Council opens hearings and advances zoning-code updates on historic review, accessory units and marijuana rules

Lebanon City Council held public hearings Jan. 14 and moved forward with multiple zoning-code changes that would adjust the city’s Architectural Review Overlay (ARO), add accessory dwelling units (ADUs) as a permitted use in most residential districts and update local marijuana-dispensary and possession language following a November ballot measure.

The proposed ARO and ADU text and map changes implement recommendations from the Envision Lebanon comprehensive plan and a Planning Commission review; planners said the Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval of the ARO map and text changes at its Nov. 19 meeting.

City staff described a tiered ARO approach that would reclassify properties inside the overlay into three tiers based on historic significance. Tier 1 would cover the most historically significant properties and require a certificate of appropriateness (COA) and Planning Commission review for visible, significant exterior modifications; Tier 2 would have fewer restrictions; Tier 3 would be the most permissive and the COA fee would be waived for Tier 3 properties. Staff said the proposed boundary expansion for the overlay would bring in additional properties and noted that seven of the nine Lebanon properties individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places are currently outside the existing ARO.

On ADUs, staff proposed allowing accessory dwelling units in all single-family residential zoning districts except multifamily zones, with standards including owner-occupancy of the lot, a maximum accessory-unit area of 75% of the principal building’s first-floor area, a maximum height of 20 feet, a minimum 10-foot setback from side and rear property lines for new construction, and a limit of 80% impervious surface in interior yards. Conversions of existing accessory structures would be streamlined and generally exempt from additional setback or minimum-lot-size requirements; however, new construction or expansions that increase site modification by more than 15% would be subject to conditional-use review by the Planning Commission, staff said.

Staff also told the council the proposed text amendments would incorporate language from the November 2024 ballot initiative. Under the draft language, a medical marijuana dispensary that existed as of June 7, 2024, would be permitted to dispense adult-use marijuana at its existing location, and penalties for some marijuana offenses would be removed consistent with the ballot results.

During the ADU hearing, resident Andrew Johnson (495 Oakcrest Court) spoke in favor of allowing ADUs and urged the city to avoid parking minimums that could prevent small-lot conversions; he asked whether there is a reason for the 10-foot setback beyond stormwater/runoff considerations. Staff replied that the 10-foot standard mirrors the city’s garage standard and is intended to limit broad expanses of concrete in rear yards.

Councilmembers who spoke during the hearings cited historic preservation as a motivating factor for the ARO changes and expressed support for ADUs as an affordable-housing option. City staff said they used consultant NSA Design and a stakeholder group of residents, business representatives, preservation groups, builders and elected officials; the group held four meetings over eight months and a public meeting on May 16 with about 60 attendees.

Council opened and closed both public hearings during the meeting and moved the related ordinances to the next steps on the agenda (first readings were introduced for the ARO and the ADU/marijuana amendments). The Planning Commission’s unanimous recommendation and the public input were cited repeatedly in council discussion.

If adopted in later readings and any required final votes, the changes would alter how exterior modifications are reviewed in historic areas, allow more ADU conversions and implement voter-approved changes about marijuana dispensing and penalties.