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Draft code separates residential-commercial conversions, limits ADUs and tightens noise, parking rules
Summary
Staff proposed new Rescom categories, limits accessory dwelling units to 800 square feet, clarified accessory-structure maximums and added new parking and amplified-sound rules to trigger special-use review near residences.
City planning staff explained a set of changes intended to separate residential living from commercial rental uses and to add clear rules for accessory dwelling units (ADUs), accessory structures, parking and amplified-sound regulation.
Jake, who presented the item, said the code will add specific use types such as “dwelling single unit commercial conversion,” “dwelling 2‑unit commercial conversion,” and “dwelling single unit non owner occupied” to replace older, inconsistent language. Staff said the changes move away from defining household composition by “family” or lease documents and instead regulate by permitted bedroom count and by whether a unit is owner-occupied.
On ADUs and accessory structures, staff said: “No accessory dwelling unit shall exceed 50% of the heated floor area of the principal structure” and also that “the gross floor area of any accessory dwelling unit shall not exceed 800 square feet,” language repeated by staff in the discussion. Staff added that accessory structures in residential districts should not exceed 1,000 square feet combined, while accessory structures in nonresidential districts would be limited to 2,000 square feet or 10% of principal-building floor area, whichever applies.
Staff also told the meeting it is clarifying parking rules, separating commercial and residential parking standards and adding residential driveway standards to coordinate with public-works requirements. On noise and amplified sound, staff said the draft broadens the trigger for special-use review to any land use where people live (not strictly “residential zone districts”) so that a bar or venue adjacent to multifamily housing in a mixed-use zone can be subject to special-use conditions. Staff explained why they did not adopt a decibel standard: “When it gets to court, if you haven't done a sound study, you're gonna get tossed out,” and local enforcement rarely carries decibel meters.
No formal vote on these provisions was recorded in the transcript excerpt; staff said the changes are intended to preserve residential neighborhoods’ character while updating language to current use‑type nomenclature.
