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Topeka committee hears staff plan to allow duplexes, triplexes and quads by conditional-use permit amid strong public comment
Summary
Planning staff told the Policy and Finance Committee the draft amendment would allow duplexes, triplexes and quadplexes in single‑family zones through a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) with new guidelines; residents gave mixed testimony — citing housing need, neighborhood character and safeguards — and the item will return to the governing body for further action.
City planning staff presented a text amendment May 7 that would permit duplexes, triplexes and quadplexes in areas currently zoned single‑family only after approval of a conditional use permit (CUP), with additional CUP guidelines aimed at limiting concentration and preserving neighborhood character.
The presenter said the amendment grew out of a Planning Commission housing committee process that began in 2024 and included public meetings and a Planning Commission recommendation to allow those housing types by CUP, subject to standards addressing paving, concentration and consistency with neighborhood conservation and historic districts. Staff emphasized that a CUP requires a public hearing, Planning Commission recommendation and governing‑body approval before an applicant may pursue a building permit.
Committee members asked whether the state’s recent Senate Bill 418 (referred to in discussion) preempts the proposal; staff and the city attorney said their legal review concluded the local text amendment with a CUP requirement is not mooted by SB 418 because it still requires discretionary review prior to permitting.
Public commenters were split. Jim, who chairs the Planning Commission’s housing committee, urged a citywide approach to encourage housing production and called the amendment a modest tool to expand housing options. Several College Hill residents, including Carol Christiansen and Susan Duffy, said they oppose the change in R‑1 neighborhoods, citing fears about conversions to absentee‑owned rentals, parking impacts and loss of historic character; they urged renovation of existing stock, land‑bank strategies and stronger landlord standards instead. Michelle Ewert, a Westborough homeowner and law professor, supported inclusionary zoning and the amendment as a first step but said it would not solve the broader affordability crisis without complementary funding and incentives.
Speakers also recommended clearer safeguards in the amendment text to prevent large houses from being sub‑divided in ways that harm neighborhood character and requested that the city emphasize neighborhood notification and enforceable conditions in any CUP.
The committee did not adopt the amendment at the meeting; staff and committee members discussed next steps and public feedback and indicated further review and potential refinement of the text before moving it to the full governing body.
