Planners move to ease multifamily density limit: minimum lot size proposal drops to 2,000 sq ft per unit

The commission debated and agreed to change the RM zone minimum lot-per-dwelling-unit standard. Chair Paul Kuckemuller and others said a 4,000-square-feet-per-dwelling-unit minimum would be too restrictive for multifamily development and recommended aligning the city's requirement with the town’s 2,000-square-foot standard.

“I think we ought to at least go to 2,000 square feet,” the chair said during the density discussion, arguing the larger 4,000-square-feet standard would unduly limit multifamily housing in the city. Staff and commissioners walked through the effects on theoretical one-acre parcels and three-story designs and concluded that 2,000 square feet per unit will allow greater housing capacity (for example, about 20 units on a three-story building on a one-acre parcel under the 2,000 figure).

The commission recorded the change as part of continuing work on Section 3 of the zoning updates. Staff will incorporate the altered density metric into the draft regulations returned for the next meeting's review.