Cloverdale Planning Commission reviews broad zoning changes, continues recommendation to Aug. 4

The Cloverdale Planning Commission on June 2 opened a public hearing on a package of zoning-text amendments to Title 18 that staff said are intended to both comply with recent state law and make it easier for small businesses and homeowners to navigate local land-use rules.

Planner Raphael told commissioners the city received a December letter from the state Department of Housing and Community Development asking Cloverdale to repeal or revise its accessory dwelling unit (ADU) provisions to conform with state rules. "We're going with the state's recommendation and request — we're going to repeal the ADU and JADU ordinance and go refer to the state regulations," Raphael said during the presentation.

Why it matters: staff said referring to state ADU standards will reduce the need for repeated local code amendments as state law evolves, but commissioners asked staff to identify any non-conflicting local ADU provisions worth preserving. Commissioner discussion emphasized that residents and staff value clarity on parking, owner-occupancy and deed-restriction rules in any replacement language.

Beyond ADUs, the proposal covered a range of local edits. Staff recommended broadening the city’s administrative “minor exception” authority for residential setbacks — currently an approximately 10% reduction (staff noted that allows roughly 2 feet on a 20-foot setback) — and discussed tiered handling where small reductions stay with the planner, larger ones require an administrative hearing, and the largest exceptions come before the planning commission. "It may not make sense in every case," one commissioner said, urging clear findings and a limit on two-story encroachments; staff proposed reporting back with specific criteria and suggested a 10/20/50 percent framework as a starting point.

Downtown parking also drew extended discussion. Staff proposed language allowing more flexibility for existing buildings that cannot add on-site parking, particularly downtown, and commissioners asked for safeguards such as at least one ADA-accessible space within a defined distance of an entry and a requirement that exceptions be limited to a mapped downtown corridor. "We want to be able to fill empty downtown buildings, but we need to track cumulative impacts," a commissioner said.

The package also included changes to the commercial use tables intended to lower permitting barriers for some small businesses. Examples discussed included moving certain medical offices and small hotels to plot-plan review or conditional-use status instead of requiring full conditional-use hearings in every case, and permitting bed-and-breakfasts or non-hosted short-term rentals in defined zones with numerical limits. Commissioners asked staff to revisit square-foot thresholds (several suggested 2,000–2,500 square feet) and to preserve conditional review for uses with potential noise or neighborhood impacts.

Specific development applications influenced parts of the discussion: staff said a car-wash application for a general-commercial site is pending, which prompted debate about whether the car-wash use should be added to the general-commercial table; commissioners generally supported reviewing that item with the pending application.

On nonconforming automotive uses downtown (for example Cloverdale Auto and similar businesses), commissioners were split: some wanted to keep those uses non-permitted to discourage new auto uses downtown, while others noted a pragmatic path to legalize specific longstanding businesses. The commission left the downtown policy unchanged for further study.

Next steps and vote: commissioners instructed staff to return with revisions and more detail on ADU preservation, clear findings for setbacks, downtown boundary maps for parking exceptions, and options for administrative hearing procedures. Chair Spangler moved to continue the commission’s resolution recommending the City Council adopt the zoning amendments to a date certain of Aug. 4, 2026; the motion passed 5–0, with Commissioner Kadel and alternate Commissioner Williams absent.

Staff also agreed to schedule a separate presentation on the city’s water-infrastructure projects at a future meeting and to provide additional analysis on workload implications of any administrative-hearing approach.

The Planning Commission will reconvene on Aug. 4, 2026 to review the refined language and any additional materials staff provides.