Des Moines Sun

The Johnston City Council voted on its new zoning map after senior planner Clayton Ender presented its new zoning map for the council’s first vote during its meeting on March 6.

The city has overhauled much of its planning and zoning rules within its jurisdiction, including completely redoing several sections of code and zoning books, as well as redrawing the city zoning map. As a part of this, the city plans to eliminate a few zoning codes in order to make the zoning codes simpler. This means several properties in the city fall under new zoning codes with the adoption of the new map. Any existing conflicts with new zoning requirements will be considered as grandfathered in and “existing non-compliances,” and owners will not be penalized or asked to change them, City Planner Clayton Ender told the board.

"I do want to emphasize that all the zoning is being proposed are just as a matter to make sure we can administer the new zoning code," he said. "There is no active development plans associated with any of these. If they were to want to propose a development, they would have to be separate action items associated with that, with separate public notices as well."

Ender told the council that all properties within 350 feet of potential rezoning were notified, and the public was still allowed to give input on the new map, as it would have to be approved in several different meetings and council votes before final adoption. Most of the rezoning will involve changing designations within categories, such as staying residential but changing density. Ender walked through all the properties that would be changing, adding that few had existing non-conformities, and any who had privileges like animal keeping were allowed to retain them. Much of the Merle Hay Road corridor will be rezoned, as the ROC zoning category will be eliminated and absorbed into either neighborhood mixed use or community mixed use.

Some residents came out to ask questions about their properties and neighborhoods, and if anything would be changing near them. Ender and staff answered their questions, explaining how their new zoning codes were comparable to their old codes. Ender and the council encouraged all of them to continue to give input as the council addresses this in future meetings, and also promised to reach out to a resident who had planned a new development but was unsure if he could continue with the zoning changes.