Lexington City Council March 20 unanimously approved a zoning ordinance that would allow cottage housing developments as a conditional use in all of the city’s residential zoning districts.
Cottage housing developments are a group of small, single- family dwellings that center around a common area. They are similar to condominium projects, in that the units are typically sold individually, along with the land underneath them, and the owners pay a fee for use of the common areas, which are maintained by a homeowner’s association.
The Lexington Planning Commission began discussing cottage housing last April, and began drafting the language for the ordinance in July. Members completed a final draft of the ordinance in January, which was approved by the Commission following a public hearing at its Feb. 13 meeting.
Cottage housing developments in the city will be allowed as a conditional use in all four of the city’s residential zoning districts.
In the R-1 (general residential) zoning district, the maximum density allowed is one cottage per 4,000 square feet, and a required minimum lot size of 16,000 square feet. The same minimum lot size is required for the R-LC (residential-light commercial) and R-M (residential-multifamily) zoning districts, with respective maximum densities of one cottage per 2,500 square feet and one cottage per 2,000 square feet. In the R-2 (suburban residential) zoning district, a minimum lot size of 30,000 square feet is required and the maximum density is one cottage per 7,500 square feet.
Any development in any of the zoning districts must have a minimum of four cottages, and cannot exceed 12 cottages in the R-1, R-2 and R-LC districts. Developments in the R-M zoning districts may have up to 18 cottages.
City Council held a public hearing prior to last month’s vote, during with two residents spoke. Joe Milo, who resides on Thornhill Road, said he was very supportive of the ordinance, though he questioned the decision to have second floors of the cottages be smaller than the first floors. He also made note of the fact that the city was setting a maximum limit on three bedrooms per house in the developments.
“I think it refreshing to see a single-family zoning ordinance that has a maximum house size rather than a minimum house size,” he said. “With all the affordability issues, this helps.”
Michael Perry, who lives on South Jefferson Street, expressed concerns about the developments, especially within the historic residential district.
“I think we just need to make sure we think this out and we have some guardrails around it,” he said. “I’m totally for having housing and developing housing in Lexington, condominiums especially … But I am concerned about the historic residential district and the character of it. There’s open spaces in the historic district that have never been built upon and should remain open green spaces in Lexington, and especially in the historic district. If there’s been a building previously built on that piece of personal property, then I’m all for adding more housing to that space. But as far as developing areas that have never had houses on them, that have been historic green spaces, I think we need to have guardrails.”
Prior to the vote, Leslie Straughan, who serves as the City Council liason on Planning Commission, addressed Milo’s question and Perry’s concerns. She explained that the difference in floor sizes for the houses was intended to both keep the houses from becoming too big and to allow developers to make the houses look more interesting in their designs. She also acknowledged that the developments wouldn’t work in all areas of the city, which is part of why they’re a conditional use. Straughan moved to approve the ordinance and John Driscoll provided the second. The motion carried in a 6-0 vote.
