Planning Commission Agenda and Packet 2021 05 13

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Planning Commission Meeting Minutes April 8, 2021 Page 3 of 7 Ritchie presented code amendment proposals, starting with accessory structure setbacks. She described that staff often received inquiries about detached garages, sheds, and the like, and when people tried to follow the rules the sheds would end up in the middle of their yards. This resulted in many people outside Old Town installing the structures without permits. Ritchie noted that homeowners could apply for a variance but that process cost nearly the same amount as a new shed. Diehl asked about the ramifications of an illegal shed. Ritchie replied that Code Enforcement would contact the property owner and tell them to move the shed. Some sheds were over a decade old and staff tried to date them using aerial imagery, but it was not the highest priority for staff unless it was truly impacting a neighbor. Zuccaro added that staff was obligated to follow up and enforce the Code after a complaint and he noted that as long as this was on the books staff owed it to the neighbor who was trying to follow the rules. He called it a fairness issue. Outside of Old Town, there was a high percentage of properties with illegal sheds and it was hard to enforce fairly. Staff was hoping to find a reasonable standard that would prevent people from going up to fence lines or into easements. Moline stated that he supported looking into changes on the setbacks. He asked if it was possible that a change would give relief to people who had zoning violations. Ritchie replied that it could be structured to bring people into compliance but retroactive permit approvals were a lot of work. She noted that sheds did not require a building permit, making them harder to track. Zuccaro replied that there was no building code requirements like structural requirements but they did require a permit. Rice stated that the real problem was informing residents of code changes. He also stated that it shouldn’t be onerous to comply. Zuccaro replied that zoning fees for this kind of thing were about $25. Ritchie added that for amendment processes like this staff usually did public outreach and communicated through quarterly communications and public billing. Rice noted that a graphic might be an effective way of communicating the setbacks. Hoefner stated that he thought it was an affordable housing issue to relax some of these zoning ordinances for people to get the most out of their properties. Ritchie turned to the issue of existing fences. Fence standards were broad on design in the Code, but neighborhoods further west in the city had PUDs that established very specific standards for fences, which over the years had been incompletely enforced. Williams stated that maintenance was a big issue.