City Council – Ward 13
July 20 th Community Meeting Executive Summary
Neighborhood Development Guidelines: Teardowns and In-fill Housing
Executive Summary of Community Input from July 20 th Meeting
Identification of problem:
Building-specific:
• New homes are too large - too tall and too bulky, front-to-back.
• Drainage from new constructions into adjacent yards.
• Too frequent variance approvals, with insufficient demonstration of hardship.
• Teardowns that are presented as renovations.
Wider Impact:
• Property value increases cause property tax increases and price people out of the neighborhood.
Communication/Community:
• There is not enough communication between builders, the City and affected residents.
• Developers and builders are disconnected from the community they build in because they don’t have to live in the house they build.
Suggested solutions:
Building-specific:
• Limit maximum building volume.
• Keep the 35 foot height limit, but require height variances for structures over 30 feet.
• Lower the maximum lot-coverage percentage or tie the maximum lot-coverage percentage to that of adjacent or nearby lots.
• Increase enforcement of the zoning code before and during construction.
• Require a variance for all attached garages.
• Adopt Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards.
Communication/Community:
• Neighborhoods create development guidelines.
• Require builders to show plans to the neighborhood prior to construction.
• Increase the involvement of neighborhood zoning committees in the approval process.
• Create a new review board for all new Single Family Dwellings.
• Require neighborhood or neighbor approval of plans.
• Require signage be posted on all new construction with explanation of the process to date and of the building plan.
• Lower the threshold for review by the planning commission or board of adjustment to increase the opportunity for neighborhood notification and input.
• Increase the amount of time between notification and review/approval.
• Increase the notification requirement to all residents within 1000 feet.
Last updated Sep. 27, 2011