40.260.073    Cottage Housing

 

A.    Purpose.

    The purposes of the cottage housing provisions are:

1.    To promote sustainable development practices through smaller, more efficient housing and effective use of residential land.

2.    To diversify the county’s housing stock by providing a housing type that is less expensive and that responds to changing household sizes and ages, such as retirees, small families, and single-parent households.

3.    To encourage development in existing residential areas by allowing a density bonus and design flexibility.

4.    To provide centrally located and functional common open space that fosters a sense of community and openness within the cottage development.

5.    Repealed by Ord. 2024-03-02.

6.    To integrate cottage developments into existing residential neighborhoods and ensure compatibility between cottage developments and their neighbors.

(Amended: Ord. 2024-03-01; Ord. 2024-03-02)

B.    Applicability.

1.    This section applies to cottage housing developments as defined in Section 40.100.070, except for cottage developments within the mixed use (MX) zone which shall be subject to the cottage housing standards in Appendix A.

2.    Cottage housing developments shall be subject to site plan review in accordance with Section 40.520.040. Where the site is proposed to be platted with each cottage on its own lot, the site plan review application may be reviewed in conjunction with the land division application.

3.    The narrow lot development standards in Section 40.260.155 shall not apply to cottage housing developments.

4.    Cottage housing developments may not be used in conjunction with a planned unit development per Section 40.520.080.

(Amended: Ord. 2024-03-01; Ord. 2024-03-02)

C.    Development Standards.

1.    Cottage housing developments may include single-family detached dwellings, accessory dwelling units, duplexes and attached single-family dwellings with up to two (2) attached dwellings.

2.    Cottage housing developments may be allowed at up to two hundred percent (200%) of the maximum density of the underlying zone, including any accessory dwelling units; except cottage housing developments in the R1-7.5, R1-6 and R1-5 zones may be allowed at up to 21.8 d.u./acre, calculated based on the gross area of the site minus any public rights-of-way, private road easements, or street tracts.

3.    Cottage housing developments shall contain a minimum of four (4) and a maximum of twelve (12) units in a cluster; provided, that a cottage development may contain more than one (1) cluster. Each cluster must have its own common open space and may not be intersected by a public or private road.

4.    For platted cottage developments, the minimum lot area and lot dimension standards of the underlying zone shall not apply; provided, that the cottage on each lot meets the setback and separation standards herein.

5.    Cottages and accessory structures shall maintain the following minimum setbacks:

a.    Ten (10) feet from public rights-of-way or private street easements.

b.    Five (5) feet from external non-street property boundaries.

c.    Eighteen (18) feet from a street for garage doors; provided the minimum garage door setback from an alley may be two (2) feet.

d.    Eight (8) feet minimum space between buildings (including accessory structures).

6.    No maximum lot coverage standard shall apply to cottage housing developments, including cottages platted on individual lots.

7.    Required Parking and Parking Design.

a.    On-site parking shall be provided at a minimum rate of one (1) parking space per dwelling.

b.    On-site parking may be provided in any combination of shared parking lot(s), shared detached garage(s), and/or individual garages or carports.

c.    Individual detached garages may not exceed four hundred (400) square feet in floor area. Shared detached garages may not exceed one thousand (1,000) square feet in floor area.

d.    Common off-street parking areas shall meet the following:

(1)    Parking and maneuvering areas shall meet the applicable requirements in Chapter 40.340 and screening requirements in Section 40.320.010(E).

(2)    Such spaces may be designed to allow backing movements directly into local access streets other than collectors or arterials.

(3)    Parking areas shall be owned and maintained by a homeowners’ association or a maintenance agreement shall be recorded with the plat.

8.    Common Open Space Standards.

    Each cottage cluster must share a common open space in order to provide a sense of openness and community of residents. Common open spaces must meet the following standards:

a.    A minimum of two hundred (200) square feet of common open space must be provided per cottage unit within the associated cluster. Common open space may not include critical areas, critical area buffers, or slopes greater than fifteen percent (15%). LID stormwater BMPs, like rain gardens, may be integrated in up to twenty-five percent (25%) of the minimum required usable open space area.

b.    The common open space must be contiguous, generally rectangular or ovoid, and no narrower than fifteen (15) feet wide at its narrowest dimension.

c.    The common open space shall be developed with a mix of landscaping, lawn area, pedestrian paths, and/or paved courtyard area, and may also include recreational amenities. Impervious elements of the common courtyard shall not exceed fifty percent (50%) of the total common courtyard area.

d.    Common open space shall be located with cottages abutting on at least two (2) sides.

e.    Pedestrian paths must be included in a common open space. Parking areas, required setbacks, and driveways do not qualify as part of a common open space.

f.    The development application shall include a plan for ongoing maintenance of the common open space, including a mechanism for ensuring that the maintenance plan will be implemented through a homeowners’ association or similar entity.

9.    Cottage Orientation.

    Cottages must be clustered around a common open space, meaning they abut the associated common open space or are directly connected to it by a pedestrian path, and must meet the following standards (see Figure 40.260.073-1):

a.    Each cottage within a cluster must either abut the common open space or must be directly connected to it by a pedestrian path.

b.    A minimum of fifty percent (50%) of cottages within a cluster must be oriented to the common open space and must:

i.    Have a main entrance facing the common open space;

ii.    Be within ten (10) feet from the common open space, measured from the facade of the cottage to the nearest edge of the common open space; and

iii.    Be connected to the common open space by a pedestrian path.

c.    Cottages not oriented to the common space must either:

i.    Have a main entrance facing the street if located within twenty (20) feet of a street property line; or

ii.    Have a main entrance facing a pedestrian path that is directly connected to the common open space.

Figure 40.260.073-1 Cottage Orientation

10.    Pedestrian Access.

    A pedestrian path that is hard-surfaced and a minimum of three (3) feet wide must be provided that connects the main entrance of each cottage to the following:

a.    The common open space;

b.    Shared parking or solid waste storage areas;

c.    Community buildings; and

d.    Sidewalks in public rights-of-way abutting the site or rights-of-way if there are no sidewalks.

(Amended: Ord. 2024-03-01; Ord. 2024-03-02)

D.    Building Design Standards.

1.    Cottages shall have a minimum of one hundred fifty (150) and a maximum of one thousand six hundred (1,600) square feet total floor area. Total floor area of a cottage dwelling means the total floor area interior to the structure excluding garages. The maximum floor area allowed on the ground or main floor shall be one thousand two hundred (1,200) square feet.

2.    Cottages located adjacent to a street shall provide a covered entry feature with minimum dimensions of six (6) feet by six (6) feet facing the street.

3.    Cottage facades facing the common open space or common pathway shall feature a roofed porch at least eighty (80) square feet in size with a minimum dimension of eight (8) feet on any side.

4.    The maximum building height shall be twenty-five (25) feet for cottages and ADUs built over garages and eighteen (18) feet for accessory structures.

5.    An existing single-family detached dwelling on the same lot as a proposed cottage housing development may be allowed within a cottage cluster exempt from the maximum gross floor area, footprint and height standards of this section; provided, that existing dwellings that exceed any of those maximums may not be expanded.

(Added: Ord. 2012-02-03; Amended: Ord. 2018-01-17; Ord. 2024-03-01; Ord. 2024-03-02)

E.    Community Buildings.

    Cottage cluster projects may include community buildings for the shared use of residents that provide space for accessory uses such as community meeting rooms, guest housing, exercise rooms, day care, community eating areas, community gardens, or picnic shelters. Community buildings must meet the following standards:

1.    Each cottage cluster is permitted one (1) community building.

2.    The community building shall have a maximum floor area of one thousand two hundred (1,200) square feet.

(Added: Ord. 2024-03-02)

F.    Solid Waste Provisions.

    The development application shall include a plan for access for solid waste and recycling collection service, indicating common or individual unit collection points with demonstrated access and turning space for solid waste vehicles.

(Added: Ord. 2024-03-02)

*    Code reviser’s note: Ordinance 2012-02-03 adds this section as Section 40.260.075. It has been editorially renumbered to avoid duplication of numbering.