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Planning and Zoning Commission reviews municipal-code changes to allow reasonable housing accommodations under federal law
Summary
Staff asked the Planning and Zoning Commission whether determinations on reasonable accommodations required by the 1988 Fair Housing Act amendments should be handled by staff or elevated to the commission; commissioners discussed scope (housing vs. commercial), tests for necessity, and two related code edits on administration and lot replatting.
City planning staff brought draft municipal-code amendments to the Planning and Zoning Commission on Aug. 6 that would create a process for granting "reasonable accommodations or modifications" for housing as required by the Fair Housing Act amendments of 1988.
The proposal would give staff the authority to decide requests first, with appeals handled through the normal appeals process (the board of adjustment), unless the commission directs otherwise. Patrick, a planning staff member presenting the amendments, said the changes are meant to provide an alternative to the higher variance standard and to help the city comply with federal law.
The change matters because the variance standard is typically difficult for applicants to meet; the proposed reasonable-accommodation process would allow exceptions to zoning when…
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