City Council will keep current appeals process; may let planning commission consider limited landscaping/site-plan amendments

Commissioners received an update about a Jan. 6 City Council discussion on appeals and landscaping regulations. Council considered whether some decisions by non‑advisory boards should be appealable to City Council but decided to leave the appeals process unchanged.

Staff reported the discussion stemmed from citizen concerns about applying an existing landscaping or screening ordinance to a particular business. Council members said the public may raise such concerns during the audience portion of council meetings; if council believes an ordinance change or additional review is warranted, it will refer the matter back to the Planning & Zoning Commission for study and possible ordinance revision.

Planning staff also told commissioners the city is actively rewriting the section of the zoning ordinance that regulates special events and food trucks; commissioners were advised to review the council meeting public comments for background ahead of that ordinance work.

City Council did not adopt any ordinance changes at the Jan. 6 meeting; the process for public input and referral to staff or the commission remains the primary method to address individual concerns about code application.