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Planning staff reviews narrow-lot conditional-use permit requests under 2024 code change; commissioners raise parking and tree-loss concerns
Summary
Planning staff presented conditional-use permit applications to split zoning lots and permit narrow single-family lots allowed under a 2024 zoning ordinance amendment, and commissioners asked for additional analysis on parking, tree loss and neighborhood patterns.
Planning staff presented multiple applications to create narrow, nonconforming single‑family lots and sought conditional-use permits under a 2024 ordinance change that allows lots as narrow as 25 feet and 2,500 square feet when developed with a single-family dwelling meeting form standards.
The commission heard two detailed examples: a proposal to split a single zoning lot at 2314 and 2316 Bolton Street into separate parcels and a separate proposal to develop a narrow lot at 1267 West Fortieth Street. Staff explained both properties are currently held in common ownership as a single zoning lot and that the 2024 amendment allows the commission to approve subdivisions that produce lots 25 feet wide and 2,500 square feet in area so long as each proposed dwelling complies with the form standards for the district.
"In 2024, the zoning ordinance was amended, to allow, this sort of arrangements, through conditional use permit," staff said when introducing the Bolton Street application. Staff noted the commission may consider neighborhood context — including predominant lot width and block-face patterns — as part of its review.
Commissioners and staff flagged several recurring concerns. The Institutional Residential Impact Overlay (IRIO) that applies to lots near Old Dominion University requires additional off-premises parking in many cases; for sites in that overlay, staff said an additional required parking space per unit may apply. Commissioners also raised the potential loss of canopy trees and the effects of reduced pervious surface. One staffer advised members to view the site during ODU class sessions to assess likely parking demand and curb impacts.
For one example, staff provided an estimated building footprint (about 1,700 square feet) and noted the application had been adjusted to meet the off-street parking requirements by widening a driveway. Staff also showed a neighborhood analysis that counted nearby lots and found only a handful under the 50-foot/5,000-square-foot standard within a 500-foot radius.
Staff emphasized the conditional-use route allows the commission to evaluate site-specific impacts — including vegetation, driveway configuration and proximity to other structures — rather than a blanket administrative variance. Several commissioners said they expected written materials and site visits before a final decision.
No final decisions were recorded in the meeting transcript; staff said it would provide additional materials and that more information is expected at the formal hearing.
