Planning staff and consultant Housal Levine presented a full rewrite of Stow’s zoning code on Oct. 23, asking the City Council to begin the adoption process and schedule public hearings. The Planning Department said the draft consolidates and modernizes districts, adds objective design and development standards, and updates review procedures.

The Planning Director, Zach Connolly, told the committee the project began March 15, 2024, and included seven steering-committee meetings, a public survey and two public open houses. “The goal of this project has been to address those concerns and…create a user friendly code that reduces barriers to development, promotes sustainability, and ensures compliance with federal and state laws,” Connolly said.

Hema, a consultant with Housal Levine, walked the committee through the proposed structure: 14 chapters covering general provisions, base and overlay districts, objective design and development standards, subdivision and conservation standards, access and mobility, signs, floodplain rules, review procedures and a full definitions chapter. The rewrite consolidates multiple commercial and industrial districts into fewer, clearer base districts, proposes a new Public/Institution (PI) district and a Major/Minor Plan Development process to allow site‑specific zoning in exchange for public benefits.

Among notable changes, the draft:
- Consolidates residential, commercial and industrial districts and places bulk/dimensional standards into tables and diagrams for clarity.
- Creates a Mixed‑Use Overlay (MUR) along targeted corridors to encourage pedestrian‑oriented development.
- Establishes objective building design standards for multifamily, mixed‑use, townhomes and “missing middle” housing (duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes and townhomes) that would be allowed in limited areas, typically near bus routes or where similar housing already exists.
- Adds a Minor Plan Overlay to allow targeted deviations from base standards when projects deliver community benefits (affordable housing, accessibility, sustainability).
- Revises sign rules, including numerical limits on tenant panels and a clarified sign‑variance process routed first to Planning Commission with a right of appeal to council.
- Adds new accessory‑use standards (beekeeping, chicken coops) with minimum setbacks and maintenance rules and includes new rules for temporary uses (farm stands, food trucks, mobile retail).

Council members pressed on several points. Councilwoman Coffey said she remained concerned about allowing adult‑use cannabis in the city and about higher residential densities, asking whether more public input or a ballot question should be considered. “I still…my personal stance on it is that I look at Hudson. They banned it,” Coffey said. Connolly and the consultant said the draft follows state law that now allows adult‑use cannabis and that the proposal limits cannabis dispensaries to one citywide location, with setbacks (1 mile plus 500 feet from schools and other sensitive sites) and no drive‑throughs.

Councilmember McIntyre and others asked about sign variances and the new process. Connolly said Planning Commission would be the primary reviewer for sign variances, and applicants could appeal a denial to council. The consultant also said the rewrite adds administrative adjustments for limited, objective changes (fence height, roofline articulation, minor setback encroachments) to reduce the need for variances.

The Planning Commission recommended approval at its Oct. 14 hearing. Council voted to move the rewrite to the council agenda for first reading and set a likely public hearing date of Dec. 4. If adopted by council in December, staff said the ordinance in the draft would take effect Feb. 9 to allow time to update forms, fees and records.

Why it matters: the rewrite replaces fragmented and dated code text with a single, reorganized zoning code intended to make rules clearer for property owners, applicants and staff; it also establishes new standards for design, signs, accessory uses and review procedures that will shape development decisions in Stow going forward.

Staff and the consultant documented extensive public outreach, including an online survey with about 370 responses and multiple open houses and pop‑up events. Housal Levine said it has worked with more than 400 communities nationwide on similar rewrites.

What’s next: council moved the code rewrite to the council agenda for first reading and will hold a public hearing on Dec. 4 if readings proceed as scheduled. Staff said an effective date of Feb. 9, 2026, is proposed to allow administrative updates.