18 - Amending Appendix C of the Zoning Ordinance to Create a New Zoning District to include duplexes, triplexes and quadplexesItem No. 18
TO: Planning & Zoning Commission
Carla Easton, P.E., City Engineer
FROM: John Godwin, City Manager
SUBJECT: MULTI -FAMILY ZONING CLASSIFICATION CHANGES
DATE: October 24, 2018
BACKGROUND: Special land use definitions are contained in Section 8 of the zoning ordinance,
and general definitions are in Section 22. These latter definitions include one -family (SF -1, SF -2,
and SF -3), two-family (2-17), and multiple -family dwellings (MF -1 and MF -2). Multiple -family is
specifically defined as: "Any building or portion thereof, which is designed, built, rented, leased,
or let to be occupied as three (3) or more dwelling units or apartments or which is occupied as a
home or residence of three (3) or more families."
STATUS OF ISSUE: We have discussed the need for some middle ground between two-family
and multiple -family, by adding a new multiple -family category to accommodate triplexes and
quadplexes. Currently, if an applicant wants to construct one of these latter two housing products,
he/she must have MF -1 or MF -2 zoning, which is the same as apartments. For this reason, when
MF -1 zoning is given to a parcel for construction of a triplex, the property owner thereby also gets
the right to build an apartment complex.
We suggest the addition of an entirely new zoning district called four -family dwelling or 4-F. This
could include anything up to a quadplex, thereby including triplexes too by default. The new
definition would be: "Any building or portion thereof, which is designed, built, rented, leased, or
let to be occupied as three (3) or four (4) dwelling units or apartments or which is occupied as a
home or residence of three (3) or four (4) families." The existing definition of multiple -family
would be changed from "three (3) or more" to "five (5) or more dwelling units."
On November 6, the planning and zoning recommended approval of these changes on a 6-0 vote.
RECOMMENDATION: Approve ordinance creating of a new 4-F zoning district.