The City Commission on May 27 approved an ordinance after the first public hearing to adopt privately initiated text amendments to Chapter 94 (Zoning and Land Development Regulations) that add standards for hospital use within the Downtown Master Plan and clarify the code's existing definitions for hospitals.

The amendments affect Article 4 and Article 19 of Chapter 94, updating how hospital uses are regulated in downtown zoning and refining definitions used to interpret those standards. The commission also approved a separate privately initiated text amendment to Chapter 94, Article 4, Downtown Master Plan urban regulations for the North Railroad Avenue District to clarify application of the downtown master plan.

A third first-reading ordinance approved at the same hearing eliminates the height-and-stories requirement for residential developments using the downtown master plan housing incentive program in the North Railroad Avenue District. The meeting summary records these approvals after the first public hearing but does not include the ordinance numbers, the exact revised text, or a staff analysis of impacts.

These code amendments will change how certain hospital-related projects and residential incentive projects are reviewed in downtown redevelopment areas. The summary does not specify whether the amendments apply retroactively or list implementation steps; those details will be available in the adopted ordinance text or staff reports.