By Charlotte Caldwell
[email protected]
SIDNEY – The Sidney Planning Commission approved amendments to the city’s zoning code at a meeting on Nov. 20.
The current zoning code was adopted by City Council in January 2022, and according to the city staff, the purpose of the amendments is “to bring further clarity and simplicity to over-prescribed or hard-to-interpret regulations.” With the commission’s approval, the amendments will go to City Council for adoption.
The proposed amendments include the following:
• Add attached single-family dwellings as a permitted principal use in the R-2, Two Family Zone under Section 1103.07, Permitted Uses. Attached single-family dwellings are currently not listed as a permitted use in the R-2 Zone;
• Add a maximum building height of 45 feet for non-multi-family buildings (i.e. all other principal buildings) under Section 1103.10, R-3 Residential Multi-Family Zone. Currently, a minimum building height of 35 feet and a maximum building height of 45 feet is the standard for all buildings under “Building Form & Components.” The phrase “multi-family” would be added to the existing building height label to better differentiate these regulations. Other permitted buildings, such as religious or educational institutions would not have a required minimum height;
• Replace the term “streetscaping” in Section 1105.01(e) and Figure 11 with “front yard trees.” This will provide better clarity on what the regulation requires;
• Reduce the amount of landscaping required under the “Buffer Yards Standards” table in Section 1105.01(f) to reduce the overall landscaping requirements for site design. Staff has found that the current number of trees and shrubs required will result in a very dense planting that would likely lead to tree/shrub death and maintenance difficulties in the future as trees/shrubs reach full size. The reductions as outlined below are approximately 50% of current requirements. Landscaping requirements would be changed to the following:
1. For 20-foot wide “small” buffers: canopy or evergreen trees (minimum per 100 linear feet) = 2; ornamental trees (minimum per 100 linear feet) = 1; shrubs (minimum per 100 linear feet) = 4.
2. For 30-foot wide “medium” buffers: canopy or evergreen trees (minimum per 100 linear feet) = 2; ornamental trees (min. per 100 linear ft.) = 2; shrubs (min. per 100 linear ft.) = 5.
3. For 40-foot wide “large” buffers: canopy or evergreen trees (min. per 100 linear ft.) = 3; ornamental trees (minimum per 100 linear feet) = 2; shrubs (minimum.per 100 linear feet) = 6;
• Add a regulation to the “Buffer Yards Standards” table which states, “Landscaping plants located in the front yard within 10 feet of the right-of-way shall be a mature height of no more than four feet or trimmed to maintain vehicular vision clearance between four feet and ten feet from grade”;
• Update the “Buffer Table by District or Zone” in Section 1105.01(f). For development of TND – R-1/R-2 adjacent properties, no buffer requirement. For development of TND – CC/NC adjacent properties, buffer requirement would be Medium rather than Large. For development of R-3 properties adjacent to TND properties, the buffer requirement would be Small rather than Medium. For development of CC/NC – IIM adjacent properties, the buffer requirement would be Medium rather than Large. As with the changes to the landscaping requirements for buffers, staff has found that the buffer size requirements are unnecessarily wide for uses that are compatible or semi-compatible;
• Change the size of the tree that is required on an interior parking lot island under Section 1105.01(g)(5) from a diameter of 4 inches to a diameter of 2 inches;
• Change the lineal feet of planting under Section 1105.01(h)(2) from 35 feet to 100 feet. The current requirement, while achievable, will become a maintenance issue due to planting density when two adjacent properties are required to have adjacent parking facility buffers;
• Add a regulation to Section 1105.01(h) which states, “(5)a landscaped area will not be required along a perimeter of an off-street parking area if that particular side or sides are adjacent to a required landscape buffer as outlined in Section 1105.01(f)”;
• Revise Section 1109.01(e)(2) to, “No parking surface shall cover more than thirty-five percent (35%) of the front yard in the R-1 and R-2 Zones, and in the Traditional Neighborhood District. Parking on an established lawn in a front yard is prohibited”;
• Revise Section 1111.02(a)(2) to state, “No accessory buildings shall be located closer to a side or rear lot line than five feet except in the Traditional Neighborhood District where three feet in the minimum setback to the side or rear lot line”;
• Revise Section 1111.03(a)(2) to state, “The building design standards herein shall as more fully set forth below and shall apply to an expansion of an existing structure by an amount greater than or equal to 30% 50% of the GFA cumulative front-facing elevation(s) lineal width”;
• Revise Section 1111.03(b) to, “The following table sets forth required design standards for all new detached and attached single-family and two-family residential dwelling structures and all new additions to detached and attached single-family and two-family structures”;
• Revise Section 1111.03(d), Table 9, Commercial Design Standards, to allow the materials used on the side and rear elevations to be “one or more” of the materials used on the front elevation, with a maximum of 20% metal cladding. The current regulation requires the side and rear elevations to be clad in the predominant material of the front elevation, which results in a total prohibition of metal cladding on the side and rear while a small amount is allowed on the front;
• Revise Section 1111.03(d) Table 9, Commercial Design Standards. Remove the following requirement for the front elevation: “The front elevation shall comply with the minimum transparency requirements of the district in which it is located.” There are currently no transparency requirements in any of the districts, so this regulation is not necessary and can be confusing;
• Add an “Outdoor Storage” subsection to Section 1111.05 – Specific Use Standards. Standards for outdoor storage are referenced in the Zoning Code but are never specified. The following regulations would be included: Outdoor Storage Area: Outdoor storage is permitted in the CC, NC, and IIM Zones; Outdoor storage shall be located in the rear yard only and shall be a minimum of 10 feet from rear wall of the primary structure and a minimum of 5 feet from every lot line; The outdoor storage area shall be paved in its entirety by either concrete or asphalt; Outdoor storage areas shall be screened from adjacent uses by shrubs that are a minimum of four feet tall;
• Add the definition “Health and Wellness, Life Coaching” to Section 1117.01 – Uses. The definition will state, “A non-clinical establishment in which a non-medically licensed person or persons councils or encourages a client through personal or career challenges in an attempt to set goals, change behaviors, shift perspectives, and improve one’s overall physical or mental self.” This will broaden the “Health and Wellness” category and provide necessary clarity.
Commission members David Gross and Aditya Sakhalkar were absent from the meeting and were excused.
The next Planning Commission meeting is set for Monday, Dec. 18, at 5:30 p.m. in City Hall’s council chambers.
