AgdaPkt 2018-12-03 Joint SA PFA - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

6.D. - Page 7 of 13 Short -Term Strategy: Floor Area Ratio (FAR) Threshold Interim Ordinance (Time Frame: Early Spring 2019 A floor area ratio (FAR) threshold could also be used to address neighborhood compatibility. Floor area ratio is the size of the house in proportion to the size of the lot. For example, a 2,500 sq. ft. home on a 5,000 sq. ft. lot has a FAR of .50. Redwood City does not have a residential FAR limit, though many jurisdictions have FAR requirements for single family homes. Instead, Redwood City currently uses height, setbacks, and lot coverage (total area of the lot covered by building) as a regulation of the building form. Most cities that have FARs, also have height, setbacks, and lot coverage requirements that they use in conjunction with FAR. The 2010 General Plan discusses residential FAR as a potential implementing action to encourage compatible development. At City Council direction, staff could prepare an Interim FAR ordinance regulating home size. This ordinance could be established on an interim basis while staff completes a longer community process on design guidelines and home size. The interim ordinance could establish the following: • Set FAR thresholds which trigger Planning Commission review and action. For example, if the City were to set a .45 FAR, that means that the single-family projects that have a floor area of 45% of the lot area (or more), would have to be reviewed and acted on by the Planning Commission with a public hearing. Single-family projects that are under this the established threshold could still be acted upon by the Zoning Administrator. Attached to this report are FARs from nearby cities for comparison purposes. Similar to other nearby cities, staff would also suggest that detached garages be excluded from FAR totals, as this will encourage the construction of detached garages (which generally leads to better designs). • Develop a set of findings that the Planning Commission would need to make to approve single- family projects that exceed the established FAR threshold. These findings might relate to the way the home is designed so that it is consistent with the neighborhood character. • Establish a two-year period for the ordinance to be in effect with a sunset clause. This would allow the City to address the community's needs now while determining the best long term solution. For example, the City may decide to eliminate the FAR threshold and use other development standards and design guidelines, establish a different FAR, or make the FAR more restrictive. Alternative: The City Council could suggest that the City adopt a short-term "hard -cap FAR". This would mean that any homes over a certain size simply could not be approved. While this ultimately could work as it does in other cities, staff is suggesting the threshold approach above since there has been little community outreach so far related to Floor Area Ratios. The threshold approach would encourage property owners to submit smaller homes, while providing an additional layer of review and neighborhood outreach, as well as add specific findings for homes that exceed the threshold FAR. Longer -Term Strategy: Residential Design Guidelines & Additional Zoning Regulations (Time Frame: Early 2020) Staff will begin developing residential design guidelines in January 2019. Design guidelines are subjective standards that discuss good design with graphic examples to address height, massing, placement, and landscaping. With consultant assistance, staff will conduct public outreach to hear from the community about values for their neighborhoods and issues and concerns. Based on that information, staff will City of Redwood City 1017 Middlefield Road, Redwood City, CA. 94063 Tel: 650-780-7000 www.redwoodcity.org Al