UDC Discussion 12012020
City of Scandia – Recommended transition to UDC 1
City of Scandia
Zoning & Development Code Update
12.01.2020
TO: Mayor and City Councilmembers; and
Members of the Planning Commission
CC: Ken Cammilleri, City Administrator
Evan Monson, Consulting City Planner, TKDA
Chris Nelson, City Attorney
FROM: Julia Paulsen Mullin, SHC
Jennifer Haskamp, AICP, SHC
RE: Ordinance Structure Recommendation – Transition to Unified
Development Code (UDC)
Introduction
When this Zoning and Development Code Update (“Code”) process was initiated we discussed two
options for updating the City’s Code. The two options identified within the City’s RFP were Option
1) To use the current ordinance structure and update the appropriate sections for consistency with
the 2040 Comprehensive Plan; or Option 2) To restructure the Code into a more synthesized
structure that is more closely aligned with a Unified Development Code (UDC). Since project
initiation our Team has performed extensive background review of the current Code, engaged in
discussion with your staff, compiled the results of your questionnaires and preliminarily review the
results of the Community Survey administered for issue identification.
Recommendation
After conducting our background review, we recommend transitioning the current code to a Unified
Development Code (UDC). While a decision did not need to be made during our early efforts, we
are now at the point in the process that we need to identify the structure of the Code so that we can
move forward with drafting. We are recommending restructuring the Code to a UDC based on
several factors, a summary of a few are provided below:
• The current Code is repetitive and confusing. As stated by several respondents of the
questionnaires as well as the community survey, people do not use the current Code because
it is difficult to understand the regulations. Because the current Code is difficult to use, regardless of
City of Scandia – Recommended transition to UDC 2
the approach, significant reworking is necessary. Now is the perfect time to restructure the Code with a focus
on creating a more user-friendly set of regulations and standards.
• Inconsistencies within the Administration chapter, and cross-references are inaccurate
making it difficult for City Staff and Policymakers to administer the Code. There is an
abundance of narrative with references to outside sources such as Minnesota State Statutes
and Design Guidelines. This makes it difficult to keep everything consistent and conflict
free. By transitioning to a UDC information will generally be in ONE place only, making updates easier
and conflicts within the Code language less likely.
• Residents, business owners, and staff are unclear about what standards apply and how (and
who) should administer them. The Code is text heavy without clear and easy to understand
tables, charts or diagrams. As a result, it is difficult to know what standards apply, and to
ensure everyone has the same understanding of the meaning. By transitioning to a UDC, we will
be able to group similar districts and standards together and create a uniform set of graphic diagrams and
standards to make it easier to understand. (See Example)
Based on these findings, we are confident that transitioning the City Code to a UDC will achieve
several objectives, many of which were identified in the RFP. Some of the core objectives and
principles driving the development or our UDC outline include:
1. Use of plain, clear language that makes the Code more accessible to the user. The UDC
approach and structure will clean up and remove much of the legal ease and put the
important stuff up front (i.e. tell the resident what the need to know right up front).
2. The UDC will remove repetition so that the Code is concise and easier to navigate – you will
only need to look in one location instead of a back-and-for the review. (e.g. the subdivision
“chapter” will be embedded into the appropriate section such as the Building Envelope
Standards).
3. Ensure the contents of the existing Code are transferred to the update Code, unless omitted
intentionally. We will map your current ordinance to the new structure so that the policy
intent is codified in the new structure. Any policy-level discussion will still take place once
we have the new structure drafted.
4. The UDC will incorporate visual diagrams and representations whenever possible to
demonstrate the zoning standards and reduce narrative clutter. These graphics will become
the “cheat sheet” for policymakers, staff, residents and stakeholders providing clear direction
on development standards. An entire section will be dedicated to this concept. (See Building
Envelope Standards example)
5. Organize the Administration section so that the processes are easy to understand. This
section will be moved back in the order, so that the Zoning District and Building Envelope
Standards are more readily accessible to the user.
6. Organize information graphically using tables and other diagrams. For example, the City’s
Table of Uses handout should replace the laundry lists of uses by districts making it easier to
cross reference and compare the uses by district.
7. The UDC will create opportunities to codify sections of the Design Guidelines, making it
easier to understand when design standards are required versus when they are guidelines
and/or suggested.
City of Scandia – Recommended transition to UDC 3
Next Steps
If there is general agreement to transition the Code to a UDC, we will begin the outline and drafting
process. A few items to note:
• We will bring forward and present an Outline of the new UDC with the general concepts
and “mapped” existing Scandia Code section for your review and information at an
upcoming meeting.
• We will incorporate placeholders into sections that are yet to be discussed. For example, the
ongoing density discussion in the Village Center will dictate how the standards within the
corresponding districts should be developed. Once a formal decision and approach is made
for the Village Center districts this section will be updated.
Requested Discussion
We are seeking your input and feedback regarding the recommended approach to restructure the
existing Code to a Unified Development Code.