40.260.150    Multifamily Residential Outdoor Recreation Area Standards

A.    Applicability.

    This section applies to multifamily developments containing twelve (12) or more residential units.

(Amended: Ord. 2024-03-01)

B.    Private Residential Outdoor Areas.

1.    Each ground-level residential living unit shall have an outdoor private area (patio, terrace porch, yard) containing at least forty-eight (48) square feet and a width of at least four (4) feet. A balcony used for an entrance or exit shall be considered an open space only if it is for the exclusive use of the dwelling unit in question and it contains at least forty-eight (48) square feet and a width of at least four (4) feet.

2.    Private outdoor areas for multifamily residential units shall be screened from view from other residential units, abutting land uses, and public or private streets to the extent practicable using the orientation and location of structures, windows, and private outdoor spaces, landscaping and screening, natural features such as topography and open space, and built features such as windowless walls; provided, an applicant is not required to reduce the otherwise permitted density of a proposed development or to increase the cost of a proposed development by more than five percent (5%) per unit to comply with these standards.

(Amended: Ord. 2024-03-01)

C.    Shared Recreation Areas for Multifamily Residential Uses.

1.    Usable recreation space shall be provided in residential development for the shared or common use of all residents in the following amounts:

a.    Studio size up to and including two-bedroom units, two hundred (200) square feet per unit; and

b.    Three (3) or more bedroom units, three hundred (300) square feet per unit.

2.    The required recreation space may be all outdoor space or part outdoor space and part indoor space and all public or common space or part public and part common space; provided all public and common outdoor recreation spaces shall be readily observable from residential units and/or public or private streets to allow for surveillance that contributes to greater public safety.

3.    The boundaries of public areas, such as streets or public gathering places, semipublic areas, such as transition areas between streets and dwelling units, and private outdoor areas shall be clearly defined so that a person can readily determine where the public space ends and the private space begins, such as by using one (1) or more of the following:

a.    A deck, patio, low wall, fence or other suitable structures;

b.    Landscaping, such as a hedge or draping vine on a trellis or arbor;

c.    A change in the texture of the path material;

d.    Signs; or

e.    Substantial natural features, such as a drainageway or tree grove.

(Amended: Ord. 2024-03-01)