Until after the Nov. 3 election, Roman Forest officials are postponing the creation of a zoning commission that would be charged with hearing variance requests from citizens.
The details
Roman Forest officials first announced the city would create a zoning commission at the council’s Sept. 28 zoning workshop.
At the council’s Oct. 26 meeting, Mayor Chris Parr said the creation of the commission would come after new members of the council are sworn in following the upcoming election.
“I think the city council’s role of being our own commission served a purpose up front, but I would like to think we have got to a point where we need to have other citizens in our city be a part of that commission,” Parr said. “We are going to bring names to the table, but we are going to do that with our new council starting next month.”
Some context
In September 2025, council members approved a comprehensive plan for the city, which City Attorney Scott Francis said laid the groundwork for potential zoning regulations.
Francis said that, while a zoning commission is not legally required, city officials have the option to create one to hear variance requests from individuals who wish to construct something outside the bounds of the future zoning regulations.
While the potential zoning regulations are still subject to change, Parr expressed interest during a June 9 meeting in restricting future commercial development to portions of Roman Forest Boulevard, Galaxy Boulevard and Appian Way.
Francis previously noted the city’s comprehensive plan contained 10 potential land-use categories that could be used for zoning regulations, including:
Single-family residential detached
Single-family residential attached
Manufactured and mobile housing
Neighborhood commercial
Public institutional
Parks and recreation
Forested and open space
Agricultural
Utilities and easements
Vacant or undeveloped
Francis noted the zoning regulations could not prevent a particular business from coming to the city, but they could be used to restrict where specific businesses are allowed to exist within city limits.
What’s next
Once the new members are sworn in, Parr said each council member will be tasked with bringing recommendations for individuals to serve on the commission. Council members are next set to meet Nov. 23.
