A vote on the text portion of the comprehensive zoning plan for the city of Covington could come as early as the next meeting, scheduled for March 16.

Naketah Bagby, city planner for Covington, said that a redline copy of the text will be available on the city’s website beginning Monday for public review. It is the exact copy the council will be voting on. The redline copy includes changes to the current text so anyone reading it can compare the before and after text changes.

The overall plan has been in the making for three years. Planning consultant Steve Villavaso and Associates has held public hearings, conducted several rounds of meetings and has collected data, statistics and feedback from the public to create the text that will be considered for adoption. Among the concerns of the text portion of the plan have been questions of what would be considered choices for housing by the Fair Housing Act and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Steve Villavaso explained the process at the Covington comprehensive planning and zoning work session held Tuesday prior to the regular council meeting.

Villavaso explained that multi-family dwelling would need to contain five units or more. Duplexes, triplexes or fourplexes are not multi-family according to the definition set forth by the Fair Housing Act.

He explained that as a planner, there is a point in the process to achieve the model zoning text, looking at where we are and then into the future at the bigger picture. The text as it is proposed reflects the plan for the city,

“A plan that everyone can live with and be proud of, but now we must also translate it into a map,” said Villavaso.

He said during the process, goals were strived for, including housing options, while keeping historic areas and other traditions structures that “make Covington a rich community.”

He said future plans must include looking for housing opportunities and growth opportunities. For Covington, these will exist in the northern portion of the city. He said in order to meet Fair Housing Act multi-family guidelines, some areas zoned commercial may be considered when constructing the zoning map to include multi-family housing.

“It’s an attractive area for it and it could be built into the map,” said Villavaso. “We have an opportunity for excellent housing choice now in the growth corridor. Be creative, do what plan asks us to do and meet the future needs of Covington. Now is the time to do that,” he said.

He reiterated that the text provides for ample housing choices meeting all guidelines and even the city’s master plan, but when the map is constructed, not enough exists and should be planned for. “The ordinance is solid, there are no problems with the choices,” he said. “It is not a choice problem but a map problem.”

Villavaso said that that best use and practices from many sources were used in putting together a code that can serve the city for the next 30 years and also agree with the master plan for the city.