Play catch-up while you can

This would be an opportune time to play catch-up by declaring a moratorium on any further new residential community zoning and development, considering the following circumstances:

1. Citizen opposition to the present runaway development is very high.

2. Citizen confidence in the city’s capacity and competence to manage additional development is low.

3. There’s a substantial inventory and backlog of approved development that can keep city planning, zoning and development staff, developers, engineers, contractors and all trades very busy for many months to come.

4. The city’s planning and development director, upon whom the Planning and Zoning Commission depends and who heads the Planning and Development Department and the Technical Review Committee is leaving the city’s employ effective June 30. So he’s a lame duck, in a phase-out mode. He shouldn’t be making further administrative decisions, but only offering information, advice, suggestions and recommendations.

5. It would help the incoming replacement director to have a clean slate to start with, to apply his/her own skills to.

6. In the interim, it would give the city attorney the opportunity to complete thorough consideration and revision of the UDO, and the city manager and Council the opportunity to consider what’s recommended.

Just trying to help.

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