HomeMy Public PortalAbout022-2023 - UDO MEMO #3DAVID M. SNOW
Mayor
DUSTIN PURVIS
Zoning Administrator
CITY OF RICHMOND
Department of Infrastructure and Development
50 NORTH FIFTH STREET - RICHMOND, IN 47374
PHONE (765) 983-7242 - dpurvis@richmondindiana.gov
August 16, 2023
Common Council
50 N 5th Street
Richmond, IN 47374
RE: Ordinance 22-2023
Dear Council Members,
Ordinance No. 22-2023 is a request from Richmond's Department of Infrastructure and Development to
amend the City's Unified Development Ordinance (UDO - Chapter 154 of the Richmond City Code). The
ordinance proposes 57 amendments that would modify the City's approach to a range of issues, including
solar parks, food trucks, housing density, short-term rentals, and development standards that consistently
receive variances from Richmond's Board of Zoning Appeals. Richmond's Advisory Plan Commission held
a public hearing on June 28, 2023 to review all 57 changes before voting 7-0 to recommend approval of the
ordinance to the Richmond Common Council.
During their August 14 meeting, Common Council voted to table Ordinance 22-2023, citing two of the
proposed changes that required more research and consideration.
The first of these changes concerns the City's approach to zoning Addiction Treatment Facilities. The UDO
currently includes addiction treatment facilities as part of the broader "Medical Services Office" use. The
proposed change will separate Addiction Treatment Facilities as a distinct use, excluded from Medical
Service Offices, and defined as:
An inpatient and outpatient facility for treatment and recovery for substance abuse and addiction.
Having defined Addiction Treatment Facility as a distinct use, the proposed change would permit such
facilities within the General Commercial (GC) and Outdoor Commercial (OC) zoning districts, which are
better positioned to accommodate the traffic that these facilities occasionally generate. Members of Council
expressed some concern, however, that reducing the number of zoning districts that permit Addiction
Treatment Facilities may be in violation of federal law that prohibits municipalities from excluding such
facilities from residential zoning districts. It is worth noting that the current UDO, as adopted in 2010,
already excluded these facilities from residential zoning districts, as Medical Service Offices were only
permitted within our University, Commercial, and Ed-Med-Tech Park districts.
Richmond's Assistant City Attorney and paralegal both researched the issue and confirmed that the proposed
change related to Addiction Treatment Facilities does not appear to be in violation of federal law. While
there do appear to be federal housing protections for familial dwelling quarters for people who are in
recovery, we have determined that this use falls under the UDO's definition of Fair Housing Facilities, which
the City does permit within residential districts. Additionally, after consulting with zoning codes and
planning staff from other Indiana cities, I have determined that this proposed change aligns with the
approach that several of our peer communities have taken when determining where to direct future Addiction
Treatment Facilities.
The second part of the ordinance that concerned members of Council was related to our Outdoor Storage
Standards in the High Intensity Industrial (I2) and High Impact (HI) zoning districts (Article 5.59(A)2).
Specifically, this proposed change would add a screening requirement for outdoor storage within these
zoning districts, which reads:
Outdoor storage areas shall be screened on all sides by a solid, opaque wall or fence of not less than
six (6) feet tall, or eight (8) feet tall if what is stored is greater than six (6) feet in height. A chain
link fence or a variation of a chain link fence combination shall not constitute an acceptable
screening device.
Note that the bolded text above is an addition recommended by Richmond's Plan Commission, whose
members proposed that the UDO provide clarity as to whether a chain link fence, including a chain link
fence with slats running through it, would constitute a "solid, opaque wall or fence." A solid wall, between
6' and 8' tall, for the purpose of screening industrial outdoor storage, is consistent with the screening
requirements that are already in place in our lower intensity Industrial Commercial (IC) and Low to
Moderate Intensity Industrial (I1) zoning districts (5.58(A)2). Further, the proposed prohibition on variations
of a chain link fence is consistent with the non-residential fence and wall standards that appear elsewhere in
the UDO (5.29(C)3).
The Department of Infrastructure and Development respectfully requests the public hearing for Ordinance
22-2023 be continued during the August 21, 2023 Common Council meeting.
Sincerely,
Dustin Purvis
Zoning Administrator