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E X E C U T I V E S U M M A R Y CASE PLANNER: John M. Newman, OPG REVIEWED AND APPROVED BY: Mike Barton, OPG PUBLIC HEARING DATES: MCPB: May 4, 2010 CC: To be determined AGENDA ITEM: Draft Amendments to Title 20, Chapter 20.110, Section .050 “Setbacks” APPLICANT: City Council initiated request LEGAL: The legal ad was published in the Missoulian on April 18th and 25th, 2010 NOTIFICATION: A list of all agencies and interested parties who were notified is contained in Attachment A PROPOSAL To amend Chapter 20.110, Section .050 “Setbacks” of the Title 20 Missoula City Zoning Ordinance. RECOMMENDATION To approve the proposed amendments to Chapter 20.110, Section .050 “Setbacks” of the Title 20 Missoula City Zoning Ordinance, as presented in Attachment C. ---PAGE BREAK--- 2 MISSOULA CONSOLIDATED PLANNING BOARD May 4, 2010 Agenda Item 6A I. RECOMMENDED MOTION THAT THE PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO CHAPTER 20.110, SECTION .050 “SETBACKS” OF THE TITLE 20 MISSOULA CITY ZONING ORDINANCE, AS SHOWN IN ATTACHMENT C, BE RECOMMENDED TO THE CITY COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL. II. INTRODUCTION The proposed amendments to the above-referenced section of the Title 20 Zoning Ordinance are intended to address concerns raised by the Missoula Building Industry Association (MBIA) following adoption of the zoning code in November 2009. III. BACKGROUND Chapter 19.66 “Exceptions to Setback Requirements,” Section .010(B) of the former Title 19 Missoula City Zoning Ordinance consisted of the following provision: In all cases, all garages which have access from the street shall have a minimum front yard setback of twenty feet (20’) and must be either on an even plane with the primary dwelling units or have a greater front yard setback than the primary dwelling units. Because this provision was contained in the “Exceptions to Setback Requirements” chapter, the requirement was interpreted to apply only when an exception to the setback requirements was employed or present. The garage setback language was not expressly subordinate to setback requirement exceptions however, and the interpretation of it as such was erroneous. In drafting the current Title 20 Missoula City Zoning Ordinance, the above provision was transferred and became Section .050(A)(3) in Chapter 20.110 “Measurements and Exceptions.” Similar to its position in Title 19, the garage setback statement was written in Title 20 as a stand-alone requirement as follows: All residential garages that are accessed from the street must be set back at least 20 feet and may not be located closer to the street than the front façade of the residential building. Upon adoption of the Title 20 zoning code and enforcement of the plain language of the provision, it became apparent to members of the building and real-estate industries that the requirement precludes certain styles of construction. Representatives of those industries consulted with OPG regarding possible solutions thereafter, and on February 22, 2010 the Missoula City Council adopted an Interim Urgency Zoning measure, ---PAGE BREAK--- 3 Ordinance No. 3422 (Attachment revising Section .050(A)(3) of Chapter 20.110 to read as follows: All residential garages that are accessed from the street must be set back at least 20 feet. The Interim Urgency measure expires on August 22, 2010. Prior to expiration, the City Council has charged OPG with devising alternative language for this section of the Title 20 zoning code. OPG has worked closely with the Missoula Building Industry Association (MBIA). At this time, the MBIA has produced a draft of language for this section of the ordinance (A ttachment IV. PROPOSAL The MBIA-proposed amendment language pertains exclusively to front-yard setbacks (Attachment All residential districts in Title 20, with the exception of R3 Residential, have a minimum front-yard setback of at least 20 feet. The residential standards therefore ensure that all garages are setback this distance at a minimum. Where structures on abutting parcels establish a front-yard setback of less than 20 feet, or in the R3 district where a setback of less than 20 feet is permitted, the amendment language as proposed by the MBIA would require that garages still remain at least 20 feet back from the front property line. However, where a garage accesses or fronts on a side-street, the MBIA-proposed language would not apply. Considering that side-street setbacks range from 10 to 12.5 feet, a garage could potentially sit less than 20 feet from the side-street property line. Therefore, in addition to the amendments proposed by the MBIA, OPG recommends a provision protecting the minimum 20 foot garage setback in all instances (Attachment This recommended addition will ensure consistency between Title 20 and Title 12 “Parking Facilities” of the Missoula Municipal Code (Attachment V. AGENCY AND CITIZEN COMMENT CITY ENGINEERING: SEE ATTACHMENTS E1 AND E2 CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT: “Missoula Fire Department has no adverse comments regarding Garage Setbacks.” (Bob Rajala, Fire Marshal) CITY-COUNTY HEALTH: “As stated by others, my only concern would be that designs be done so that sidewalks are not blocked by parked cars.” (Ben Schmidt, Air Quality Specialist) OPG TRANSPORTATION: “OPG Transportation echoes both Public Works and Chief Muir’s concurrence with the revisions, while stressing that the resulting ---PAGE BREAK--- 4 designs should not interfere with a pedestrian or cyclist’s safe, convenient access to non- motorized transportation facilities, namely sidewalks, and that driveway curb cuts conform to ADA standards as well.” (Ann Cundy, Senior Planner) CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT: “Police have no objection to these revisions, though as Doug Harby indicates it is not proper for vehicles to block sidewalk passage with parked vehicles in driveways. Developers/builders may want to consider building actual setbacks that are not likely to cause neighborhood problems and reflect poorly on the developers reputation for planning/building with quality in mind.” (Mark Muir, Police Chief) CITY PUBLIC WORKS: “No comment.” (Steve King, Director) VI. ATTACHMENTS A. Agencies and Interested Parties List B. Ordinance No. 3422, Interim Urgency Zoning Adopted February 22, 2010 C. Missoula Building Industry Association (MBIA) Proposed Amendments D. Planning Board Draft Chapter 20.110, Section .050 Amendments E. Agency Comment – Doug Harby, City Engineering E1. Comment dated March 30, 2010 E2. Comment dated March 31, 2010 F. Excerpt from Missoula Municipal Code Title 12.22 “Parking Facilities”