Board of Adjustment approves ‘cottage’ standards for Wyatt Acres on Wyatt Lane

The Columbia Board of Adjustment voted 4–1 on June 10 to allow the use of optional “cottage” development standards for a proposed subdivision at 4100 North Wyatt Lane, a 5.05‑acre parcel the applicant called Wyatt Acres.

The board approved the optional standards to permit smaller single‑family lots and a more compact street layout, subject to minimum dimensional conditions: a 20‑foot front yard; 6‑foot side yards; rear yard setbacks of 20 feet for structures (10 feet for uncovered patios) on the eastern and southern property lines and 10 feet on the northern boundary; and a minimum lot width of 38 feet. The motion passed on a roll call vote: Norgard — yes; Hammond — no; Minshew — yes; Rogers — yes; Sharp — yes.

The decision allows the developer to use the cottage rules in the city’s Unified Development Code rather than the standard R‑2 dimensional requirements. City planning staff and the applicant said the change would allow roughly 31 buildable lots plus one existing house (described in materials and presentations as a 32‑lot layout), producing smaller lots (applicant average roughly 4,400 square feet) intended for single‑family detached homes priced, the applicant estimated, to start around $250,000.

City planning staff (Pat, planning staff) framed the request as a single‑family product created under the 2017 Unified Development Code…