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Commission holds work session on SR‑174 rules for antiquated subdivisions; staff to prepare text amendment
Summary
At a work session the commission discussed amending SR‑174 zoning rules to allow larger accessory structures and permit accessory structures to be built before a residence in certain antiquated subdivisions, and directed staff to draft text and return in June.
The commission held a work session to discuss potential text amendments to SR‑174, a special residential zoning district that the staff said is concentrated in older, “antiquated” subdivisions such as SunSites. Commissioners asked staff to draft a narrowly targeted change allowing accessory structures to be built prior to a principal residence and for accessory buildings to exceed the square footage of the principal residence when parcels meet specified criteria (for example, a minimum combined site area of four acres) and are located in defined antiquated subdivisions.
Staff explained SR‑174 historically restricts construction sequencing and prohibits accessory buildings that exceed the size of the primary residence; applicants seeking barns or large outbuildings have sought rezoning to RU‑4 to gain flexibility. Staff presented three options: (1) leave the regulations unchanged; (2) amend county zoning to allow accessory structures to exceed and be built before principal structures generally; or (3) adopt a narrowly drawn exception limited to antiquated subdivisions where providing full infrastructure is unlikely and owner‑builder patterns predominate. The third option would include a clear definition of “antiquated subdivision” and a minimum site‑area threshold and would not rewrite rules countywide.
Commissioners discussed whether to define “exceed” by square footage or by reference to the principal residence, whether to include height limits, and whether the change should be countywide or limited to areas that predate modern subdivision regulation. Several commissioners favored a narrowly targeted amendment limited to antiquated subdivisions to reduce neighborhood opposition and avoid broad policy shifts.
Staff will draft the text amendment and return the language to the commission at a future meeting; commissioners asked staff to consider specifying square footage and height clarifications and to include public notice and standards for acreage aggregation, floodplain and environmental concerns prior to a vote.
