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Commission debates MSR minimum-lot rule after resident seeks to convert home to duplex
Summary
A San Quentin resident asked the Planning Commission to amend the Main Street Residential standard that requires a minimum 1-acre lot and 8–12 units per acre so he can convert his 0.35-acre property to a duplex; commissioners gave staff direction to draft options.
Lonnie Martinez asked the San Quentin Planning Commission on Tuesday to change the city's Main Street Residential (MSR) standards so owners of smaller lots can convert existing single-family houses into duplexes or small multifamily units.
Martinez said his property sits on about 0.35 acre behind Family Dollar and that the house was built with walk-out basements intended for future conversion to separate units. "There's oodles of play area for kids to play... I could split the backyard in half," Martinez said, explaining he intended to convert the lower-level walkouts into a rental unit.
Staff planning member Ryan reviewed the MSR rule the commission was asked to discuss: current city code requires a minimum lot size of 1 acre for multifamily development in the MSR, with a minimum density of 8 units per acre and a maximum of 12. Ryan said the 1-acre minimum and the 8-unit trigger for required amenities were adopted previously to encourage larger developments with shared amenities.
Commissioners and members of the public debated options including removing the 1-acre minimum, keeping MSR-specific density limits, and adopting a proportional system (for example, 2 units per quarter-acre, 4 per half-acre, 6 per three-quarters, up to 8 per acre). Several commissioners and Martinez favored removing the one-acre floor and letting density scale with lot size; others urged caution to avoid undermining the overall plan for Main Street or generating exceptions that developers could exploit.
Commissioner Romero said MSR zoning "was for a reason" — to channel higher-density housing near Main Street — and supported careful safeguards. Another commissioner suggested a tailored approach that treats conversions of existing houses differently from new developments that would require demolition and reconstruction.
Staff summarized direction: remove the explicit 1-acre minimum from the MSR multifamily provision and craft a clearer, proportional density provision that scales with lot size (for example 2 per quarter-acre, 4 per half-acre, 6 per three-quarters, and 8 per acre), and to preserve MSR-specific standards so changes do not affect other Main Street zones with different ground-floor commercial requirements. Ryan said staff and the assistant city manager would draft proposed code language and return to planning commission for a public hearing in April.
No formal action was taken; the conversation provided commissioners' guidance to staff on several drafting options.
