The City of Centralia’s Planning Commission gathered for a special meeting Thursday night to discuss proposed amendments to multiple chapters of the city’s municipal code, specifically on zoning.
Proposed amendments included topics such as permitted intrusions into required yards, model homes or sales trailers, temporary placement of recreational vehicles, short-term rentals, co-housing, group homes and courtyard apartments.
City codes do not currently include sections on most of the topics discussed while slight adjustments were proposed for the sections regarding permitted intrusions into required yards and temporary placement of recreational vehicles.
The four attending members of the commission, along with Assistant Community Development Director Hillary Hoke and City Attorney Kyle Manley, dove into a proposed change on Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ramps and specific requirements for their construction under the permitted intrusions into required yards section of the general provisions chapter.
“ADA ramps under 30 inches above the existing natural grade, measured at ramp floor from the highest point are allowed in the front setback provided a minimum setback of 10 feet is retained from the front property line,” one amendment reads. The second amendment reads verbatim with the addition at the end to include, “...and they obtain a building permit” if it exceeds the 30-inch requirement.
Generally, Hoke said the construction of ADA ramps is exempt from the building code under certain criteria. ADA ramps are considered part of the primary structure that the city doesn’t want going up to the right-of-way, Hoke said. Planning Commission Chair Jakob McGhie believes the proposals create difficulty.
“I’m a member of the Twin Cities Rotary Club, and one of our areas of service is, as a club, we fund and actually do the building of accessibility ramps for individuals who don’t have the means themselves to produce one,” he said. “Adding bureaucratic difficulty in the creation of a ramp when a lot of times those things are being done by volunteers who are providing the time and the materials to create them… it will act as an impediment potentially for that sort of volunteerism and drive it more toward something that you have to hire a construction company to do because they have to know how to go through the permitting process.”
Hoke said staff can review the language around the connection to rights-of-way and look into creating a minimum setback of zero feet instead of 10.
The next proposed change creates a section for model homes or sales trailers, permitting the construction of a limited number of model homes or a sales trailer on an approved preliminary plat prior to final plat approval. The amendment includes requirements for eligibility, application, occupancy, duration permitted and removal.
“This provision would allow model homes to be built at the proposed subdivision dimensions and locations without final approval so they can start marketing those homes before final approval,” Hoke said, clarifying that model homes, also known as show houses or display homes, within a subdivision wouldn’t qualify as model homes if they have the same floor plan as an existing home until they have final subdivision approval.
Additionally, city staff proposed changing the code’s chapter on temporary placement of a recreational vehicle due to a medical hardship. The amendment would change the duration of permits for medical hardships from 12 months to six months, with six-month extensions of temporary hardship permits available.
The code also currently states that a recreational vehicle no more than five years old may be permitted as a temporary dwelling on the same lot as a permanent dwelling if it meets certain requirements, but planning commissioners showed interest in extending or even removing the age requirement altogether. The age requirement for temporary placement of a recreational vehicle for security or emergency use was proposed at 10 years.
As for the short-term rental provision, short-term rentals must connect to all city utilities, or, within certain zoning districts, connect to city water and electricity. Short-term rentals that are not required to connect to city sewer are required to meet all of the requirements established by Lewis County that pertain to septic systems, according to the proposed section.
The amendment states that short-term rentals are not permitted in locations where development is restricted under any other federal, state or local laws, rules or regulations if they are near on-site sewage system infrastructure, critical areas or “other unsuitable physical characteristics of a property.”
The number of overnight guests is limited to two adults per bedroom, but children under 12 years of age may occupy a bedroom with no more than two adults. In any short-term rental, the total number of overnight guests is limited to a maximum of 10 or the maximum provided by the building code, whichever is less. In a short-term rental homestay, the property owner or long-term rental tenant is included in counting the maximum number of overnight guests if they reside during the duration of the homestay.
Short-term rentals are only permitted within a legally established dwelling unit, according to the proposal, and may not be operated outdoors, in an accessory structure, mobile homes, recreational vehicles, travel trailers, park models, or any other wheeled vehicle or nonresidential structure. Hoke pondered broadening the restriction to say “within a legally established building unit,” as she noted that anything else specified would not be legal.
Property owners are also required to provide a courtesy notice regarding the short-term rental to all property owners within 300 feet to the proposed rental location, per the proposal. This notification must include a description of the operation, the number of bedrooms to be rented to overnight guests and contact information for the owner or operator by phone.
McGhie said the proposed section contained “really level-headed ideas” and didn’t have any issues.
For the co-housing section, commissioners requested a definition to be outlined in the section as many of them explained that the term was new to them.
Hoke said the research on all topics will be brought before the next planning commission meeting, which is scheduled for Aug. 14.
To view the proposed changes, visit https://tinyurl.com/y9huwrwp.
