Planning Commission Minutes 2018 05 10

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Planning Commission Meeting Minutes May 10, 2018 Page 2 of 6 among others. At that time, the City had approved 20% lot coverage paired with a 12,000 square foot minimum lot size. There are about 1,785 residential properties zoned RE in Louisville. They consist of 27 major subdivisions plus a handful of replats platted between 1959 and 1995. The majority of the neighborhoods have PUDs, but four of them do not: Scenic Heights, Louisville North, Continental View Estates, and Ridgeview. In 1996, the Code was amended to require yard and bulk standards in the LMC apply when a PUD is silent, but staff did not begin applying this amendment until 2012. The result has been to require variances whenever property -owners want to make changes to their homes. Between 2012 and 2018, staff processed 44 variances — 22 administrative and 22 through the Board of Adjustment. All but one was approved, with lot coverage ranging from 21 % to 34% coverage. Ritchie showed data for existing lot sizes, divided into conforming and nonconforming based on the 20% maximum lot coverage allowed in RE. The data did not include decks, even though decks higher than 30 inches count as part of the lot coverage. That means that some that were shown as conforming were likely nonconforming. The 2018 City Council Work Plan addressed RE zoning due to the undue burden on homeowners produced by the variance process. After the Commission meeting, staff will conduct public outreach and bring back feedback and more information to the Commission. From there, staff will bring the Commission's recommendations to Council. Ritchie presented two possible scenarios for the Commission to consider. The first scenario was to rezone properties to another zone district. Challenges included that the neighborhoods and PUDs would not be uniform with respect to lot size and lot coverage, resulting in non - conformities. Additionally, the City cannot rezone to RL without amending the Code. Finally, the RM zone district would allow two units on all lots greater than 7,000 square feet, which could change the character of the neighborhoods currently zoned RE. The second scenario would amend the RE Lot Coverage Standard. This scenario would allow for different standards based on lot size, similar to Old Town Overlay. The intent was to significantly reduce the number of properties with non -conformities. With this scenario, staff examined a number of options. • Increase lot coverage allowance to 30% for all lots less than 8,000 square feet, resulting in a conformity rate of 83%. • Increase lot coverage to 30% for all lots less than 9,000 square feet, resulting in a conformity rate of 88%. • Increase lot coverage allowance to 30% for all lots less than 10,000 square feet, resulting in a conformity rate of 91 %. • Increase lot coverage allowance to 30% for all lots less than 11,000 square feet, resulting in a conformity rate of 94%. • The final two options involve a more graduated allowance, similar to the Old Town Overlay. The non -conformities are a little higher, but staff believes it might help preserve neighborhood character better than some of the other options. o Increase lot coverage allowance to 30% for all lots less than 7,000 square feet and 25% for lots 7,000 to 10,000 square feet. This would result in an 86% conformity rate. o Increase lot coverage allowance to 30% for all lots less than 8,000 square feet and 25% for lots 8,000 to 11,000 square feet, resulting in a conformity rate of 90%. Brauneis asked if any of the commissioners' homes would be affected by the zoning changes. None would be.