Vancouver, WA – July 20, 2010 – (RealEstateRama) — Proposed changes to the county’s Unified Development Code (Title 40) will be the focus of a public hearing before the Board of County Commissioners Tuesday, July 27 at 10 a.m. in the Public Service Center, Sixth-Floor Hearing Room, 1300 Franklin St.
The code amendments are the first in a series to be considered under the Retooling Our Code: Shaping Our Future project, with the commissioners set to consider recommendations from county staff and the Clark County Planning Commission.
Overall, the project aims to update the county’s development code to make it more flexible and responsive to changes in real estate markets, including homes and business sites.
Topics up for discussion on July 27 include:
• Requirements for retirement housing designed for people 55 and older.
• Limiting second dwelling units to 800 square feet where they are added to primary homes on single-family lots.
• Reducing setbacks in residential developments.
• Public hearings on request but not required for some developments.
• How to make conditional use permits less time consuming.
• When to require site plan review or post-decision review.
• Requirements for planned unit developments, such as lot sizes, setbacks, landscaping and parking.
• Clarifying the code related to nonconforming uses, structures and lots.
• Making transportation “concurrency” review comparable with other metropolitan areas relative to intersections without traffic lights.
• A new section of code to cover a limited number of pilot projects involving a variety of construction methods and materials and utilities for “sustainable” community living.
• Making new lot widths, depths and setbacks consistent with city lots in Vancouver.
• Public hearings on request but not required for larger bed and breakfast establishments, with administrative approval available for the smaller ones.
• Eliminating landscaping requirements for residential development in residential zones adjacent to agricultural or forestry resource lands.
• Clarifying the definition of legal lots of record and the process for creating them.
• Extending existing but unexpired temporary use permits from a total of 12 to 18 months.
More information on each item is available online at www.roc.clark.wa.gov, or by calling Marlia Jenkins at (360) 397-6097.
