Planning Commission approves ordinance changes to accessory-structure rules, defers greenhouse and storage-container sections

The Planning Commission on Aug. 11 approved a draft ordinance amending Chapter 94 of the municipal code to loosen several rules affecting accessory structures, home occupations and temporary temporary-use allowances for businesses, but removed the greenhouse and portable storage-container provisions for further revision.

The commission approved the draft ordinance with the two sections — Section 6 (greenhouses/adjusted accessory-structure standards) and Section 11 (temporary portable storage containers) — struck out and returned to staff for rework. Staff and the commission said the change is intended to reduce regulatory roadblocks for small projects while clarifying enforcement and safety requirements.

Planning Department staff said the draft contains multiple changes: adjustments to where home-occupation uses are allowed in multi-family and manufactured-home zoning, new allowances for small greenhouses as accessory structures with relaxed wind-load requirements, allowances for longer-term, screened portable storage containers in limited commercial situations under a temporary-use permitting process, and code corrections to align the municipality’s searchable code with the version used by staff (Municode discrepancies). The draft also raises the maximum accessory building height in single-family zoning from 15 feet to 20 feet and removes the column limiting “number of floors” for accessory buildings, intended to allow usable attic/truss space or second-story accessory rooms.

Staff described the greenhouse provision as an effort to allow modest backyard greenhouses without forcing residents to design to full UDC wind and snow loads. The draft initially set a reduced wind-load standard to avoid “extremely over-engineered” construction for small backyard greenhouses, but staff said available product ratings will influence the final language. Staff noted some consumer polycarbonate greenhouse kits are rated at about 56 miles per hour and would not meet a 60-mph standard; commercial greenhouses typically have much higher ratings. Commissioners asked staff to confirm whether compliant products exist and whether the standard should be adjusted if retail kits are unavailable.

On portable storage containers, staff explained the code currently treats containers as a residential, 30-day moving permit; the proposed change would create a temporary-use permitting pathway for certain nonresidential uses (for example, remodeling projects or short-term staging during business operations) with screening and site-plan requirements. Commissioners debated whether to allow ongoing commercial use (which some businesses effectively use as accessory storage behind fences or in industrial parks) or keep the allowance strictly temporary to avoid turning commercial areas into permanent storage yards. Commissioners also raised enforcement logistics and the potential workload created by making existing long-standing deployments retroactively noncompliant; staff said any 30-day clock in a new rule would not be applied retroactively and enforcement would start after adoption.

Commissioners and staff also discussed code housekeeping items: correcting mislabeled tables Mark Rovers flagged in the draft, and coordinating with Municode so the online, searchable code matches the staff-used version. Staff recommended approving the ordinance except for sections 6 and 11 so those can be reworked and returned at a later meeting.

At the meeting the commission moved to approve the draft ordinance with Sections 6 and 11 removed; the motion passed and the ETZ committee subsequently approved the same recommendation. The commission directed staff to: refine the greenhouse wind-load language and confirm product availability, craft clearer standards and enforcement language for portable storage containers (including screening and temporary-use permit parameters), and coordinate final code text with Municode before returning the removed sections for consideration.

The ordinance, as amended by the commission’s action, also increases flexibility for accessory buildings — allowing taller accessory structures and removing a floors-per-accessory-building limit — changes staff said are intended to allow productive use of attic/truss space and reduce barriers to modest accessory dwelling features.

Staff said they will return with revised language for Sections 6 and 11 at a future meeting and will continue to coordinate with the ETZ committee as needed.