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Planners move to ease multifamily density limit: minimum lot size proposal drops to 2,000 sq ft per unit
Summary
Commissioners agreed to reduce a proposed 4,000-square-feet-per-dwelling-unit minimum in the RM zone to 2,000 square feet to encourage more multifamily development; staff said the change aligns more closely with neighboring town standards.
The commission debated and agreed to change the RM zone minimum lot-per-dwelling-unit standard. Chair Paul Kuckemuller and others said a 4,000-square-feet-per-dwelling-unit minimum would be too restrictive for multifamily development and recommended aligning the city's requirement with the town’s 2,000-square-foot standard.
“I think we ought to at least go to 2,000 square feet,” the chair said during the density discussion, arguing the larger 4,000-square-feet standard would unduly limit multifamily housing in the city. Staff and commissioners walked through the effects on theoretical one-acre parcels and three-story designs and concluded that 2,000 square feet per unit will allow greater housing capacity (for example, about 20 units on a three-story building on a one-acre parcel under the 2,000 figure).
The commission recorded the change as part of continuing work on Section 3 of the zoning updates. Staff will incorporate the altered density metric into the draft regulations returned for the next meeting's review.
