Royal Oak planning staff says multifamily density rules 'have eroded' as city prepares zoning rewrite

Royal Oak Planning Commission — On a regularly scheduled October meeting, the Royal Oak Planning Commission heard a detailed presentation from Planning Director Joseph Murphy on multifamily-residential density standards as staff prepares to write a new zoning ordinance.

Murphy told commissioners that the city’s research shows "allowable density for multifamily developments has eroded over time with ordinance amendments," and that the current density formula in the zoning code "has virtually no relationship with the current market forces" now driving proposed multifamily projects. He outlined the city’s regulatory history (1931, 1957, 1963, 1987 and a comprehensive rewrite in 2001) and explained the present formula requiring a base lot area for the first two dwelling units and additional square footage for each additional unit.

Why it matters: the density formula determines how many housing units are allowed on a parcel without a…