Commissioners quiz staff on new RS-2 zoning and 2,000-square-foot minimum lot size

Madam Chair Klarski and Planning Department staff discussed the RS-2 zoning standard and minimum lot area during the Sept. 2 Planning Commission briefing, with staff confirming RS-2 sets a 2,000-square-foot minimum lot area.

Chair Klarski asked what an RS-2 lot "looks like," and staff answered that RS-2's minimum lot area is 2,000 square feet and that RS-5.2, by contrast, has a 5,200-square-foot minimum. A staff speaker cited Section 300208 as the code location for RS-2 standards. Commissioners reacted to the small size; one commissioner said, "God, that's a small lot," as the discussion underscored that RS-2 was included in the new rewrite of the development code.

Why it matters: RS-2's 2,000-square-foot minimum affects allowable lot patterns and neighborhood character where the zone is applied; commissioners signaled surprise, which may inform future reviews of projects that use RS-2.

Details: staff identified the minimum-lot-area difference between RS-2 and RS-5.2 and confirmed RS-2's code location in Section 300208. The conversation occurred amid presentations of several rezoning and tentative-map items that reference RS-2 and related lot standards.

No formal change to code was proposed at the briefing; the exchange was a staff clarification requested by commissioners during the briefing.