The Community Development Code has been updated many times but never fully reviewed for ease of use. Experienced users can navigate it, but newer applicants and community members often find parts of the CDC harder to navigate than they need to be.
Similar rules are repeated across dozens of separate sections. With 38 different land use districts and design standards spread across at least five different code sections, finding the right rules takes a lot of effort. Grouping similar districts together and consolidating overlapping standards would make the CDC much shorter and easier to navigate.
Application information is scattered, making it hard to know what's required. Submittal requirements, review steps, approval criteria, and definitions are spread throughout the DCD rather than collected in one place. This makes it especially difficult for first-time applicants.
The code could be easier to understand with better visuals and formatting. Complex standards are mostly described in text with few diagrams. Adding more graphics and organizing permitted uses in simple tables would help everyone understand the rules more quickly.
Design rules are scattered throughout the code, making them hard to follow. A single project might need to juggle requirements from multiple different code sections written at different times. Bringing these together in one place would reduce confusion and make the code more user-friendly, especially for smaller developers.
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