The Richfield City Council on Sept. 9 approved second readings and summary publication of seven ordinance amendments to MR2 and MR3 multifamily zoning districts designed to facilitate modest-density multifamily development.

The amendments were presented by Council member Burke, who said the updates are intended to promote "missing middle" housing — triplexes, quadplexes and small apartment buildings — consistent with the city’s 2040 comprehensive plan. Burke emphasized the changes focus on regulatory updates rather than rezoning parcels. "It's important to note the update focuses on regulations for multifamily housing construction and does not involve the rezoning of any properties," he said.

Why it matters: City planning staff and consultant TC2 worked on the updates beginning in August 2024; staff said the proposed regulations were tested on typical parcel sizes to ensure feasibility and to streamline approvals for small-scale infill.

Key changes include adjustments to notification procedures for administratively approved site plans: the city will send notice upon receipt of a complete application to parcels adjacent to the project site or parcels that would be adjacent except for a right of way, rather than a wider 300-foot mailing. The proposed allowance for air-conditioning unit encroachment was removed; variance requests remain available for exceptional cases. Descriptive window language was standardized for consistency.

Several council members thanked staff for an eight-month process of outreach and testing; Council member Heaf for the lady said she was "hopeful that we'll see some promising projects that are bringing more housing options to Richfield and I'm really grateful for your work in facilitating that." The council approved the ordinances and then approved a resolution authorizing summary publication; the meeting record notes the publication vote registered four ayes.

Ending: The amendments aim to streamline the review process and help implement density ranges set in the 2040 comprehensive plan; staff said they will proceed with the next administrative steps and the summary publication of the ordinances.