Louisville staff tap Clarion Associates for development-code rewrite

Louisville staff selected Clarion Associates as the preferred consultant for a comprehensive rewrite of the city’s development code after reviewing nine proposals and interviewing four finalist teams, a staff report to the Planning Commission says.

The proposed project would take about 18 months and focus mainly on zoning and development regulations and the city’s design standards, with targeted changes to other municipal code provisions as needed. Topics include development review, zoning districts and permitted uses, housing and sustainability rules, site and design standards, subdivision requirements, and Louisville’s planned-unit-development framework.

The rewrite is intended to put policies already adopted in plans such as the Comprehensive Plan and Housing Plan into effect, rather than reopen those broader policy processes, the report says. The schedule would remain flexible as the city and consultant identify issues and review draft code sections.

The Planning Commission is expected to advise throughout the process, including during diagnosis, development of a regulatory framework, review of draft sections and zoning changes, and adoption. Staff also plans community-wide outreach and topic-specific focus groups that could involve developers, architects, housing providers, sustainability professionals, city boards and commissions, and other stakeholders.

City Council is scheduled to consider the consultant agreement at its 6 p.m. meeting Tuesday, Oct. 6. The official agenda lists Resolution 92, Series 2026, on the consent agenda; the proposed resolution would authorize an agreement of up to $1 million. If Council approves it, staff says project initiation would follow shortly, with a kickoff discussion before the Planning Commission after the consultant is under contract and onboarded.