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Staff proposes nonconforming-use protections and a new large-project review for Eastern Neighborhoods
Summary
Planning Department staff told commissioners the Eastern Neighborhoods NCU policy will generally allow existing nonconforming uses to continue in perpetuity, permit some residential expansions while barring new dwellings in PDR districts, and create a new Section 309.2 large-project review with clear thresholds for mandatory commission review.
In a technical presentation on June 19 Planning Department staff laid out both a revised approach to lawful nonconforming uses (NCUs) in the Eastern Neighborhoods and a new large-project authorization process intended to give clearer expectations to applicants and neighbors.
Dan Sider, describing the scope of the issue, said many existing buildings and uses in the Eastern neighborhoods are legally nonconforming because most of the city's building stock predates recent rezonings. He told commissioners the department's proposal includes two major shifts for this plan area: NCUs in Eastern Neighborhoods would not expire, and existing residential nonconforming units could be allowed to expand (for example a new bedroom or mezzanine) though no new dwelling units would be permitted in PDR-designated districts. Staff emphasized that illegal uses remain illegal and that expansion rules will be bounded by code and appeal processes.
Sider also described the new review framework in draft code section 309.2: a 'hinge' that routes projects into a small- or large-project path depending on thresholds (any one of: 200 feet or more of linear street frontage, a new or resulting building height of 75 ft or more, or 25,000 sq ft of new space). Large projects would face a two-part review — design review at a public commission hearing plus a robust exception/administrative-relief process — while administrative modifications would be expanded for quantitative, black-and-white adjustments to speed small, low-impact projects through staff review.
Sider said the approach aims to give greater certainty to neighborhoods and developers by reducing unnecessary conditional-use hearings while preserving public oversight for projects that meet the large-project thresholds.
