Richfield staff outline MR2/MR3 zoning changes to encourage ‘missing middle’ housing; council debates administrative approvals and design rules

Richfield City staff on Tuesday laid out draft updates to the city’s MR2 and MR3 zoning districts intended to make it easier to build duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes and smaller apartment buildings — commonly described in the meeting as “missing middle” housing — while adding new design controls and processes for review.

“We’re here this evening, as you know, to discuss some updates to 2 different zoning districts,” said Sam Crosby, a planner in the community development department, introducing the project and the goals for the work session. Consultant Lance Bernard of TC2 told the joint Richfield City Council and Planning Commission the effort focuses on design details for buildings that would be allowed within existing MR2 and MR3 zones, not on rezoning or changing land use designations. “The overall purpose of evaluating the MR2 and MR3 zoning districts is really to try to find better opportunities to facilitate missing middle housing,” Bernard said.

The staff presentation and packet proposed changes across several topics: limit parking to rear and interior side yards (or underground), require a 4‑foot privacy screen where parking abuts low‑density residential, prioritize alley and side‑street access over front access, set articulation requirements to favor vertical expression and prohibit any wall longer than 200 feet, and limit blank building faces to 25 feet. Entries must face the front of the lot and include pedestrian protection from weather. Exterior materials guidance would prohibit architecturally textured concrete, limit finished…