Issues to watch 2018: Zoning codes

Throughout 2018, the city will conduct a rigorous review of a proposed form-based zoning code that could reshape the way development is managed in Sarasota.

By February, the Urban Design Studio — the planners the city hired to write the new zoning regulations — hopes to complete a draft of the code for public consumption. That will begin a marathon of workshops and hearings designed to vet the code, with the city inviting the public to share their thoughts on a variety of issues the document attempts to address.

At its Jan. 15 meeting, the City Commission will finalize a schedule of meetings for reviewing the code. A preliminary docket includes 10 staff meetings, seven community workshops, six Planning Board workshops and five City Commission workshops focused on the form-based code. The process is expected to continue into early 2019.

In February and March, the city will hold public hearings that will examine how the code handles two subjects in which residents have expressed interest: wider sidewalks and administrative development review. Other workshops will focus more generally on how the code affects different segments of the city.

The city originally began the process of writing the form-based code in 2013. With the new code, officials sought to achieve several goals. It would streamline the existing zoning regulations. It would create a more predicable development process for builders and residents alike, and it would encourage the creation of a more walkable community.

The document divides the city into a series of “transects,” subareas that define the character of a given segment of Sarasota. A primary goal is creating a smooth transition between transects as the city moves from suburban to more heavily urbanized areas.

As the name suggests, the regulations seek to govern development based on the form of a building. That differs from the current code, which primarily regulates uses — commercial versus residential, for example.

Since the work began, Urban Design Studio Director Karin Murphy has had hundreds of meetings with stakeholders on how the new code might affect them. She hopes the amount of input she’s gathered shows when the draft code is made public, as she’s worked to reconcile the viewpoints of various groups within the city as a whole.

“We’re not going to get unanimity, but we’re going to have a good, vetted process,” Murphy said. “With all of the things we’ve put in here, it will make things much better.”

County code

The county is also in the process of revisiting its zoning codes. The Unified Development Code Project began in March, and is expected to continue through September 2018.

It intends to bring together the Land Use Regulations, which dictate how a property can be divided and developed, and the Zoning Regulations, which regulate the division of land into permitted uses.

Sarasota County Director of Planning and Development Services Matt Osterhoudt, who is overseeing the project, said the county is mainly trying to condense two sets of regulations while updating them, and making sure they follow the county’s comprehensive plan.

“We want to make it user-friendly so you can go to one place,” he said.

Residents are watching closely to make sure nothing big changes as the county undergoes this process.

Members of the public can give input online at scgov.net, or attend one of the public hearings that have yet to be scheduled in 2018.