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Eatonville council approves first reading to grandfather existing duplexes and bar new duplex construction
Summary
The Eatonville Town Council approved the first reading of Ordinance 2026-2 on March 3, 2026, which would permit existing duplexes in the R-2 district while prohibiting new duplex construction; staff reported 24 duplexes identified in property-appraiser data but warned coding errors could mean more.
The Eatonville Town Council approved the first reading of Ordinance 2026-2 on March 3, 2026, a change to the town’s land-development code that would permit existing duplexes in the R-2 (single-family residential) district and prohibit new duplex construction.
Acting town planner Tara Salmeri told the council the ordinance revises chapter 64 of the land-development code to allow duplexes built before the ordinance’s cutoff date to remain and to bar newly constructed duplexes. “It explicitly states that construction of new duplexes that have been constructed from, 03/17/2026 to, anything prior,” Salmeri said, and she told the council staff identified 24 duplexes from the property-appraiser records while cautioning that coding errors could mean there are more.
Members of the public who spoke during the ordinance item urged the council to protect current property owners. Ryan Novak, a candidate for Town Council seat 2, said the revisions addressed the concerns he and neighbors raised and that the changes as revised “explicitly” matched what residents expected. Property owner Anthony Grant told the council he had paid $670,000 for a parcel and said current code can prevent owners from rebuilding a structure after a fire: “I bought a piece of property. I paid $670,000 for it. I wanna refinance it to put my money back in my pocket. I can't do that because the code will not allow the bank… to rebuild the duplex,” he said, urging the council to allow grandfathering so owners can restore lost structures.
Council discussion focused on clarity and staff recommendations. One councilmember noted the item had been brought back several times and thanked staff for additional analysis; the clerk recorded that Councilmember Washington seconded the motion. By voice vote the council approved the ordinance’s first reading.
What happens next: the ordinance will return for second reading and any additional formal steps required by the town’s code before it becomes law. The planner’s office noted that the 24-unit count came from property-appraiser codes and that a parcel-by-parcel field review would be needed to confirm the full inventory of duplexes.
