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Work session explores 19 zoning text changes: ADUs, missing‑middle housing, family definitions and garage design
Summary
Staff and an intern presented 19 proposed text changes to the zoning ordinance to expand missing‑middle housing, relax some ADU rules (including owner‑occupancy and minimum sizes), align definitions with the Fair Housing Act, and consider allowing modest garage protrusion to enable builder prototypes. Commissioners asked for design standards and staged packaging.
At a July 9 work session immediately following the regular meeting, the Mount Pleasant Planning Department and intern Lily Reel walked the Planning Commission through a package of 19 proposed zoning text changes intended to increase housing supply and reduce regulatory barriers.
Reel summarized housing needs and outreach, saying the 2025 housing report and a survey (70 responses so far) point to a demographic shift toward workforce‑age and senior households. She told commissioners the department’s goals include increasing "missing‑middle" housing types, clarifying accessory‑dwelling unit (ADU) rules, ensuring code compliance with the Fair Housing Act, and improving development efficiency.
On ADUs, staff floated options to remove the owner‑occupancy requirement, reduce minimum ADU sizes (targeting 400 sq ft or possibly 200 sq ft), and allow modest changes to parking rules. Commissioners expressed concern about investor purchases and neighborhood impacts; staff proposed a narrower change allowing an owner to live in an ADU and rent the principal residence as a compromise. Staff also highlighted financing barriers to buying ADUs and said down‑payment requirements limit ownership opportunities.
The commission discussed removing additional square‑footage requirements for 'functional families' to align with Fair Housing Act guidance while keeping clear definitions to prevent misuse. Staff recommended deleting the extra area requirement (e.g., the 2,900‑square‑foot minimum and 500 sq ft per household member applied to 'functional families') to avoid disparate treatment compared with blood‑related families.
Design and character questions dominated discussion about allowing more multifamily types in lower‑density zones and permitting a greater garage protrusion (from 6 ft to as much as 10 ft). Staff said four of five developer prototypes would become approvable with a 10‑ft protrusion and argued the change could unlock production of roughly 60 starter homes; commissioners raised streetscape and parking concerns and suggested design standards (porches, stoops, façade requirements) as mitigation.
Staff proposed packaging text changes: (1) an immediate Fair Housing/rooming‑dwelling amendment to introduce next month, (2) a grant‑driven change to remove certain special‑use permit requirements (e.g., duplex conversions) as a near‑term priority, and (3) later grouped packages for low‑ and medium‑density design standards. Staff indicated a target to complete adoption by November 2026 and to continue work sessions in August and September.
Commissioners directed staff to bring refined draft language and additional precedents, parcel counts for CD‑3L lot widths, and prototype floor plans to demonstrate impacts on price and streetscape before any formal introduction.
