Yamhill council advances comprehensive-plan and code updates, keeps R‑1 side setback at 7.5 feet

The City of Yamhill City Council on June 11 voted to move forward with legislative amendments to the comprehensive plan and development code, adopting changes recommended by the planning commission with one council revision: the R‑1 side-yard setback will remain 7.5 feet.

The council opened a legislative hearing on LA 2025‑01, a package of code and comprehensive-plan updates produced with two Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) technical assistance grants. Doug Rucks of the Rucks Group, speaking for staff, said the changes update outdated maps and bring Yamhill’s development code into alignment with state laws adopted since the city’s previous code work. “This is a legislative hearing. It's dealing with criteria in chapter 4, Yamhill Municipal Code 10.132060 through 090,” Rucks said during his summary of the staff report.

Rucks and staff emphasized the project is a text amendment only: no land-use map or zone-designation changes were proposed. The proposal addresses multiple statewide planning goals and focuses heavily on housing (noting a State bill referenced in the staff report as “HB 33 95”), updates downtown design and annexation rules, and carries code edits across Titles 10, 11 and 13. Staff entered the full report and exhibits into the hearing record and described a two-step adoption process: the council would hold this hearing, accept public testimony, and then return at a future meeting to adopt an ordinance.

Public comment included technical concerns about accessory dwelling units (ADUs). Mike Wofford of Laurel Street said he was "neutral" but urged council to consider utility and billing consequences if an ADU is permitted to connect directly to water and sewer lines instead of tying into the primary residence: “If the primary residence decides to quit paying their water bill, are you gonna shut them off thus shutting off the rental on the back also?” A city staff member replied that habitability and payment issues are typically landlord responsibilities.

Council and staff debated procedural details the planning commission recommended. Key changes in the draft included new posting requirements for certain Type 2 land-use procedures: the planning official would post conspicuous notice signs on the subject property at least 14 days before a decision, and the official would prepare a signed affidavit documenting dates and posting locations. Rucks explained that the planning official role can be delegated to the city’s contract planner and that appeals of Type 2 staff decisions would be heard by the planning commission; planning-commission decisions, in turn, may be appealed to the city council.

On ADU infrastructure, staff said applicants may connect an ADU either directly to public street infrastructure or to the primary dwelling’s services, but the applicant must demonstrate via building permit review that pipes and systems are sized appropriately. The draft limits ADU size to 50% of the primary dwelling and “not more than 1,000” square feet, language Rucks confirmed was part of the proposal.

Council discussed several planning‑commission recommendations — including clarified definitions, downtown building-design language, and a revised target density range — and then deliberated one amendment. Several councilors said they preferred to retain the existing 7.5‑foot side setback in the R‑1 zone rather than reduce it to 5 feet; the planning commission had recommended a 5‑foot setback to align with other zones. The council approved the amendment to leave R‑1 at 7.5 feet and then voted to move the ordinance through the formal adoption process.

Council made a motion "for the first, second readings by title only and adoption of the ordinance adopting legislative amendments to the municipal code Titles 10, 11 and 13 and the comprehensive plan as amended by the council and recommended by the planning commission to leave 7.5 feet side setback in R‑1." The motion passed unanimously. The council directed staff to prepare an ordinance reflecting the council’s revisions and to publish a clean version for the DLCD grant deliverable. The ordinance must be made available to the public at least 10 days before the first reading; the council scheduled the first reading (and possible adoption in a single meeting) for July 9, 2025, at 6:30 p.m. in Council Chambers.

What happens next: staff will finalize the ordinance text, publish the required public-notice materials and, if needed, return to council with any minor edits identified between now and the July meeting. Councilors and staff repeatedly noted that this is an initial, grant-funded code update and that future amendments are likely as the city and stakeholders test the new rules in practice.

Votes at a glance

- Ordinance (legislative amendments to Titles 10, 11, 13 and the Comprehensive Plan, LA 2025‑01): motion to proceed with the ordinance as recommended by planning commission and amended by council (retain R‑1 side setback at 7.5 feet). Outcome: passed unanimously; first reading scheduled July 9, 2025.

Supporting documents and next steps

Staff entered exhibits A–I and a code-audit summary into the record. DLCD grant deliverables noted by staff include a clean ordinance text and the required grant closeout materials; staff said the reimbursement submission will follow once documents are complete.