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Commissioners and staff debate how to protect small lots while limiting impervious surfaces
Summary
Staff said a hybrid approach — applying main‑footprint allowances for undersized lots, percentage caps for standard lots and fixed caps for oversized lots — could balance equity and environmental goals; commissioners pressed on tree loss, nonconformity and practical enforcement.
Several commissioners asked how an impervious‑area cap would affect undersized lots (those below 6,000 sq ft in R6). Staff acknowledged that percentage‑based caps risk over‑restricting small lots and proposed treating undersized lots similarly to current maximum main building footprint allowances so owners aren’t unfairly constrained.
"So treating them the same that that 3,000 square foot lot, that 4,000 square foot r 6 lot, the same as their their 6,000 square foot older cousin," Nick Rogers said while explaining the hybrid allowance intended to address equity concerns. Commissioners raised practical enforcement, the risk that owners would clear trees to add vertical mass, and the need to align utility incentives (stormwater credits) with regulatory outcomes.
