Board gives tentative OK to update multifamily rules; public and builders urge careful tuning

Planning staff presented draft amendments to multifamily development standards intended to encourage denser, more buildable apartment and mixed‑use projects. Major proposed changes include establishing minimum and higher maximum dwelling-unit ranges for medium and high intensity zones, raising allowable floor-area ratios to permit more habitable square footage, modestly reducing parking requirements and some setbacks, and raising baseline height allowances (for some categories) to 40–45 feet to reflect modern construction practices.

The ad hoc steering committee, planning commission and a broad set of community stakeholders and builders debated specific thresholds — including whether a developer should be allowed to convert ground-floor commercial space entirely to housing if they dedicate a portion of units to deed-restricted affordable housing. The planning commission recommended that a 100% residential conversion on commercial parcels require a 16% set‑aside of affordable units; developers and business groups urged a lower, more uniform 8–10% standard. After public comment from builders, nonprofits and the Chamber, the board voted to tentatively approve staff recommendations with modifications: it asked staff to present the regional housing incentive program on Sept. 23 with proposed maximum building-height limits (staff was asked to analyze options to limit incentive-driven projects to approximately four stories in unincorporated downtown areas) and to set the affordability offset for commercial-to-residential conversions at 10% (down from the planning commission’s 16%). The board also removed an "interim residential use" provision from the draft codes and asked staff to return with further refinements, including place‑based protections for core central-business districts and follow-up reporting on the rule changes’ effects.