Addison's Unified Development Code Review to Resume Following Pause During COVID-19

In June 2018, the Town engaged Clarion Associates to review the Town’s ordinances and regulations and to modernize them to facilitate redevelopment. Much of the Town’s current Unified Development Code (UDC), which is the rule book to regulate development, was crafted in the 1980s and may not be keeping up with current development trends, shifting demographics, and evolving consumer preferences or current and future community needs. 

The UDC drafting and review process is comprised of four code drafting phases, a testing phase, and public review and adoption of the consolidated UDC document. Council appointed twelve people to serve as an advisory committee throughout the process.

The process was suspended at the conclusion of the first code drafting phase due to a combination of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the departure of the Development Services Director. With pandemic conditions improving and the new Director of Development Services Ken Schmidt on board, the project team is ready to restart this project. At the April 27 Council Work Session, Mr. Schmidt gave Council a status update on the project and discussed the next steps.