The City of Paso Robles Planning Commission is encouraging community members to attend a study session on Tuesday to discuss changes to zoning codes.
“The main thing that's happening is making it more user friendly so that graphically just the organization of it is easier for people to work with and find it's not necessarily changing policies or rules," explained Paso Robles City Planner Darren Nash. "There are some things that are changing, just things that are outdated, so there are some changes, but in general, it's really trying to make it more user-friendly.”
The proposed changes affect things like signs, parking, fences, landscaping, swimming pools and more.
City officials say the goal is to make the permitting process more clear and streamline the user experience. That includes adjusting to the modern era of the internet.
“I think now with the websites and people generally doing things by the website rather than opening up a large book, the whole idea is to make it more user friendly so someone can look online, get to it quickly, kind of be able to navigate and get to the section that they're looking for or interested in. [That] is really the goal of this zoning code update,” Nash said, adding that some codes haven't been updated since the 1970s.
Once public hearings have been completed, approved updates should be completed by the end of this summer.
This affects zoning codes in residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural areas, but officials say updates will not affect current projects.
Residents with questions about whether the new zoning codes will affect their property are encouraged to attend Tuesday's meeting at 6:30 p.m. at the city library.
For information on how to watch the meeting live online or to submit comments, click here.
