Plan Commission debates accessory-structure exception in environmental overlay; staff to analyze variance history

The Plan Commission reviewed a proposed text change to the environmental-constraints overlay that would create an exception for accessory structures (sheds, garages, pools) and some home additions where contiguous flat buildable area is limited.

Staff described the amendment as a response to property owners with older, legally platted lots of record that lack the one acre of contiguous buildable area required to add common accessory features. The exception would allow an accessory structure or addition if it meets slope and flat-area criteria and preserves a fallback location for a replacement septic system, a point staff emphasized.

Under the version presented, staff used a 1,750-square-foot figure as a maximum footprint for an accessory structure or combined addition when calculating remaining buildable area and septic reserve. Several commissioners questioned whether 1,750 square feet was too large for the typical situations the exception is intended to address and asked staff to analyze historic variance requests before recommending a permanent cap.

“Maybe less than 1,000 would make more intuitive sense for what we’re trying to allow,” said one commissioner during the debate; staff agreed to run a two-year review of Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) variances and return with square-footage statistics and examples for the regular meeting. Staff also noted that applicants would still qualify for variances or BZA review if the exception does not apply, so the amendment is designed to reduce the number of variance requests for small, low-impact additions.

Commissioners asked staff to show how the exception would interact with septic replacement-area requirements, to confirm the contiguous‑area calculation across irregular lots, and to return with the variance-size analysis attached to the proposed text amendment.