Superior council hires consultant to tackle zoning code
May 14—SUPERIOR — The city is planning to rewrite its zoning code with efforts getting underway early this summer.
SRF Consulting, which developed Superior's 2040 Comprehensive Plan, was selected to guide those efforts. SRF Consulting was the low bidder on the project but was selected because of its familiarity with the community.
"Zoning is much more land use; it's much more technical," said Mayor Jim Paine. "That's the more detailed child of a comprehensive plan."
The existing code, developed in the mid-1980s, is somewhat outdated and does not fit well with some of the new developments and technologies that are seen today, said Jason Serck, economic development, port and planning director. He said the existing code is prescriptive, meaning it defines what is permitted in each zoning district, and there is not a lot of flexibility.
"If there's something a little outside of the box, there's no way for us to deal with it unless we say absolutely not or we amend some things," Serck said.
One such issue arose last year when a couple sought to build a home on family-owned land located in a manufacturing district. The existing zoning code didn't allow for such a use until the Plan Commission amended the code to allow residential development in a manufacturing district with a special-use permit.
"And you know, times are kind of changing ... some of the new technologies, whether it be tiny homes, or the other thing that we are really inflexible on is what they call mother-in-law apartments," converting garages into residences, Serck said.
"I pretty much think all of the code should be completely rewritten and we should design a very modern 21st century form-based code," Paine said.
Form-based zoning includes concepts such as smart growth, new urbanism and traditional neighborhood and transit-oriented development, emphasizing the form and design of a neighborhood rather than its uses.
Serck said he doesn't foresee a lot of changes to Superior's traditional neighborhoods resulting from the rewrite of the zoning code. However, he said it could bring a return of small businesses that once complemented neighborhoods in the city like restaurants or small grocery stores.
It's something that isn't permitted now, Serck said.
"I have a feeling this zoning code is going to be pretty layered," Serck said. "It's probably going to be a lot more complicated than it is now."
Serck said he anticipates the public being involved as it was when the city developed its comprehensive plan, but what that will look like hasn't been determined.
"I'm going to be leaving it up to consultants to make zoning fun," Serck said.
The Plan Commission will serve as the design committee for the new zoning code, which is expected to be completed in 2025.
Councilor Garner Moffat said he would have liked to have had the opportunity to vet the proposal in the Plan Commission before it was presented to the council May 7, but there were things he liked about it, including that SRF Consulting is already familiar with Superior, which gives them a jumpstart on research. He said he's also excited to see SRF has recruited an individual accredited in form-based zoning.
"I'm very thrilled to see somebody stepping in and taking on this task," councilor Lindsey Graskey said. "I think with a lot of things that we're facing in the next couple of years, this just will add to the momentum ... to really have a thriving community."
