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Sanford planning staff offers four options to ease downtown parking rules for patios and new development
Summary
Planning Director Hassen presented four options to the commission to address downtown parking and outdoor seating, including a proposal to treat building and patio together for the first 5,000 square feet exemption under Schedule H.
Planning Director Hassen presented four staff options to address downtown parking and outdoor seating: (1) leave vesting closed, (2) reopen vested rights for a defined period with strict proof requirements, (3) amend Schedule H to exempt up to 5,000 square feet of combined building and patio from parking requirements, or (4) remove parking requirements for outdoor seating.
Hassen said proving vesting for pre‑2023 patios is difficult because documentation (dated invoices, dated photographs, previously filed city applications) is often incomplete. If the commission reopens vesting, staff would require an application via CitizenServe, payment of fees, site plans meeting LDR requirements and authenticated proofs that seating existed prior to the 2023 deadline; Hassen cautioned that staff are not trained to authenticate forensic photos or video dates.
Under option 3, staff suggested expanding existing Schedule H exemptions (which currently exempt the first 5,000 square feet of building for redevelopment) to treat building plus patio together as eligible for the first 5,000 square feet of exemption. Under option 4, the city would remove parking requirements for outdoor seating subject to permitting. Commissioners discussed tradeoffs: some favored option 4 for ease and to help businesses that suffer unpredictable weather and limited patio use; others urged caution because exempting patios could create conflicts if owners later enclose outdoor space to create additional indoor seating and then seek to build without providing parking.
Staff noted practical implementation issues: the fee‑in‑lieu program for required parking currently lacks an identified expenditure plan and the city must create a plan for any parking fees collected; if the city takes fees it must spend them within a specified period or risk returning funds. Commissioners directed staff to research whether the first 5,000 square feet exemption applies to new construction and to return with ordinance text options for amending Schedule H or removing parking requirements for outdoor seating. Hassen said staff would look up the existing code language and return with draft text.
No ordinance was adopted at the work session; commissioners indicated a preference to pursue either option 3 or 4 and requested specific draft language and legal/administrative guidance for the commission to consider.
