t-r file photo The city of Marshalltown’s process of rewriting its zoning ordinance has reached its final steps. The city contracted Kendig Keast Collaborative, a planning consultancy based in Sugar Land, Texas, to complete the latest rewrite of the zoning ordinance.

The city of Marshalltown’s process of rewriting its zoning ordinance has reached its final steps after over a year of work to bring it up to date.

The city council approved a contract to have the ordinance rewritten in December of 2020. The last time major changes were made was 1998, when the city staff took on the task of completing the work.

The city contracted Kendig Keast Collaborative, a planning consultancy based in Sugar Land, Texas, to complete the latest rewrite of the zoning ordinance.

“Our ordinance served us well, but it didn’t address all the changing things we’re seeing throughout the country in development standards and best practices,” said Michelle Spohnheimer, the city’s housing and community development director.

Spohnheimer noted a zoning ordinance is a living document, meaning it is constantly considered for revision as circumstances change, from the direction of a community to state legislation and nationwide market trends.

The city plan and zoning commission will hold a regular meeting on Thursday at 5 p.m., when consultants from Kendig Keast Collaborative will give a virtual presentation on the new zoning ordinance. The meeting will be held in the city council chambers at 10 W. State Street, and can be followed online through a link located within the agenda packet. It will provide one of several opportunities for members of the public to ask questions or make comments.

Kendig Keast Collaborative focused on modernizing the zoning ordinance, which is a document of more than 200 pages. Consultant Steve Sizemore said his firm worked closely with city staff and stakeholders throughout the process.

“We have really looked at a broad range of ways to make the code easier to use,” Sizemore said. “We’re focusing on things that are making decision making more administrative and less legislative. The way zoning codes had been managed for the last 50 years — they have now shifted more toward design and character influence.”

Some ways the code was made more user friendly included replacing long, jargon-filled passages with simpler terms and using graphics and tables to communicate larger ideas.

Kendig Keast Collaborative works with cities throughout the country. Sizemore said it is important to understand what makes each city unique.

“One of the things we focused on in Marshalltown was making sure the code reinforces the historic downtown and the existing character of some of the neighborhoods in its core,” he said. “We’re building off the Comprehensive Plan and Downtown Master Plan and making sure we codify the policies in those documents.”

“We’re really reinforcing what makes Marshalltown unique rather than determined by use and the zoning district, ” he said. “Also, sort of building on what is already on the ground and providing opportunities for infill and redevelopment. We’re introducing new contemporary uses.”

Spohnheimer said changes to zoning ordinances are not typically a change the average person sees results from immediately. It can take years, even a decade before the influence on the city’s development is easily noticeable.

“It’s also important to know that adoption of this isn’t a final document that never changes again,” she said. “We’re going to find little things here and there where we need to make adjustments. That’s expected.”

PROPOSED ADOPTION PROCESS

Feb. 24 at 5 p.m.: Plan and Zoning Commission meeting. Presentation and review.

March 10: Plan and Zoning Commission meeting. Public hearing and recommendation to city council.

March 14: City Council regular meeting. First reading of ordinance.

March 28: City Council regular meeting. Second reading of ordinance.

April 11: City Council regular meeting. Public hearing and third reading of ordinance

ZONING ORDINANCE

The full proposed zoning ordinance document and map can be viewed online at www.marshalltown-ia.gov/708/Zoning-Ordinance-Re-write-Project

CONTACT INFO

Contact Michelle Spohnheimer with questions about zoning ordinance at 641-754-5756 or mspohnheimer@marshalltown-ia.gov