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Commissioners debate whether build date should affect setback exceptions
Summary
Commissioners questioned a proposal that would treat properties differently based on construction date, with several arguing against a hard cutoff and for either universal entitlement or no exceptions to avoid unfair outcomes for later owners.
A central policy disagreement at the workshop was whether encroachment entitlements should depend on when a property was developed. Staff proposed differentiating between redeveloped lots and undeveloped lots, but several commissioners objected to a hard date cutoff that would treat similar properties differently based solely on permit date.
"I just don't think it's right to have a hard date where before it or after it, you're treated differently," said one commissioner (speaker 3), arguing that a later buyer should not be penalized by an arbitrary construction date. Another commissioner noted the fairness concern: "So in '21, you're okay. In '23, you're screwed," (speaker 6) underscoring the potential inequity of date-based distinctions. Staff said it favored requiring new development to meet current building setbacks while allowing some encroachment on already-developed lots where physical constraints exist.
The commission did not adopt a final rule in the workshop but signaled general support for removing the date differentiation and applying a single standard or clear variance process instead. Staff will reflect the commission's preferences in revised ordinance language for the next meeting.
