Staff revives residential design guidelines; proposes one‑tree minimum, driveway and parking guidance to shape small‑lot development

Staff presented a revised set of residential design regulations intended to cover single‑family and multifamily housing after recent state law limited the scope of multifamily design review.

Senior planner Ray Lindbergh said the city updated its design regulations in 2019 and is now proposing to replace the previous "multifamily" section with a broader "residential design" chapter that includes subheadings for multifamily and single‑family design, landscaping, people‑spaces and vehicle handling. Lindbergh said state legislation (cited during the meeting as a driver) restricts making design approval substantially harder for multifamily housing than for single‑family housing, so the city opted to bring single‑family design review into the same framework rather than remove multifamily review entirely.

Key proposals discussed included: - Requiring a minimum amount of landscaping and consideration of public realm design; staff suggested at least one street‑front tree per single‑family lot as a simple, enforceable standard. - Encouraging front porches and locating living areas forward of garages to avoid "walls of garages" along blocks. - Setting a 20‑foot driveway length standard so vehicles can park off the street without overhanging sidewalks. - Considering reduced parking requirements in the future and folding design guidance into an eventual form‑based code.

Commissioners raised practical concerns about tree species and sidewalk damage, site constraints for long vehicles and how accessory dwelling units and middle‑housing forms would fit the standard. Lindbergh said the city maintains a street‑tree list to guide appropriate species selection and that the current draft is intended as a stop‑gap until a fuller form‑based code can be developed. Staff will return with more fully formed standards and illustrative diagrams for the commission to review.