Duluth postpones changes to unified development code

Following a public hearing to consider text amendments to the Unified Development Code, the Duluth City Council voted to postpone changes.

The proposed amendments to the code are the result of minor clerical and interpretation conflicts that need to be clarified. Planner Rich Atkinson explained the concept behind the code is to make it as user-friendly as possible. Proposed changes would reference density, non-conforming uses, usage chart, definitions, architectural guidelines, fences, alcohol beverages, outdoor vending, outdoor storage, parking, landscape/buffers/trees, alleys and street jogs, and review time.

Questions remaining to be nailed down further include parking allowances, vacant lots and landscaping requirements, including a debate about the use of non-native plants and their potential water consumption.