CodeNEXT: And Soon … Lever Maps

Rarely is a Planning Commission meeting not centered around CodeNEXT, but Tuesday night proved the exception. Chair Stephen Oliver opened by punting discussion to a special called meeting next Thursday, Jan. 18 at 6pm, though at the end of the night he did confirm that on Monday his working group saw mapping consultant John Fregonese's new "lever maps," designed to help model how different kinds of zoning changes might affect different parts of town. He asked fellow commissioners to give the group a few more weeks to better understand how these levers work before introducing the tool to a larger audience, and seized the moment to suggest that colleagues' recommendations to City Council focus on broader land policies and not specific properties: "If we are arguing over individual parcels, we are doomed." Commissioner Conor Kenny told the group he's been meeting with Capital Metro to discuss how CodeNEXT could impact mobility plans, and noted that CodeNEXT consultant Opticos Design is also the consultant for the city's Strategic Mobility Plan, itself being readied for a draft release. A larger discussion should come at an upcoming PC meeting, either next week or Jan. 23. CodeNEXT's next checkpoint arrives Feb. 12, when the third and supposedly final draft is supposed to be unveiled. City staff will give PC and the Zoning and Platting Com­mis­sion a presentation on version 3.0 the following night.