AGENDA #5a

MEMORANDUM

TO:                  Mayor and Town Council

FROM:            W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager

SUBJECT:       Response to Village West Petition about Single-Family Designation

DATE:             June 12, 2000

This memorandum provides information in response to a petition from residents of Village West Condominiums.

A copy of the petition is attached.  It asks the Council to “place Village West Condominiums in the Single Family Dwelling category.”  The petition describes a problem of “an increasing number of non-owner occupied units being occupied by renters, and in some instances by multiple unrelated residents.”   The petition closes by suggesting that this issue be considered for all condominiums in the Town’s Comprehensive Plan.

DISCUSSION

We note that the Development Ordinance makes no reference or distinction with respect to ownership.  From the regulatory point of view, it makes no difference whether a dwelling unit is owner-occupied or renter-occupied.

Three types of dwelling units that are defined in the Development Ordinance are:  Single-family dwellings, two-family dwellings (duplexes), and multi-family dwellings.  Single-family units sit on individual lots, as do duplexes.  Multi-family units consist of 3 or more units on a single lot. (It is possible with multi-family units to create “townhouse lots” for individual units, with common area surrounding them).  Definitions follow:

Single-Family Dwelling:  A detached dwelling consisting of a single dwelling unit only.

Two-Family Dwelling:  A dwelling or combination of dwellings on a single lot consisting of two dwelling units.

Multi-Family Dwelling:  A dwelling or combination of dwellings on a single lot consisting of three or more dwelling units.

The Development Ordinance contains occupancy limitations for single-family and two-family dwelling units.  There are no occupancy limitations for multi-family dwellings, other than building codes and minimum housing codes.  The minimum housing code is the basic occupancy regulation for all dwellings, and requires 150 square feet of habitable floor area for the first occupant of a dwelling (100 square feet for each of the next three occupants, and 75 square feet for each additional occupant).  Attention to issues such as parking and trash collection in multi-family units are managed by the property owner or owners’ association.

Other than regulations related to designated fire lanes, enforcement of parking rules on private property can only be accomplished at the request of the property owner.  We note, also, that the Town’s Police Department is able to provide assistance in regard to noise ordinance violations.

Village West is a multi-family development.  It was proposed, approved, and built as a multi-family development, a series of buildings each containing multiple dwelling units, and exists as such today.  We believe that the Council cannot declare Village West units to be single-family units.

A representative of a multi-family development approached the Council last year and asked that the Development Ordinance be changed so as to apply the occupancy restrictions that exist for single-family dwellings to multi-family developments.  We suggested to the Council at that time that this change not be made, and the Council took no action.  A copy of that November 1999 memorandum is attached.

SUMMARY

We do not believe that an existing multi-family development can be transformed into a series of single-family dwellings by adoption of a resolution by the Town Council.  Therefore we do not believe that the request of the Village West petitioner can be granted.

We continue to believe that the community’s long-standing expectation that unrelated people might choose to share an apartment or other multi-family dwelling is reasonable, and do not recommend changing the ordinance to apply the single-family occupancy restrictions to multi-family dwellings. 

We believe that a good starting point for attention to deal with resident concerns about parking, garbage, noise, and maintenance associated with dwelling units in a multi-family development would be discussion with the development’s owner or with the development’s Homeowners Association.

ATTACHMENTS

1.         Petition (p. 3)

2.         November, 1999, Council Memorandum (begin new page 1)