Commission reviews unit‑lot subdivision language as Westry project advances

Nicole recapped the interim unit‑lot ordinance that city council adopted as an emergency measure last March and extended in January; staff recommended adopting it permanently as part of the code update. She said the unit‑lot approach treats a parent lot as meeting overall development standards while permitting individually owned 'unit lots' within that parcel for fee‑simple townhomes, duplexes or cottages. “Westry is moving forward this summer, so that'll be our first project, and we learned a lot from reviewing that the first time,” Nicole said.

Commissioners asked detailed questions about decision criteria (page references), utility metering and how setbacks and nonconforming unit lots are handled; staff explained the parent lot must meet overarching standards, utilities can be metered per unit lot, and internal unit‑lot deviations are managed through overlay rules and covenants/HOA provisions. Staff committed to checking for redundant code language and clarifying cross‑references before presenting final draft language to the commission.