Turning pretty pictures into reality through city code

Cheney zoning and development update work continues with visual surveys

By BECKY THOMAS

Staff Reporter

Images of lush landscaped sidewalks, modern condos and endless big box parking lots flashed before the eyes of dozens of Cheneyites taking part in planning meetings last week.

Participants looked at 243 images for 10 seconds each, marking 243 X's under a preference scale during several visual preference surveys held as part of the city's zoning and development code update.

The results will be tabulated and included as Community Development staff begin drafting a new unified development code for Cheney in the coming weeks.

Community Development director Brian Jennings said the visual surveys were meant to get a general sense of what people want to see in the built structure of Cheney.

“We're paying attention more to building size, building bulk, parking lot size, setbacks,” he said. “It's just another way to get information from the community.”

The visual survey was split into categories: streetscapes and sidewalks, parking lots, single family residential, multi-family residential, mixed use, commercial and parks/open space. Each category showed a variety of historical and modern scenes, from upscale to utilitarian. A few images showed current Cheney residences and streets.

Cheney planner Brett Lucas said the results of the visual preference survey, as well as public comment received in the past few months, would be considered as things like zoning codes and planning redevelopment are written into the new code.

Lucas has also been combing through the current code and highlighting problems that need to be corrected in the new code. He said the biggest issues are with out-of-date language and confusing structure. The code should be more user-friendly for city staff and community members, he said, and should fit with current needs and the evolving real estate market.

The code update process so far, along with the issues Lucas uncovered in the current code, was discussed during a public meeting Wednesday, June 27. Throughout the summer, Lucas and Jennings will be drafting the new code, and more public meetings will be scheduled for feedback on the draft sections.

For more information and to share input with city staff, visit http://www.cityofcheney.org/codeupdate.

Becky Thomas can be reached at becky@cheneyfreepress.com.