Planning Commission recommends cap of four connected units per multifamily building, clarifies metering and density rules

The Planning Commission on March 6 voted to recommend that City Council adopt Ordinance 25A, an amendment to the city code governing multifamily residential development that would limit connected multifamily buildings to a maximum of four units, change how density is calculated and clarify water-metering requirements.

Bob, a planning department staff member who presented the proposal, said the change responds to a City Council request to “loosen things up a little bit” in some developments while also giving “a little bit more space and breathing room.” He summarized the principal change as adding a line to the design standards: “Multifamily dwelling shall be limited to a maximum of 4 units per building.”

The draft ordinance also would simplify an existing density limit that currently states multifamily dwellings will not exceed 16 units per acre and that the ratio is calculated on the gross acreage of the multifamily development area. Staff told commissioners the existing language had created disputes about what to include or exclude from the calculation (for example, open space, landscaping or internal streets), and the proposed amendment would adopt a simpler approach: calculate density from the gross area of the development.

On water service, staff proposed codifying that “all water services shall be metered as per city standards” and that multifamily developments “shall be metered with master meters as determined by the city engineer.” Bob said the master-meter default reduces utility maintenance burdens and avoids digging up private streets and driveways to repair public service lines; he noted the city engineer may require individual meters in limited cases.

When a commissioner asked whether developers could still submeter individual units, Bob replied, “They still can if they choose to. They could either put a meter in or sometimes even just a simple shut off that they could lock if, like, someone wasn't paying their dues.” He added the city would not require submetering but may encourage arrangements to manage unit-level billing.

The commission opened and closed the public hearing with no comments. A commissioner moved to recommend approval of Ordinance 25A to City Council; the motion received a first and second and passed on recorded voice votes. Commissioners recorded in the vote were Commissioner Wagner (yes), Commissioner Moss (yes), Mister Thompson (yes) and Commissioner Vaughn (yes).

The change disallows longer connected rows of townhome-style buildings that the city said had previously been permitted in some projects; staff said some existing projects with more than four connected units might be slightly altered under the new standard.

Next steps: the commission forwarded Ordinance 25A to City Council with a favorable recommendation. The ordinance text as presented also adds the metering and density clarifications to the code and ties the metering standard to city engineering determinations.

The commission did not take additional actions tied to funding or variances at the March 6 meeting.