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Commission weighs townhouse coverage and minimum lot‑size changes to encourage diversity of housing forms
Summary
Staff recommended aligning townhouse lot and building coverage with small multiunit standards to make townhouses a more viable, for‑sale housing form; commissioners debated minimum lot sizes, divided duplex/townhouse lot rules and potential ownership/lot‑line implications for row townhouses.
Staff proposed amendments in Appendix C to increase allowable building coverage for townhouses to match small multiunit coverage, a change framed as design‑neutral and intended to avoid steering developers away from townhouses. Commissioners raised questions about how minimum lot sizes would apply (per building vs. per unit), potential ownership models for long rows of fee‑simple townhouses, and how to handle interior vs. end units.
Members discussed options such as allowing an average or fraction of the minimum lot size for interior units, or preserving a 5,000 sq ft building minimum while permitting narrower per‑unit footprints for middle units. The commission asked staff to return with language that avoids unintended lot‑line and ownership complications while preserving townhouse as a viable affordable home form.
