2/19/2008 11:10:00 PM City Council OKs moratorium on 'McMansions,' landmark building demolitions; Interim controls in place for six months
By Barney Burke
The Port Townsend City Council voted 6-0 Tuesday night to approve a package of regulations that prohibit the demolition of historic homes and the construction of large homes that some people call "McMansions."
Three of the four regulations take effect immediately as "emergency interim ordinances. Councilor Catharine Robinson was absent and excused.
The interim regulations are:
1. A moratorium on demolition of historic homes in the National Landmark Historic District (historic buildings in commercial zoning districts are protected by a 2004 ordinance).
2. A moratorium on "McMansions," limiting floor-area ratios to 50 percent (e.g., a 2,500 square foot home on a 5,000 square foot lot, which is about half of the current maximum), plus an overall limit of 5,500 square feet no matter how large the parcel is.
3. A moratorium in effect rezoning all R-III properties in the National Landmark District to R-II (reducing the maximum density on those lots from 16 dwelling units per 40,000 square feet to eight).
In addition, the council passed on first reading an ordinance exempting certain improvements to historic homes from city property taxes for 10 years, shifting that tax burden to other properties.
The council plans to appoint a task force to look at the related issues. By state law, the city must either make the interim regulations permanent or withdraw them in six months. Alternatively, the council can vote to extend any moratoriums.
The only member of the public who spoke Tuesday night was Andrew Reding, who said the regulations are "absolutely the right thing to do."
Most of the residential areas of the National Landmark Historic District are zoned R-II already, and would not be affected by the moratorium on R-III zoning there. But the idea of not letting property owners build R-III lots to their maximum density gave the council pause.
Earlier in the meeting, the council voted 6-0 to implement a zoning ordinance change requiring a minimum density of development on R-III land throughout the city. About a dozen owners of R-III land voiced strong objections. In some cases, people with a block of R-III land said they only have a single family house, and with the change, they would be prevented from adding just a second unit such as a mother-in-law cottage. But city staff and some council members said that unless R-III land is developed to its potential, the prospect of building more affordable housing in town will be dim.
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