July 19, 2023 |
Photo – Rawlins City Hall – Bigfoot99 file photo
After two years of working to revise the zoning ordinance in Rawlins, the city council amended Title 19 on second reading with a single dissenting vote.
In August of 2021, the governing body voted to ease the code to better fit real life in Rawlins. The planning and zoning board was tasked with the job of rewriting how the city deals with existing retail businesses that operate in industrial zones.
New or altered city regulations must be read and approved during three separate city council meetings before being incorporated into city code. At the June 20th council meeting, the amended Title 19 zoning ordinance passed first reading. Community Development Director Lou Lascano explained some of the changes, including how the ordinance has been rewritten to allow larger garages.
During the July 5th city council meeting, the amended Title 19 ordinance was brought up for a second reading. Mayor Terry Weickum again asked Lascano to speak about some of the changes to the zoning rules.
Councilman Darril Garner asked Lascano if the amended ordinance addressed retail businesses in industrial zones. Lascano said companies need to apply yearly for a special use permit from the planning commission if they occupy an area of the city that isn’t zoned for their type of business.
The amended Title 19 ordinance does not address how improperly zoned businesses will be handled. Lascano said his staff will work on finding a way to incorporate the out-of-zone businesses without throwing out the completed zoning map. Otherwise, Lascano said the city would need to rezone every property in the district, called spot-mapping.
Councilman Weisenburg said he assumed the council rescinded the Title 19 ordinance in 2021 to address retail businesses in industrial zones. He asked Lascano to investigate the issue and bring his findings to the third, and final reading of the ordinance.
Lascano said he would need to go into the city’s industrial zone and hand count how many commercial businesses are there. He said he would attempt to rezone just the areas occupied by retail businesses without resorting to spot zoning.
Councilman Garner questioned Lascano about the revised garage regulations. The amended ordinance would allow a garage to be built on a residential property that doesn’t already have a home on it. Garner asked what would stop someone from building a garage with the intention of never living there.
Councilman Garner continued, saying a property with only a garage would affect the value of the surrounding area in a negative way. Councilman Weisenburg said garages would increase the value of surrounding homes. He said the ordinance requires enough space be left on a property for a house to be built later.
Councilman Weisenburg said people sometimes build a garage before constructing their house, especially if they’re doing the work themselves. Weisenburg said the garage would act as a workshop and staging area for construction supplies. The councilman also said the amended ordinance would allow people to build a garage on the lot next to their home.
Vice Mayor Steve Sanger said Garner’s concerns about garages having an impact on property values are misplaced. Sanger said appraisers only compare similar properties when determining the value of a home.
Vice Mayor Sanger said he agreed with Councilman Garner about the potential to abuse the ordinance. He said a regulation should require a home to be built, eventually, on a residentially zoned property.
The amended Title 19 ordinance also increases the allowable size of a garage from 75% of the total square footage of the home on the property to 125%. Councilman Garner asked what the point of a maximum garage size was if a home wasn’t required to be built. Community Development Director Lascano said the garage would need to allow enough room for a properly sized home to be constructed in the future.
Councilman Garner said existing city ordinances allow people to build a garage before constructing a house, if the home is completed six months after the garage is built. Garner asked if the city should extend the time limit to one year. He said options already exist for people who only want to construct a storage building.
Councilman Garner said he didn’t understand why the amended Title 19 ordinance was changed to allow someone to build a garage in a residential zone. Vice Mayor Sanger said the planning and zoning commission was addressing a request to loosen development restrictions.
Councilman Garner reiterated the fact that the city already allows lone garages to be constructed in industrial zones. He said clusters of garages in a residential zone will hurt future development.
Mayor Weickum mentioned examples of lone garages that already exist in residential zones. Garner said the city can’t make rules covering only a few specific instances. He said the amended ordinance would negatively affect more people than it helped. Councilman Weisenburg disagreed.
Councilman Bruce Seilaff said garages increase the amount of taxes the city collects.
Mayor Weickum opened the amended Title 19 ordinance to a vote. Every council member voted to pass the ordinance amendment on the second reading except for Councilman Garner, who voted against it.
