City of Oshkosh Zoning Ordinance Rewrite

The City of Oshkosh is soliciting proposals from qualified planning and zoning consultants, as well as multidisciplinary firms or consultant teams, to complete a comprehensive rewrite of the City's zoning ordinance. The City's goal is to modernize the ordinance to support predictable development outcomes, reduce administrative burdens, and reflect current technologies and market conditions. The City intends to replace the existing zoning code — not simply update it — with a clear, graphic-rich, user-friendly ordinance.

The City seeks an ordinance that defines regulations using a combination of text, graphics, and images/photographs. The ordinance must promote predictable, high-quality outcomes that respect the character of surrounding development while enabling economic growth in appropriate areas that strengthen the community's identity. The ordinance should incorporate a coherent framework of zoning districts, potential subcategories within districts, and overlays that allow for special provisions based on geographic location within the City.

The new ordinance should be designed to include the following features:

1. Easy to navigate and understand: Written so the public can readily interpret requirements and City staff can administer and enforce them consistently.
2. Graphic-supported standards: Text supported and enhanced with charts, graphics, images, and photos where appropriate.
3. Online-ready format: Fully functional and user-friendly in an online environment.
4. Clear permissions and prohibitions: Clearly identify what is permitted and under what conditions, and explicitly state when items that may be presumed allowable are prohibited.
5. Appropriate flexibility with durability: Allow flexibility where appropriate without requiring frequent text revisions, while maintaining a clear and reliable regulatory framework.
6. Minimize cross-referencing: Reduce the need for users to flip between lists and multiple sections to understand requirements.
7. Well-defined land uses: Provide clear, concise, and well-defined permitted and conditional land uses.
8. Process for new or unique uses: Include a defined process for evaluating and classifying uses that are not listed.

At a minimum, the new ordinance must specifically address the following:

1. Minimize the use of Planned Development Districts (PDs).
2. Eliminate discrepancies and conflicts among different sections of the ordinance.
3. Strengthen enforceability of landscaping and other required conditions, including tools to ensure full compliance.
4. Establish standards for acceptable "required" building materials, with flexibility to incorporate and update newer and more modern technologies.
5. Administrative Design Review.
6. Sign Code Review.
7. Nonconforming situations, including existing parking and gravel areas.
8. Subdivision regulations with an emphasis on complete streets.

9. The following section from Chapter 30 does not require review: Historic Preservation.