Lake Forest Park planning commissioners ask staff to analyze removing 75-foot street-frontage requirement

Commissioner Yanni proposed that the Planning Commission explore removing a 75-foot street-frontage requirement that appears in three sections of the municipal code affecting RS 20, RS 15 and RS 10 zones. At the Nov. 18 meeting, Yanni said the change could allow lawful subdivisions consistent with existing zoning, increase housing supply over time and correct what he called an inequitable rule that exempts very large lots from contributing to additional housing.

"I propose that we strike the provision that requires that for any new lots created in those zones each must have a 75-foot frontage along a public street," Commissioner Yanni said, arguing the rule dates from a late-1990s code insertion and lacks a clear public purpose. He said a quick parcel review he performed of two neighborhoods (98 parcels total) suggested the provision could eliminate the possibility of roughly 25 new lots in those sample areas.

Commissioners pressed on practical questions. Commissioner Sheree and others asked whether removing the frontage requirement would create problems for emergency-vehicle access, drainage and flag or panhandle lots. Commissioner John pointed out that many affected subdivisions predate current city rules and that lot access and setbacks still apply even if a frontage rule were removed.

Staff said a more precise estimate would require analysis. Mark told the commission the city does not have in-house GIS capacity but can perform a desktop review using the adopted comprehensive-plan maps, permit-tracking data and selective parcel checks. "We can look at the development-standard implications and give you something by December," Mark said, offering to return with guardrails, an initial estimate of how many parcels are affected, and a recommended scope for any ordinance drafting.

A written public comment from resident Arthur Lockman, read into the record, urged commissioners to compare lot-width rules across zones, account for impervious-surface differences and evaluate environmental and fairness consequences before forwarding recommendations to council.

Because the commission did not have a full quorum for action on an ordinance at this meeting, no formal motion to change the code was adopted. Instead, commissioners asked staff to research and report back, with Yanni and others urging a GIS-based estimate of scale and a review of how the change would interact with lot-width, setback and critical-area rules.

The commission asked staff to return in December with a proposed scope and timeline for analysis; commissioners said they may form a working group or ask additional volunteers to perform preliminary homework if needed. If staff’s analysis supports drafting an ordinance, the commission would take the next formal steps before forwarding any amendment to the City Council.