UDC combines newly updated Zoning Ordinance, Subdivision Regulations; provides development regulations, zoning map
The Board of Mayor and Aldermen (BOMA) on Monday, Aug. 20, approved the City of Spring Hill’s new Unified Development Code (UDC), a consolidated book of development regulations nearly two years in the making, designed for Spring Hill’s long-term future growth.
The City began the process of updating our Zoning Ordinance and Subdivision Regulations in Fall 2016 by hiring Camiros Ltd., a Chicago-based planning and zoning consultant, to oversee the project. Camiros started by creating a community survey allowing community stakeholders to provide input on the strengths and weaknesses of the City’s previously existing development rules and to identify needs that could be addressed through zoning. Camiros used the citizen survey feedback to begin shaping the UDC drafts with many public input meetings along the way. The document ultimately received approval by both the Planning Commission and BOMA.
Having a Unified Development Code is key to implementing the vision laid forth in Spring Hill Rising: 2040, our city’s Comprehensive Plan. The plan, adopted in 2015, provides mapped and written policy about how land should be managed and how development should occur. The Unified Development Code uses these policies as its base to provide a set of development regulations, generally organized by district, each containing specific regulations key to those policies. A new zoning map also was adopted reflecting the new zoning classifications contained in the UDC while carrying forward previously approved planned developments.
“Through the UDC process the City was able to address gaps in the previous development regulations while also adopting new codes that will increase the quality of development and enhance the quality of life in Spring Hill,” said City of Spring Hill Planning Director Steve Foote. “Other benefits of the UDC work include streamlining the development review process and combining the regulations into one document for ease of use for developers and design professionals.”
Previously, the rules for development in Spring Hill had been contained in a number of separate ordinances. The new Unified Development Code (UDC) combines zoning and subdivision regulations, as well as other City land development ordinances, into a single organized code. The UDC will be the “rule book” for land development and building within Spring Hill.
“Our city’s first zoning ordinance was adopted in 1987. Spring Hill’s development is far more sophisticated and diverse today, and our zoning and development rules should reflect that,” Mayor Rick Graham said. “This new UDC reflects nearly two years of extremely hard work that will help us better preserve and protect the City’s historic development patterns while creating new opportunities for economic development, helping to make Spring Hill a more resilient, livable and business-friendly community.”
