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Planning Commission recommends conditional approval of Greek-housing zoning changes
Summary
On Jan. 27, 2026, the Stillwater Planning Commission voted 5-0 to recommend the City Council conditionally approve a text amendment that redefines fraternity and sorority houses as a use, reduces certain side setbacks between Greek houses, adds design and landscaping standards, and limits height near single-family properties.
On Jan. 27, 2026, the Stillwater Planning Commission unanimously voted to recommend that the City Council conditionally approve a text amendment clarifying how fraternity and sorority houses are defined and regulated in the RMI and RMU zoning districts.
The amendment, described by Henry Biebelheimer of Development Services, moves the definition of a "fraternity or sorority house" to the city's use definitions (Section 23-96) and explicitly allows the use in RMI (Section 23-140) and RMU (Section 23-141). "Requiring that a Greek or a fraternity or sorority be affiliated with a university recognized chapter of a fraternity or sorority," Biebelheimer read, explaining the change narrows applicability to university-affiliated organizations.
Staff said the update reduces the side-yard setback between fraternity or sorority houses to 5 feet where they abut one another, while preserving a 15-foot setback when a Greek house shares a common boundary with single-family residential zoning. An additional 3-foot setback would apply for each story above the first (for example, 8 feet for a two-story structure). The amendment also caps the height for any portion of a structure within 30 feet of a single-family residential district at two stories (about 30 feet), while the remainder of a building may reach the existing 50-foot maximum in RMI/RMU.
The amendment clarifies density calculations for houses not divided into dwelling units: "4 beds shall be deemed to constitute 1 dwelling unit," staff said, which modifies how occupancy counts against allowable dwelling units per acre. Design standards require street-facing facades to include masonry materials and that at least 50% of the facade be brick or stone. Staff further proposed a landscaping requirement that each fraternity or sorority lot provide at least one tree and 10 shrubs per 30 feet of lineal frontage, submitted via a landscape plan meeting Section 23-2-30(F).
David Barth of Development Services said consultants compared zoning practices in other college towns and recommended vertical landscaping if setbacks are reduced so new or denser Greek houses would not rely solely on turf for code compliance. "We were wanting them to actually have to have some, you know, vertical, vertical landscaping," Barth said, describing the rationale for the specific tree-and-shrub standard.
The Greek Neighborhood Association had raised concerns that requiring landscaping on all frontages of corner lots could interfere with traditions such as Homecoming displays. To address that concern, the commission adopted a slight amendment before voting: the landscaping requirement in Section 23-2-30(F) will apply only to the lot's primary front yard (the street used for the property's address) on corner lots.
Staff recommended Alternative 2 — to accept findings and recommend the City Council conditionally approve the amendment with the proposed changes to Section 23-2-30(F). Unidentified Commissioner (speaker 3) moved to approve the amendment as presented with the landscaping changes; the motion was amended to specify application to the primary front yard for corner lots, seconded, and the chair announced, "Motion passes five-zero." The commission's action will be transmitted to the City Council for final consideration.
At the same meeting the commission also approved the Jan. 6 meeting summary (vote 5-0), noted the next regular meeting is scheduled for Feb. 3, and adjourned.
