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Zoning code first reading would cap residential impervious surface coverage to reduce stormwater impacts
Summary
Linda Louise, the city's zoning administrator, presented the first reading of Ordinance 2025-06, a city-initiated amendment to Chapter 16 to add standards for impervious and pervious surfaces and driveway requirements on residential lots.
Linda Louise, the city's zoning administrator, presented the first reading of Ordinance 2025-06, a city-initiated amendment to Chapter 16 of the Code of Ordinances that would establish standards for impervious surfaces and driveway requirements on residential lots.
"This is first reading of ordinance number 20 25 dash 0 6. It's a city initiated request to amend chapter 16 of the code of ordinances, which is our city's zoning regulations to provide standards for impervious impervious surfaces and driveway requirements for residential properties," Louise said.
Louise told the council the amendment responds to ongoing concerns about excessive impervious surface coverage on residential lots, primarily caused by property owners not obtaining required permits. She said overextended driveways and other hard-surfaced areas reduce on-site percolation and increase the potential for stormwater and localized flooding. Louise referenced section 12-58 of the code of ordinances, which requires properties to provide on-site drainage.
The text amendment is organized in two parts. The first part revises definitions, including changing "lot coverage" to "building coverage," clarifying "impervious surface," and creating a new definition for "pervious surface." The second part establishes standards for maximum impervious surface coverage for residential lots and for the front yard by residential zoning district. Louise said the amendment includes a table showing percentage limits by zoning district; as an example she cited the agricultural residential district with a maximum overall impervious lot coverage of 40 percent (equivalently 60 percent pervious).
Louise said the proposed standards are intended to align the zoning code with existing drainage requirements, parking regulations, and department policy, and to provide predictability for homeowners so permitting is clearer and less prone to delays. She noted that the front yard in the table is measured from the front property line to the face of the building.
The item was presented as a first reading; no council vote was recorded in the transcript.
