Division VII. Supplemental Zoning Regulations1
Chapter 19.250
COTTAGE AND COMPACT SINGLE-FAMILY HOUSING
Sections:
19.250.030 Development standards – Cottage housing development size.
19.250.040 Locational criteria.
19.250.050 Calculation of cottage and compact single-family units.
19.250.060 Cottage and compact single-family unit size.
19.250.080 Private open space.
19.250.130 Setbacks and building separation.
19.250.160 Common area maintenance.
19.250.170 General provisions.
19.250.010 Purpose.
The purpose of this chapter is to: (1) provide housing types that are responsive to changing household demographics (e.g., retirees, small families, single parent households, single person households, dual-owner households); (2) provide opportunities for more-affordable housing within single-family neighborhoods; (3) encourage creation of functional usable open space in residential communities; (4) promote neighborhood interaction and safety through design; (5) ensure compatibility with neighboring uses; and (6) provide opportunities for infill development consistent with goals of the Growth Management Act.
(Ord. No. 06-533, § 5(Exh. A), 9-19-06. Code 2001 § 22-921.)
19.250.020 Applicability.
Other chapters of this title shall be applicable to cottage and compact single-family (CSF) housing developments, which collectively are referred to as cottage housing developments (CHDs). Where a conflict arises the provisions of this chapter shall control. CHDs are permitted in the RS 5.0 and 7.2 zones and all RM zones.
(Ord. No. 06-533, § 5(Exh. A), 9-19-06. Code 2001 § 22-922.)
19.250.030 Development standards – Cottage housing development size.
CHDs shall be subject to the following development standards in FWRC 19.250.030 through 19.250.170.
(1) Cottage housing development size.
(a) CHDs are not permitted on sites less than .75 acres in size (a site may be composed of more than one contiguous lot).
(b) CHDs shall contain clusters consisting of a minimum of four dwelling units and a maximum of 16 units. A CHD may be integrated into a larger conventional subdivision. Maximum number of dwelling units is not limited in the RM zoning classifications.
(Ord. No. 20-899, § 3, 11-4-20; Ord. No. 06-533, § 5(Exh. A), 9-19-06. Code 2001 § 22-923(1).)
19.250.040 Locational criteria.
A CHD in an RS zone shall be separated from another CHD by a minimum of 660 feet measured between the closest points of the subject properties.
(Ord. No. 06-533, § 5(Exh. A), 9-19-06. Code 2001 § 22-923(2).)
19.250.050 Calculation of cottage and compact single-family units.
The following steps shall be utilized to determine the number of cottage and CSF units permitted on a given site:
(1) In the RS zones the applicant shall submit a pro forma site plan showing the number of conventional dwelling units that would be permitted by the underlying zoning classification.
(2) The number calculated in subsection (1) of this section shall be multiplied by two. Fractional numbers of .5 or greater shall be rounded up. Fractional numbers less than .5 shall be rounded down. The resulting number is the number of dwelling units permitted on the site, subject to the maximum identified in FWRC 19.250.030(1)(b).
(3) In the RM zones one dwelling unit is permitted for each 2,500 square feet of lot area based on gross lot size.
(4) CSF units shall not exceed 35 percent of total dwelling units regardless of the zone. Fractional numbers of .5 or greater shall be rounded up. Fractional numbers less than .5 shall be rounded down.
(Ord. No. 06-533, § 5(Exh. A), 9-19-06. Code 2001 § 22-923(3).)
19.250.060 Cottage and compact single-family unit size.
(1) Cottage floor area shall be between 800 and 1,100 square feet.
(2) CSF unit floor area shall be between 1,100 and 1,300 square feet.
(3) Floor area is the area within the surrounding exterior walls, but excluding space where the floor to ceiling height is less than six feet. Floor area does not include covered porches. The director of community development shall use appropriate discretion, consistent with the intent of this chapter, in determining area to be counted in the calculation of maximum square footage.
(Ord. No. 06-533, § 5(Exh. A), 9-19-06. Code 2001 § 22-923(4).)
19.250.070 Common open space.
(1) A minimum of 500 square feet of common open space shall be provided per dwelling unit.
(2) Common open space within a CHD shall be a minimum of 3,000 square feet in size, regardless of number of dwelling units.
(3) No dimension of a common open space area used to satisfy the minimum square footage requirement shall be less than 10 feet, unless part of a pathway or trail.
(4) In subdivisions and short subdivisions, common open space shall be located in a separate tract or tracts.
(5) Required common open space shall be divided into no more than two separate areas per cluster of dwelling units.
(6) Common open space shall be improved for passive or active recreational use. Examples may include but are not limited to courtyards, orchards, landscaped picnic areas or gardens. Common open space shall include amenities such as seating, landscaping, trails, gazebos, barbecue facilities, covered shelters or water features. Surface water management facilities shall not be located in a common open space area.
(Ord. No. 06-533, § 5(Exh. A), 9-19-06. Code 2001 § 22-923(5).)
19.250.080 Private open space.
Each dwelling unit shall provide a minimum of 400 square feet of private front yard space.
(1) Examples include lawn area, courtyards and patios.
(2) No dimension of a private open space area used to satisfy the minimum square footage requirement shall be less than nine feet.
(Ord. No. 06-533, § 5(Exh. A), 9-19-06. Code 2001 § 22-923(6).)
19.250.090 Site design.
(1) A minimum of 75 percent of dwelling units shall abut the common open space.
(2) Common open spaces shall have dwelling units abutting at least two sides.
(3) Lots in CHDs are not required to abut a public street right-of-way.
(4) Siting of dwelling units or common open space in areas with slopes exceeding 15 percent is not encouraged. Dwelling units shall not be placed in such areas if extensive use of retaining walls is necessary to create building pads, or open space areas.
(Ord. No. 06-533, § 5(Exh. A), 9-19-06. Code 2001 § 22-923(7).)
19.250.100 Design standards.
(1) Dwelling units shall have a minimum 6:12 roof pitch. Up to 35 percent of roof area may have a slope not less than 4:12. Portions of a roof with a pitch less than 6:12 shall be limited to architectural features such as dormers, porch roofs and shed roofs.
(2) Each dwelling unit abutting a public right-of-way (not including alleys) shall have a primary entry and covered porch a minimum of 80 square feet in size, oriented towards the public right-of-way. If abutting more than one public right-of-way, the applicant, with city input, shall determine which right-of-way the entrance and covered porch shall be oriented towards.
(3) Each dwelling unit shall have an entry and covered porch oriented towards the common open space. If subject to subsection (2) of this section, this may be a secondary entrance with covered porch, a minimum of 50 square feet in size. If not subject to subsection (2) of this section, this shall be a primary entrance with covered porch, a minimum of 80 square feet in size.
(4) Covered porches shall be a minimum of six feet deep.
(5) Dwelling units shall not have the appearance of “tall, skinny houses.” As a guideline, dwelling units should not appear to exceed a ratio of one to one (ridge height to width) as viewed from off-site.
(6) Dwelling units shall not include attached garages unless the garage abuts an alley or shared parking lot. The first 200 square feet of attached garage space shall not be counted towards maximum dwelling unit size allowance.
(7) Detached garages and carports associated with individual dwelling units shall not exceed 500 square feet in size (detached garages or carports shall not count towards maximum cottage or CSF unit size allowance).
(Ord. No. 06-533, § 5(Exh. A), 9-19-06. Code 2001 § 22-923(8).)
19.250.110 Parking.
(1) A minimum of 1.8 parking spaces per cottage and two parking spaces per CSF unit shall be provided for the entire development. Fifteen percent of total required spaces shall be designated for guests.
(2) All or a portion of new on-street parking provided as a component of the development may be counted towards minimum parking requirements if the director of community development finds that such parking configuration will result in adequate parking for the CHD.
(3) Garages and carports shall have a minimum 6:12 roof pitch.
(4) No more than 50 percent of covered parking spaces may be carports.
(5) Garage doors shall not be oriented towards a public right-of-way with the exception of an alley.
(6) No shared garage or carport may exceed 800 square feet in size.
(7) Garages and carports shall not be located between the common open space and the dwelling units.
(8) Surface parking lots shall be broken into sub-lots of no more than eight parking spaces. Sub-lots shall be separated by landscaped bulb-outs a minimum of 12 feet in width.
(9) Parking in the form of garages, carports or surface lots may occupy no more than 40 percent of site frontage on a public right-of-way, except in the case of an alley, in which case no restriction applies. On-street parking is permitted along the entire frontage.
(10) Surface parking lots shall be set back 15 feet from front property lines and 10 feet from external side and rear property lines.
(11) Surface parking lots of more than two spaces, visible from a public right-of-way (not including alleys) or adjacent single-family uses or zones shall be screened by landscaping and/or architectural features pursuant to FWRC 19.125.070(5).
(Ord. No. 06-533, § 5(Exh. A), 9-19-06. Code 2001 § 22-923(9).)
19.250.120 Height.
Dwelling units shall not exceed 18 feet in height, as defined in FWRC 19.05.080, “height of structure,” and in no case shall the ridge of the roof exceed 24 feet from average building elevation.
(Ord. No. 06-533, § 5(Exh. A), 9-19-06. Code 2001 § 22-923(10).)
19.250.130 Setbacks and building separation.
Dwelling units shall have 15-foot front and five-foot side and rear yard setback requirements. Dwelling units shall be separated by a minimum of 10 feet, not including projections, as identified in FWRC 19.125.160(4). Dwelling units and accessory buildings shall be separated by six feet. Dwelling units not abutting or oriented towards a right-of-way shall have a front yard oriented towards the common open space. The director of community development may use appropriate discretion, consistent with the intent of this chapter, in determining orientation of yards in CHDs.
(Ord. No. 06-533, § 5(Exh. A), 9-19-06. Code 2001 § 22-923(11).)
19.250.140 Lot coverage.
Lot coverage in CHDs shall not exceed 60 percent of gross site area. Lot coverage shall be calculated for the overall CHD, not for individual lots. Paved components of common open space areas and walkways shall not be counted in lot coverage calculations.
(Ord. No. 06-533, § 5(Exh. A), 9-19-06. Code 2001 § 22-923(12).)
19.250.160 Common area maintenance.
CHDs shall be required to implement a mechanism, acceptable to the director of community development, to ensure the continued care and maintenance of CHD common areas. A typical example would be creation of a home owner’s association or condominium association with authority and funding necessary to maintain the common areas.
(Ord. No. 06-533, § 5(Exh. A), 9-19-06. Code 2001 § 22-923(14).)
19.250.170 General provisions.
(1) CHDs in the RS zones are permitted as subdivisions, short subdivisions or condominium developments. CHDs in the RM zones are permitted as subdivisions, short subdivisions, condominium developments or multifamily developments.
(2) A community building, not exceeding 2,000 square feet, may be provided for the residents of the CHD. Roof pitch, architecture, materials and colors shall be similar to that of the dwelling units within the CHD.
(3) An existing single-family home incorporated into a CHD that does not meet the requirements of this chapter is permitted to remain on a site developed for cottage and CSF housing. Modifications or additions to the structure not consistent with the provisions of this chapter shall not be permitted.
(4) Accessory dwelling units are not permitted in CHDs within the RM zones.
(5) CHDs may not utilize the cluster subdivision provisions of FWRC Title 18.
(6) For those CHDs processed as formal or short subdivisions, all development standards of this chapter shall be reviewed by the director of community development as a component of the preliminary plat or short plat review process. For all other CHDs the development standards of this chapter shall be reviewed as a component of process III or IV review (see use zone charts for required review process). In either case, this shall include review of conceptual building elevations. (Ord. No. 23-963, § 12, 7-5-23; Ord. No. 06-533, § 5(Exh. A), 9-19-06. Code 2001 § 22-923(15).)
19.250.180 Modifications.
Applicants may request modifications to the open space, site design, design standards, setbacks and parking provisions of this chapter. The director of community development may modify the above referenced provisions of this chapter if all of the following apply:
(1) The site is constrained due to unusual shape, topography, easements or critical areas.
(2) The modification is consistent with the purpose of the chapter as stated in FWRC 19.250.010.
(3) The modification will not result in a project that is less compatible with neighboring land uses.
(Ord. No. 06-533, § 5(Exh. A), 9-19-06. Code 2001 § 22-924.)
Cross references: Shoreline management regulations, FWRC Title 15; drainage program, FWRC Title 16; density regulations for subdivision improvements, FWRC 18.60.020; nonconforming uses, structures, development, etc., requirements for conformance, Chapter 19.30 FWRC; landscape requirements, Chapter 19.125 FWRC; site plan required for commercial and industrial uses and activities that are conducted out of doors, FWRC 19.125.170; sign requirements, Chapter 19.140 FWRC; administration of the provisions regarding environmentally critical areas, Chapter 19.145 FWRC, Article I; zoning regulations, FWRC Title 19, Division VI.