MEMORANDUM

TO: City Council

FROM: David J. Deutsch, City Manager

SUBJECT: City Development Review Guidelines and Policies
Staff Overview of Existing Policies

DATE: 11/6/03

Attached is a copy of the current City Development Review Guidelines document, approved by Council in October, 2002. You will notice that the document is divided into two sections, Section One includes Development Review Guidelines and Section Two includes Development Review Policies. The last several updates to the document dealt with design guidelines in Section One that are used in the site plan and subdivision review process. For the worksession, staff’s intent is to provide Council with an overview of current development policies. An assessment of the City’s development policies is timely, in that it precedes the upcoming effort to update the Bowie Master Plan.

Staff will be providing a Powerpoint presentation that highlights the policies in Section Two. The policies will be separated, to the extent possible, to fall into the four (4) geographic locations identified in the Bowie Master Plan update, including the Rural Tier, the Developing Tier, the Bowie Regional Center and Old Town Bowie. The objective is to show which of the City’s current policies apply directly to these areas. Staff will also provide a general overview of the remaining development policies by topical area (e.g. environment, transportation, public facilities, etc.). Staff is not proposing any specific amendments at this time.

This overview will provide Council with a fresh opportunity to review existing policies and recommend any updates or changes. It will serve to provide a transition into the Bowie Master Plan update process. Most recently, the City has provided input on several very important County policy planning efforts, including public hearing testimony on the 2002 General Plan and public forum testimony concerning the Bowie Master Plan, the Master Plan of Transportation and Green Infrastructure Plan. At the worksession, staff will also discuss the correlation between the Development Review Policies and these City position statements.

Following the presentation, staff will be available to answer any questions or receive direction from City Council regarding the City’s policies.