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County staff to revise setback rules, board schedules two July public hearings on rezonings
Summary
Community Development staff said they will change development rules to set 5‑ft side setbacks and 10‑ft front/rear setbacks instead of requiring property surveys, and commissioners agreed to set July 7 public hearings on two separate rezones after confirming owner awareness.
Community Development Director Kelly Jean Rowan told the commission that staff will simplify administrative variance requirements by removing a mandatory survey requirement and by codifying minimum setbacks for new development. "We are going to change the development regulations to allow the five‑foot minimum setbacks for sideyards, 10 feet for front and rear," she said, adding that staff will continue to encourage property surveys but will not make them mandatory.
Staff said the change will be incorporated into the broader development and resource‑ordinance updates that senior planner Marissa Watson is already preparing. Rowan said the change aims to reduce cost burdens on property owners and to avoid opening avenues for complex legal disputes tied to affidavits-in‑lieu of survey.
Two rezones scheduled for public hearing: Rowan also presented two separate reszone actions for the board to place on the action agenda and to set for public hearing on July 7. The first is a potential downzone from Road Commercial 2 to Rural Residential 10 intended to help a property qualify for a senior/disability property‑tax exemption; staff said they would confirm with the owner whether the owner requested the change after the assessor’s office notified staff. The second is a 2.26‑acre request in the Shelton UGA from applicant Renee Salazar (agent Len Williams) to change from mixed‑use to general commercial; staff said the Planning Advisory Commission recommended approval (3–0) with no public comment at PAC.
Why it matters: the development regulation change will affect how administrative variances are handled across the county and could reduce the cost of complying for property owners. The rezones, if scheduled for hearings and later approved, would change zoning designations with potential tax and land‑use implications for the parcels involved.
What’s next: staff will place the rezones on the June 9 action agenda for scheduling and will verify property owner consent before advancing any change that affects property value. The code edits will be folded into the larger ordinance update timeframe and returned to the commission for formal adoption.
