In my last post, I shared thoughts on revising the Draft Master Plan to prevent developers from using its intent to justify exceptions when zoning ordinances haven’t been updated. I shared these concerns with the Planning Commission via email.
The August 13, 2025, Planning Commission meeting agenda included a Public Hearing to “Review Finalized Master Plan” and contained an updated draft that incorporated edits based on feedback received. The changes reflected some of my suggestions and were a step in the right direction; however, page 2 (shown below) remains problematic for two reasons.
First, the term “possibilities” creates ambiguity because it could allow developers to argue that the Master Plan implicitly supports rezoning change or Planned Unit Developments (PUDs) simply because the Future Land Use Map shows a category allowing such development even if the zoning ordinance hasn’t been updated.
Second, the statement “It serves as a framework for future development and shows possibilities, not guaranteed changes” is misleading. The Master Plan is not a framework for future development. As correctly stated on page 10 of the draft, its purpose is to “guide future zoning ordinance updates to achieve the goals of this document.” That intent should be reflected consistently throughout the document.
“The Future Land Use Plan, a visual component of the Master Plan, maps out potential land use categories and details the types of uses, densities, and design standards that may be considered for future zoning ordinance changes. These land use categories are not regulatory, do not override existing zoning, and may not be used as a basis for approving rezonings, variances, or Planned Unit Developments (PUDs) until formally adopted through the public zoning ordinance amendment process.”
The Planning Commission postponed finalizing the Master Plan after discussion, requesting additional information be provided. Again, I am sending an email to the Planning Commission with my concerns and suggested edit and expect that it will be covered at the September Meeting.
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