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West Palm Beach amends zoning to let historic 'shotgun' houses be subdivided in Northwest neighborhood
Summary
The City Commission approved a text amendment letting the Historic Preservation Board grant dimensional exceptions that would enable subdivision of contributing shotgun houses into fee‑simple lots in the historic Northwest neighborhood, intended to preserve housing affordability and return derelict properties to use.
The West Palm Beach City Commission approved a zoning text amendment to give the Historic Preservation Board authority to grant special‑dimensional exemptions for contributing shotgun houses on parcels containing multiple historic structures in the Northwest residential historic district.
Leslie Olson, principal at District Planning Group representing the West Palm Beach Community Redevelopment Agency, told the commission the CRA bought a parcel with six shotgun houses at 610 Douglas Avenue and sought a way to rehabilitate and enable long‑term affordable, fee‑simple ownership for each small house. Olson said conventional zoning and the historic ordinance did not allow subdivision at the small lot sizes needed, and that an owner‑occupied, fee‑simple option would avoid creating a costly homeowners association for six units.
Chris Chimerley, senior urban designer for the city, said the parcel is currently a legal nonconformity: under today's zoning it could only support two units on the lot rather than the six existing structures. The amendment narrows applicability so the special exceptions apply only where the structures are contributing, are historic shotgun houses, are principal dwellings, provide street frontage after platting, and minimize nonconformities to the greatest extent feasible.
Why it matters: The change is aimed at preserving an architectural housing type that once provided inherently affordable homes and to enable rehabilitation, long‑term ownership and occupancy in the Northwest historic district. Staff and the CRA emphasized limits on broader use: the amendment is tailored to the shotgun typology and to the Northwest historic residential district to avoid a general relaxation of dimensional standards across the city.
What the ordinance allows and limits - Allowed exceptions: lot area, lot width, setbacks, lot coverage and floor‑area‑ratio may be exempted by the Historic Preservation Board where standards are met. - Applicability limits: all structures must be contributing historic shotgun houses, must be principal dwellings, lots must provide street frontage, and the subdivision must not create substantial new nonconformities. - Geographic scope: staff recommended (and the commission adopted) language that limits the amendment’s immediate application to the historic Northwest residential district; staff identified several other parcels that could later be evaluated.
Public comment and votes A resident commenter urged caution about structural condition and costs; the commission voted unanimously to adopt the ordinance (Ordinance No. 51 26‑25) on first reading and carried through to approval at this meeting.
Next steps If property owners in the Northwest district seek to subdivide under this rule, they will pursue a special exception from the Historic Preservation Board and must show compliance with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for rehabilitation. The Development Services Department will process any such plats and waivers per the amended code.
