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Council reopens rules on shipping containers and pool setbacks, asks staff for clearer temporary/ permanent distinctions
Summary
Staff asked the council to reconsider a ban on shipping containers; council members favored lifting the prohibition with clear guidelines distinguishing temporary moving pods from permanent metal shipping containers and suggested longer allowances (30''0/60 days) for residential moving pods. Council also discussed reducing pool setbacks to 5 feet with public-utility-easement permission but asked staff to provide more research.
Sean, city planning staff, reminded the council that the current ordinance prohibits shipping containers and said the topic was brought back for discussion to consider narrow allowances: short-term storage for moving in/out, use on large rural parcels and architectural modification for permanent storage use. "Our current ordinance prohibits them," he said; "maybe there's some allowance for a short window for people who need them for storage for moving in or moving out."
Council members drew a sharp operational distinction between temporary cargo-storage pods (moving pods) and permanent shipping containers. Several members favor removing a blanket ban in favor of prescriptive standards: maximum duration limits for temporary storage (members discussed 30 to 60 days as more practical than seven days), setbacks and screening requirements, and special allowances on lots above a certain acreage provided the container is set back from neighbors and/or architecturally modified.
The council asked staff to prepare code language that differentiates "temporary cargo storage" (pods) from permanent steel shipping containers, include clear size and setback thresholds and consider an architectural-alteration pathway for containers intended as accessory structures. On swimming pools, staff noted the previous standard had been an 8-foot setback and that other nearby cities permit 3''0 to 5-foot setbacks; council members were receptive to a 5-foot setback subject to public-utility-easement permissions for above-ground pools and additional review on liabilities if utilities change over time.
Staff will return with draft ordinance language that tightens definitions, proposes enforceable setbacks and outlines permit paths for temporary versus permanent container installations and for pool setbacks.
