Draft code would shrink lot minimums, expand ADU and caretaker allowances

Staff proposed significant changes to lot-size and accessory-unit rules intended to make infill and clustered development more feasible.

Kaye Simonson explained the rationale for the existing 35-acre minimum: "You simply cannot get a well permit for a new lot that's less than 35 acres." As a result, proposed minimums tied to infrastructure are: reduce low density to 2 acres (with by-right possibilities via tiers), medium density to 1 acre, and remove a minimum for the high-density zone where other standards will govern. Simonson also proposed increasing accessory-dwelling-unit (ADU) size allowances from 800 to 1,000 square feet in denser zones and retaining a 2,000-square-foot caretaker unit limit in the F zone for large parcels when those units are deed-restricted and occupied by qualified employees.

The presentation clarified mitigation fee treatment: subdivisions that dedicate deed-restricted lots are exempt from employee housing mitigation fees; standalone subdivisions or individual builds that do not deed-restrict will remain subject to the fee unless they mitigate by dedicating deed-restricted units.