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7A ATTACHMENT ~age 85 Residential Duplex (R-2) Density Analysis The Redwood City Residential Duplex (R-2) Zoning District requirements do not specify how to calculate density in the R-2 Zoning District for properties greater than 10,000 square feet (sq. ft.) in size. One assumption would be to conclude, based on the code language alone, that no more than three units are allowed on any property in the R-2 Zoning District. However, the City has clearly allowed more than three units on many properties with R-2 zoning over the years. These developments were processed as Planned Developments (PDs) per Article 46 of the Zoning Ordinance. Planned Development Permits allow flexibility in development standards for a range of items, including setbacks and other factors. Section 6.6, Lot Area, of the Zoning Ordinance specifies density in the R-2 Zoning District as follows: The minimum building site area shall be five thousand (5,000) square feet for a single-family dwelling, seven thousand five hundred (7,500) square feet fora two (2)-family (duplex) dwelling, r and ten thousand (10,000) square feet for a three (3)-family (triplex) dwelling. Additional minimum building site area requirements greater than those specified in this section shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of Section 32.2, "Supplementary Lot Area Requirements for Sloping Sites," under the conditions therein specified. (Ord. 1130, eff. 7-10-64: Ord.1130.130, eff. 5-26-71: Ord.1130.169, eff. 8-24-77) The R-2 zoning standards were established in 1964 along with the adoption of the Zoning Ordinance as a whole. Section 6.6 pertaining to lot area has been amended twice since adoption. From 1964 to 1977, the minimum lot area in the R-2 Zoning District was 6,000 square feet and allowed up to two units on lots of that size. Triplexes were not mentioned. No guidance was provided for larger sites. PDs were allowed at that time and there are PDs built in the R-2 Zoning District between 1964 and 1977, however, staff is not sure how density was determined for all of those cases. An amendment in 1971 added a reference to new slope density standards. The 1977 amendment was part a broader amendment to the requirements of several residential zoning districts. For the R-2, this amendment established the 5,000 square foot minimum lot size for single-family homes and the 7,500 sq. ft. minimum lot area for duplexes. A 10,000 sq. ft. minimum was established for triplexes, which had not previously been acknowledged in the R-2. The text read as it does now for single-family homes, duplexes, and triplexes. The language has never provided direction for sites larger sites which are potentially suitable for PDs. (The reference to Section 32.2 in Section 6.6 as cited above, pertains to sites with average slopes of 60/0 or greater and is the language comprising the 1971 amendment.) Density Interpretation - 2,500 sq. ft. per unit Increment with 10,000 sq. ft. Lot Area Base: Approximately eight years ago, in response to developer inquiries about larger R-2 properties, planning staff studied this issue and determined that the Zoning Ordinance did not provide specific direction for establishing density limits in the R-2 Zoning District for larger sites. After studying a number of previously approved PDs in the R-2 Zoning District, it was also determined that an identifiable consistent past practice upon which to base future decisions did not exist. Because of the lack of