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Commission asks staff to draft zoning changes on corner-lot fences and business-park studios
Summary
Planning staff sought input on allowing six-foot fences in street-side yards on corner lots and on whether dance studios and similar educational services should be permitted in the B-2 Employment District; the commission directed staff to return with formal amendment language.
Rosemont — Planning staff on Aug. 26 asked the Rosemont Planning Commission for feedback on two potential zoning ordinance amendments: allowing six-foot privacy fences in street-side yards of corner lots, and clarifying whether dance studios and similar "educational services" should be permitted in the B-2 Employment (business park) district.
"There's just two sections of the code that staff would like some feedback from the planning commission on," Anthony, planning staff, told the commission when introducing the items. The sections are: fence standards for street-side yards on corner lots, and the zoning classification for educational services (which in the city code specifically calls out dance and music instruction).
Under current code, staff said, front yards have a maximum fence height of 42 inches and a limited side-yard area that abuts a neighbor’s front yard is limited to 48 inches. Staff told commissioners that among several peer cities reviewed, none regulate the street-side yard height the same way Rosemont does; some allow 6-foot fences and one reviewed city, Lakeville, requires an additional 10-foot setback from public rights-of-way.
Staff also described a recent, narrow accommodation made under the Americans with Disabilities Act for an individual at a private residence that allowed an exception to the height rule; staff said such cases are handled individually and staff wants to avoid ad hoc exceptions by clarifying code language.
On the second item, staff said dance studios were listed in the code under the definition of educational services and therefore are not currently a permitted use in the B-2 district, even though indoor commercial recreation facilities (for example, the existing Concord Ninja in Biscayne Business Park) are permitted. Staff outlined two approaches: (1) make educational services a permitted use in B-2 (which would include tutoring and similar uses), or (2) revise definitions so that dance studios fall under indoor commercial recreation and would be allowed without adding educational services to B-2.
Commissioners generally expressed support for simplifying the code and for allowing such uses in business-park settings, while noting the need to maintain front-yard height limits (42 inches) and to consider parking requirements. Staff said Keystone Development Partners, the developer marketing space in Biscayne Business Park, has room to add parking if needed.
The commission directed staff to draft formal ordinance language and return with the changes for consideration at the September meeting, including other related code edits the planning department is consolidating. Commissioners emphasized doing the work thoroughly so the city would not need to patch the code again later.
Why it matters: The amendments would affect homeowners’ options for privacy fences on corner lots and change where studios, tutoring centers and similar small educational or recreational operators can locate in the city’s business parks. Staff said clearer rules may also reduce lost economic-development leads from prospective tenants who read the current code as too restrictive.
Staff will prepare formal amendment text for the commission’s next regular meeting.
