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Planning items include zoning-code changes to sidewalk rules for infill and clarification for townhouse definitions
Summary
On the planning agenda, committee members reviewed zoning-code amendments targeting sidewalk applicability for single-lot infill development (including carve-outs where future connectivity is not imminent) and a definitional change requiring townhouses/row houses to be individually subdivided lots rather than multiplex developments.
During the planning portion of the April 7 meeting, councilors reviewed an ordinance submitted by the planning commission to amend the city’s zoning code. The changes are intended to clarify sidewalk requirements for infill residential development and to correct a definitional gap that allowed multiplex developments to be mislabeled as townhouses or row houses.
Staff explained the amendment to article 3.23.1 will preserve the requirement that most infill residential development build sidewalks while creating carve-outs for situations where immediate or near-term connectivity does not exist. The intent is to avoid requiring a single-lot developer to build infrastructure when no adjacent sidewalk network will connect to it in the foreseeable future.
A separate definitional change would require townhouses and row houses to be on individually subdivided lots, preventing multiplex buildings from being classified as townhouses under the current code. Councilors and planning staff said the revisions reflect input from the development community and the long-range planning liaison and will return for the statutorily required readings.
The ordinance was presented for review; additional readings and final council action are expected as the item proceeds through the legislative process.
