Dear Smart Growth Supporters,
We want to let you know about two important opportunities to promote smart growth in Ogden, both coming up this week:
1. Mixed Use Zoning. On Wednesday evening, March 7, the Planning Commission will resume consideration of a proposed Mixed Use zoning ordinance for the city. The meeting begins at 5:00, but this agenda item is not expected to come up until some time after 7:00 pm. The good news is that this draft zoning ordinance has been much improved from what the Planning Commission originally considered last fall. Most of the language of the original draft was provided by Chris Peterson's attorney, and was intended to accommodate resort developments rather than urban mixed use centers. The current draft of the ordinance adds standards that encourage pedestrian-friendly design and discourage incompatible uses such as auto-oriented businesses and detached single-family homes. The ordinance could now accommodate redevelopment districts such as the Ogden River Project.
Unfortunately, the current draft of the ordinance does little to encourage the urban mixed-use centers and neighborhood villages contemplated in Ogden's General Plan. Before a mixed-use zone could be designated outside of a blighted redevelopment district, the landowner(s) would have to go through the lengthy and expensive process of creating a project master plan and development agreement, ultimately to be approved or rejected by the City Council. Such a process is appropriate for large-scale developments, but simply isn't practical in traditional neighborhoods where parcels are separately owned and development occurs in small increments. Thus, small parcel owners would be stuck with the existing zoning, which encourages auto-centered development.
The current draft also, unfortunately, retains a great deal of vestigial language from the resort development ordinance considered last fall. The most troubling passages allow a project's development agreement to override any and all of the standards and requirements that would otherwise be applicable. The requirements of the city's Sensitive Area Overlay Zone are still singled-out as candidates for
waivers.
Please consider attending the Planning Commission this Wednesday. Ask the Commissioners to remove these loopholes and amend the ordinance to truly promote the pedestrian-friendly mixed-use areas described in Ogden's General Plan. For further information you can email us at sgo@smartgrowthogden.org. You can view the two documents at our website at www.smartgrowthogden.org.
2. The Ogden City Council will host a "Transportation Horizons" work session on Thursday, March 8, from 5-8 p.m. Representatives from Wasatch Front Regional Council, Utah Transit Authority, Utah Department of Transportation and the Ogden Weber Chamber of Commerce have been invited to discuss transportation issues. These presenters have also been invited to come early to set up their displays and answer questions before and after the official presentations. Copies of the presentation will be available at the meeting and on the City's web site at www.ogdencity.com/ on the day of the presentation. Feedback cards will be available for those who wish to give feedback or ask questions.
Please plan to attend this important meeting next Thursday and express your support for transit in general and for streetcars in Ogden as recommended in the 2005 transit corridor study. Although there will not be an opportunity for public comment, this is a good chance to learn more about transit, show the council that Smart Growth members care about transit issues and express support for the streetcar.
Both of these events will take place in the City Council chambers on the third floor of the Municipal Building, 2549 Washington.
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