KETTERING — The city of Kettering is rewriting its zoning code for the first time since 1976 with a focus on upgrading commercial strips and bolstering residential neighborhoods.

“We are no longer a development community. We are a redevelopment community. Our rules and procedures need to reflect that,” said Tom Robillard, planning and development director.

Highlights of the rewritten code will be presented and discussed at a series of public meetings beginning July 11.

“We’ve drafted a document that helps us prepare for the future. Now it’s time to take it out to the community, but also to businesses and developers, to talk about it and hear their concerns,” City Manager Mark Schwieterman said.

Robillard said the intent is “to make the rules clear and consistent — to create certainty.”

Goals include “protecting our residential neighborhoods, upholding aesthetics and revitalizing our commercial districts, but also shaping how that will be accomplished.”

Residential zoning will see the least change.

“Most requirements there will remain exactly the same. The lone exceptions will be additions or new homes built in existing neighborhoods. Those will be required to be compatible with what’s there,” Robillard said.

The biggest changes will be applied in commercial developments, reflecting their differences.

“Town and Country Shopping Center (bordered byFar Hills Avenue and Shroyer and Stroop roads) will now be considered a Town Center Pattern District” with its own set of rules, Robillard said.

The Meijer store area at Stroop Road and Wilmington Pike, “has developed completely differently. It will be designated a Suburban Center Pattern District. It’s less connected to the neighborhood. It’s more oriented to the car. It’s a driving destination,” he said.

City staff and members of the planning commission have reviewed every development in the city during the past 10 years to study what has and hasn’t worked, Robillard said.

“We’ve asked what we want to see in the future as development comes in and have tried to set up rules that will encourage that,” Robillard said.

“We’d like to see more projects like The Shops at 3000,” a new commercial strip that has transformed an underutilized corner at Far Hills and Dorothy, Robillard said.

By contrast, “Wilmington Pike between Stroop and Dorothy is an area that hasn’t worked. It’s our most challenging area. A lot of those places have not reinvested in the location and it shows.”

Once the new code is completed, it will go before the planning commission and City Council for public hearings and approval.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2377 or terry.morris@coxinc.com.