Planning board backs code change to allow 26-foot driveways for multifamily properties with pervious-surface suggestion

The Planning and Zoning Board voted May 20 to recommend a proposed amendment to the city’s land-development code that would allow residential driveways in the public right-of-way to be widened to 26 feet for duplexes and larger multifamily dwellings, with five-by-five apron flares on each side. The board also included a nonbinding suggestion that any driveway width in excess of the city’s standard 18 feet be constructed with pervious materials to limit stormwater runoff.

Staff said the change responds to requests from property owners of duplexes and other multifamily units who need wider curb openings to provide parking and safe two-car access. The city’s current rule limits residential curb openings to 18 feet; anything on private property beyond the curb does not count toward the ISR calculation but the right-of-way width is governed by city standards. Public Works proposed the change, and the department’s memo in the meeting packet recommended it to accommodate duplexes with multiple bedrooms and parking needs.

Several speakers, including local resident and planner Greg Thompson, urged the board to consider swales or pervious-apron designs to capture initial runoff and reduce pollution that now flows directly into storm drains. The board’s recommendation to the commission asked that anything over 18 feet be pervious to help infiltration; staff noted adopting citywide swale requirements would be a larger policy decision outside this code-change hearing and flagged maintenance and city-resource implications.

The board approved the amendment as presented and forwarded it with the pervious-surface suggestion to the City Commission for final action.