Impact
WARD: Citywide
COMMITTEE: Community Development
$ IMPACT: N/A
Title
Public Hearing - Section 704 RAD Update to the Zoning Ordinance - City of Smyrna
Body
ISSUE: Currently, the RAD district is viewed as too all-encompassing and relied on too much during development. The RAD zoning district allows for both attached and detached single-family residential up to 6 units per acre. The RAD zoning district has been used in almost all single-family residential zonings over the past 10 year. By changing the name in conjunction with the addition of the R-10 and the R-8 zoning districts, Community Development hopes to reduce the use of the RAD zoning district and eliminate the negative connotation associated with its use.
Additionally, the RAD zoning district is the most commonly requested district in new rezoning cases, making it a topic of much discussion in the community. With the acronym “RAD”, the district seems to focus on the attached aspect of the zoning more prominently. By switching the “A” and the “D”, the department would be switching the perceived importance of the designations.
BACKGROUND: The Community Development Department recently reviewed the list of allowable residential districts as part of a recommendation from the 2040 Comprehensive Plan. The consultant of the 2040 Comprehensive believed the RAD zoning district had become the city’s catch-all zoning district for single-family residential development because the Zoning Ordinance had not been amended to account for denser single-family residential development with densities between 3.4 and 6 units per acre. The consultant proposed looking into adding or modifying zoning districts to accommodate these changes. One of the suggested changes to the code would be to change the name of the RAD zoning district as part of rebranding the zoning district, along with adding more single-family residential zoning districts to reduce the use of the RAD zoning district. The Zoning Ordinance amendment was heard by the Planning and Zoning Board on August 13, 2018. It was recommended for approval by a vote of 6-0.
RECOMMENDATION/REQUESTED ACTION: Community Development has reviewed the City’s Zoning Ordinance with respect to the RAD residential district and has made an amendment. The proposed amendment is:
1) Change the name of the RAD zoning district from RAD to RDA.
Community Development recommends approval of the following code amendment to Section 704, 705, 707, 718, 905 and 1001 of the City’s Zoning Ordinance.