZIM is an opportunity for people to inquire further before these draft text amendments work their way through a public meeting process that includes Wednesday’s Planning Commission meeting and a City Council meeting (and likely vote) on April 13.

The other topic up for discussion at Tuesday’s CZIM is a proposed text amendment to prohibit the use “Festivals, or Events, Outdoor/Indoor” and remove from applicable Use Tables and the required parking table of the Unified Development Code.