Council creates three‑member committee to review zoning ordinances and implementation plan

The Georgetown City Council voted Monday to create a three‑member council subcommittee to review the city’s zoning ordinance articles and implementation chart and to prepare priorities for a larger steering committee with the Planning Commission and other stakeholders.

The subcommittee will be composed of three council members named in the motion. Councilmembers and staff said the objective is to narrow and prioritize the implementation items so a broader steering committee can act efficiently. Councilmembers stressed urgency and proposed a six‑week window for the subgroup to meet and return initial priorities for the full steering committee and for public review.

Council discussion traced the issue to a recent joint work session with the Planning Commission. Staff pointed the council to an implementation chart—described in the meeting as roughly 51 items—that lists specific ordinance and policy tasks. Holden, staff to the planning commission, told the council that the chart spans ordinance tweaks required by new state law as well as policy items that may require debate and public engagement.

Councilmembers discussed process design: some favored a full‑council workshop to set priorities; others preferred a small working group to dive deeply and report back. The council settled on a democratically appointed three‑member subgroup with a directive to prioritize articles for immediate work, identify items that are “ministerial” under recent state law, and coordinate with planning staff and the county fiscal court as needed. Councilmembers noted the steering committee will include public representatives and planning commission members and that staff will provide technical support.

The council did not change any ordinance text at Monday’s meeting; the action created the subgroup only. Councilmembers emphasized that the subgroup is expected to bring recommendations to the full council and to the steering committee, and that public input and legal review will follow before any ordinance changes are adopted.