City of Lubbock to discuss 76 amendments to the UDC. Here is what you need to know

Less than a year after adopting the Unified Development Code, the City of Lubbock will host a public hearing to consider further amendments to its zoning and development standards.

However, this is not the first time the city has had to change the UDC. The UDC was adopted by the previous city council in April and May 2023 , but a few months before the code went into effect, citizens and city staff proposed changes to the code to better protect the city .

The code went into effect in October 2023, and the city adopted some of the proposed changes except the ones focusing on the points of contention , such as lowering the maximum allowable height of a mixed-use residential development and the amortization clause for nonconforming land uses.

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What time is Lubbock's UDC public hearing?

Lubbock City Council and the city's Planning and Zoning Commission will host a joint meeting on Thursday, July 25, at 6 p.m. at Citizens Tower,1314 Avenue K. Individuals can also watch the council meetings via the city's website at ci.lubbock.tx.us/pages/city-government/city-council .

Kristen Sager, director of planning for the City of Lubbock, said that she encourages everyone to attend the meeting even if they don't know anything about the UDC.

"I would encourage everyone to come, just to hear and learn about it, and then state any concerns or ideas or changes they think there needs to be," Sager said.

Individuals do not need to sign up beforehand, Sager said; the meeting will only be a public hearing, with the council not voting on any action items.

What is the Lubbock Unified Development Code?

According to previous A-J reporting, the UDC is meant to streamline and simplify Lubbock's zoning and development standards while updating some codes from the 1970s.

The UDC focuses on four main aspects, according to the document:

• Developing a comprehensive plan that implements priority for Plan Lubbock 2040 and updated Future Land Use Map.
• Protect public health, safety and environment.
• Protect the quality of life for Lubbock residents, business owners, employees and visitors, and
• Encourage economic development.

What are the proposed changes to the UDC?

Sager said there are 76 amendments being proposed at the joint public hearing by city staff.

"So the majority of the amendments really are cleanup items," Sager said. "There's a couple in there that are literally things that got missed during the adoption process, but a lot of them are things that now that we've been working with the new code for nine months, putting it in practice, we found, 'hey, you know, this regulation isn't working quite how we thought it would, and so we're making some changes there.'"

One of those items is adjusting Section 39.06.002 relating to the Planning and Zoning Commission.

Sager said that the current UDC left a former city standard that when P&Z denies a zone change, a supermajority vote of six out of seven votes from the city council would be required to get the item approved.

"Staff thought it was already in the state law, and it's a requirement that it is actually optional for cities to adopt that regulation," Sager said.

The amendment can be found in detail at mylubbock.us/udc .

What's not being talked about?

Sager confirmed that the amortization clause and building height regulations amendments are not being proposed by city staff at this meeting.

Another item that was mentioned in the city's agenda was Section 39.02.013 related to the South Overton Overlay ; however, Sager said that the staff is not proposing any changes to this section .

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: City of Lubbock to discuss 76 amendments to the UDC. Here is what you need to know