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Planning board backs restored driveway allowances, recommends 24-foot opening for 70-foot lots
Summary
Staff proposed reverting driveway-width rules for one- and two-family homes to reduce nonconforming cases; the board recommended to the City Commission that 70-foot lots be allowed a 24-foot driveway opening at the property line, with recorded votes showing three in favor, one opposed and one abstention.
Consulting planner Britney Metzler told the board that staff had drafted amendments to revert one- and two-family driveway language to the prior code so that existing nonconforming driveways would again be considered conforming. Metzler said the practical issue is "when people come in to repair and replace their existing driveway, they... have to reduce the size of the nonconformity" and that the draft would restore many property owners' ability to replace existing driveways without reducing width.
A resident and local contractor, Scott Woodry, spoke in public comment and urged the board not to limit 70-foot lots to a 20-foot opening. Woodry said he had "put about $100,000 in the exterior of my home" and asked the board to allow at least 24 feet to permit two side-by-side cars and family needs.
Board members debated impervious-surface and aesthetic concerns and noted that the 20-foot restriction applies at the property line/right-of-way; members observed property owners can widen the paved area beyond the right-of-way. After discussion a motion to recommend the driveway ordinance to the City Commission with a change allowing 70-foot lots an up-to-24-foot driveway passed in a recorded vote (three yes, one no, one abstention). The recommendation will be forwarded to the commission for ordinance drafting and further public proceedings.
