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Commissioners ask staff to clarify medical‑office size rules and how transit overlay applies
Summary
Commissioners and staff began clarifying whether medical‑office size limits refer to individual suites or the total building footprint; staff said the distinction is not clarified in current regulations and recommended a work‑plan item to resolve whether use or aggregate building size should determine allowed uses.
During discussion of a property owner’s request to allow larger medical uses, staff told commissioners the current code distinguishes small (<5,000 sq ft), medium (5,000–10,000 sq ft) and large (above 10,000 sq ft) medical uses, but does not clearly say whether the size limit applies to an individual tenant or the total building. "How it was rich how it's written and how it was conceptualized is the size of the use," a staff member said, noting the rules get “fuzzier” when multiple medical tenants occupy a single building.
Commissioners asked whether existing examples, like Timberlane or Tilly Drive facilities, would be allowed under current language; staff said clarifying the definition of "use" versus "user" and the measurement approach is a technical item to be added to the FY27 work plan. The commission directed staff to prepare clarification and possible amendments so future development applications can be evaluated consistently.
Why it matters: The interpretation affects whether a multi‑tenant building with several small medical suites would be treated as a set of permitted uses or as a single large medical facility requiring special review. Clarifying the regulation will determine how many new medical and allied health spaces can be permitted in different districts.
