Kiel resident asks council to revisit garage-size limits that treat duplexes differently

A Kiel resident used the public comment period to ask the City Council to reconsider rules that limit garage size for duplexes.

Eddie Arnold, who identified himself as living at 4588 Jasper Court in Kiel, told the council that current ordinance language allows up to 1,200 square feet of garage space for standalone houses but only 600 square feet for duplexes. "To me, that's kind of discrimination against anybody that lives in a duplex," Arnold said, noting his side of a duplex occupies a larger portion of the lot than his neighbor's and that he would like to build an attached garage larger than the current duplex allowance.

Arnold described his property as approximately 14,000 square feet for his side and said the duplex owner's side is about 7,000 square feet; he asked the council to consider basing garage allowances on lot square footage rather than housing type. He said his existing garage is 400 square feet and he was seeking an addition roughly 14 by 16 feet (224 square feet), which would exceed the 600-square-foot duplex limit.

Alderman Fromm told Arnold he had already spoken with Arnold's representative and confirmed the issue is on the ordinance committee agenda for July 22. "It is on the agenda for the ordinance committee meeting on July 22," Fromm said, indicating staff had the packet and the matter will be discussed further there.

No formal action was taken by the full council during this meeting; the council's next step appears to be committee-level consideration of possible ordinance language changes.