Inyo County seeks zoning, setback changes to unlock infill housing in Big Pine, Independence and Lone Pine

The Inyo County Board of Supervisors heard a presentation May 27 on a county planning project that aims to clear regulatory barriers to infill housing in Big Pine, Independence and Lone Pine.

Danielle Viswanee, a planner with the county, and Jenna Chilingarian of Precision Civil Engineering said the project is funded by a 2024 Regional Early Action Planning (REAP2) grant from the California Department of Housing and Community Development and will run through December 2025. "The outcome of the project will be a set of recommendations for changes to the zoning ordinance and general plan, if any, that are specifically designed to encourage housing on infill parcels in Big Pine, Independence, and Lone Pine," Chilingarian told the board.

The consultant presented an inventory of infill parcels and a preliminary capacity analysis. Findings include: - Big Pine: 21 infill parcels identified, ranging 0.16 to 1.13 acres; 15 already zoned residential, 6 zoned commercial but eligible for multifamily development under current rules. - Independence: 15 parcels, 0.15 to 0.34 acres; 7 residential-zoned, 8 commercial-zoned parcels adjacent to Main Street/Highway 395. - Lone Pine: 16 parcels, 0.11 to 2.5 acres; 12 residential and 4 commercial.

Chilingarian showed how a mismatch between general-plan densities and current zoning can block the number of units that a lot could accommodate. Using a roughly 0.25-acre example in Big Pine, she said the general plan's RM (medium-density residential) designation would allow about "4.6 to 7.5 dwelling units per acre," but the parcel's R-1 zoning currently permits one unit — effectively limiting potential development.

The presentation identified other constraints: minimum lot-size rules that prevent legal lot splits (example: a 10,904-square-foot lot cannot be split into two conforming lots under a 5,800-square-foot minimum), and front/rear-yard setback requirements that can reduce buildable area to roughly half of a small lot. Chilingarian showed scenarios in which modest reductions (5 to 15 feet) in front and rear setbacks would increase buildable area markedly.

Board members and residents raised infrastructure and safety questions. Supervisor Jeff Griffiths asked that setbacks near Highway 395 be examined for safety, citing past vehicle collisions that struck Main Street storefronts. County staff said safety and fire access will be evaluated case by case and that the draft proposals would be coordinated with local fire chiefs and the CEQA process.

The project team reported about 70 workshop attendees across two earlier rounds of community meetings and roughly 25 survey responses so far; the survey remains open through June. The Planning Department and consultant said they will continue outreach, complete the zoning and general-plan amendment drafts, and prepare a CEQA document this summer with adoption hearings expected in October or November.

No zoning changes or ordinance amendments were adopted at the May 27 meeting; the board received the report and discussed direction for staff and consultants.