Pocatello staff outline state-mandated zoning changes that would allow smaller manufactured homes, larger ADUs and starter-home subdivisions

Planning staff presented a set of city-initiated text amendments to Pocatello’s Title 17 to bring the city into compliance with recent state housing bills and sought council feedback on how to shape local implementation.

Jim Ingles, the city’s long-range planner, told the council that “the law went into effect July 1, and the cities are required to make changes by February.” Staff said three bills drive the revisions: House Bill 800 (manufactured homes), Senate Bill 1354 (accessory dwelling units, or ADUs), and Senate Bill 1352 (starter-home subdivisions).

The manufactured-home changes would revise local definitions and allow single-section manufactured homes of at least 400 square feet and multisection units of at least 800 square feet. Ingles said the city’s current local rules — which had required multisection homes of around 1,000 square feet and stricter appearance and foundation standards — will be updated to mirror state code and HUD definitions.

On ADUs, staff summarized SB 1354’s limits: jurisdictions must allow one ADU per single-family dwelling in residential zones, cannot impose off-street parking requirements in many cases, and cannot require owner-occupancy; the state also restricts local caps below 1,000 square feet or 75% of the main unit. Staff proposed raising the city’s ADU size cap from 750 to 1,000 square feet (or 75% of the primary dwelling) and striking the local single-bedroom limit to make units more usable.

Council members asked whether removing owner-occupancy requirements, together with removing limits on bedrooms, could create substandard rental situations or be used as short-term rentals. One council member asked bluntly whether the change might “just create shanty towns”; staff responded that bedroom limits are a local choice while parking and owner-occupancy restrictions are constrained by state law and that homeowners associations may still enforce private covenants.

The most far-reaching change, staff said, is the starter-home subdivision requirement in SB 1352. The bill requires cities to allow starter-home subdivisions meeting a set of state standards: a minimum 4-acre subdivision threshold in lower-density zones (staff proposed lowering to 2 acres in higher-density zones), minimum 1,500-square-foot lots, and setbacks specified by the state that can result in small building footprints — staff illustrated how, at the absolute minimum, setbacks could yield a roughly 400-square-foot building footprint on a 1,500-square-foot lot.

Staff showed alternative forms the state permits — detached starter homes, attached townhomes in higher-density areas, and cottage-court layouts that centralize an open space — and recommended steering the new permissions toward higher-density zones where feasible. Several council members warned the state rules could allow higher-density developments adjacent to existing low-density ‘‘estate’’ neighborhoods, and staff suggested targeted incentives, mapping and form-based code tools as mitigation strategies.

Process and next steps: staff said the city must adopt code changes by February and that public hearings will likely be scheduled in January–February. Staff suggested ADU and manufactured-home text could proceed earlier while starter-home subdivision language needs more discussion and visualization; if staff moves quickly on the simpler items, adoption could be possible in the October–November window, but the council will need additional briefing and mapping before finalizing standards.

The council asked staff to return with example illustrations, maps showing where starter-home options could be concentrated, and analyses of acreage by zone so council members can better judge the local impact before public hearings.