Current Efforts - Coeur Housing Code

(Please note: If you are looking for information on the November 19, 2020 and/or January 27, 2021 VIRTUAL meetings, the links to the PowerPoint presentation with the live polling results and the YouTube videos of the Zoom meetings are at the bottom of this page.)

Workshop 1 - February 20, 2020 

The Infill Housing Committee (now referred to as the Coeur Housing Committee) met and discussed the process and timing for the adoption of the new infill/missing housing code. Some of the items that the committee discussed with Planning Staff are below:

Branding of new Infill Housing Code

Name for the new code:

• Middle Housing: …?
• Coeur Housing: …?
• Suggestions: …?

Missing Middle Housing (MMH) Forum – NIC Recap/Takeaways From Forum:

• there is a need for Infill/Missing Middle Housing in the City
• not all neighborhoods should be designated for infill development
  • ensure that established neighborhoods won’t be negatively impacted.
• design of units is very important (Good Quality of Design)
• density should decrease as you move away from the downtown core
• allow for a variety of housing types
• various densities and styles within residential neighborhoods
• the units should be house-scale if they are in a residential neighborhood

Workshop 2 – June 10, 2020

The Coeur Housing Committee met and discussed items for the adoption of the new infill/missing housing code. Some of the items that the Coeur Housing Committee discussed with Planning Staff are below:

• What shall the new Infill Housing Code be known as?

• Where in the city is infill housing appropriate?

• What areas should remain Single Family “Neighborhood Exclusion Areas?

• Should housing densities decrease as you move away from the downtown?

• Is Livability and Walkability aspect of Infill Housing important?

Infill Housing Objectives

• develop a set of criteria for the suitable location infill housing sites.
• analyze and develop a map showing the suitable area within the city to locate infill housing.
• what neighborhoods should be designated for infill development?
• ensure that established neighborhoods won’t be negatively impacted.
• density should decrease as you move away from the downtown core
• allow for a variety of housing types
• various densities and styles within residential neighborhoods
• the units should be house-scale if they are in a residential neighborhood

Infill Best Practices:

• Orient the design toward the pedestrian experience. Allow for open and inviting ground-floor spaces with no blank walls and no hidden corners.
• For tall buildings, consider an articulated base with a step back to allow tall structures to address the scale at the street better without dwarfing its users and neighbors.
• Walkable, create sidewalks that not only promote easy travel, but also serve as a connection to the transportation network.
• Integrate landscaping that promotes protection of the pedestrian from the street and green elements that can soften the hard materials of an urban environment.
• Front doors face the street, where possible.
• Emphasize high quality building design and landscaping.
• Allow for greater density on larger lots at block ends and mid-block.
• Transect mapping with density decreasing as you move away from the downtown

Livability and Walkability:

• Livability focuses on place making, which involves the design of public spaces to encourage public gatherings and engagement (Berke, Godschalk, Kaiser, & Rodriguez, 2006).
• Walkability is vital in the livability aspect of a city. (Duany, Plater-Zyberk, & Speck, Suburban Nation: The Rise if Sprawl and the decline of the American Dream, 2000).
• Clarence Perry developed a model of the neighborhood unit that defined a five-minute walking distance as the radius a person would likely walk as a primary means of transportation for frequent trips (Perry, 1929).
• The distance of 900 feet equates to approximately a five-minute walk.

Best Practices - Infill Housing Suitability Criterion

• Preserve and protect existing historic single-family neighborhoods.
• Quality design of the infill housing units increases the livability aspect.
• Pedestrian and bike trails for outdoor recreation are also very important, infill housing should be located within 900 feet of pedestrian and bike trails.
• Infill Housing Units should be in close proximity to public transpotation routes and should be located within 900 feet of these routes.
• Infill Housing should be located at least 900 feet from employment centers and commercial nodes.
• Infill housing should allow for densities decreasing as you move away from the downtown core. (Transect Map)

View the Workshop – 2 Powerpoint




Workshop 3 - July 23, 2020

The Coeur Housing Committee met and discussed items for the adoption of the new infill/ missing housing code. Some of the items for Workshop 3 that the Coeur Housing Committee discussed with Planning Staff are below

• Housing types & Unit Counts
• Building Height
• 2nd/3rd Story Stepback
• Lot Size to allow for Infill Housing:  minimum and Maximums

Infill Housing Types

• Tri-plex
• Four-plex
• Tiny House Court
• Cottage Court
• Courtyard Building
• Townhouse
• Multiplex-Small
• Multiplex-Large
• Live/Work Units

Building Height

What we learned from the Missing Middle Forum at NIC

              The units should be house-scale if they are in a residential neighborhood.

• Residential Zones Through R-12

              32 feet in residential zones, Two stories
             
              39 Feet in residential zones when in the walkable areas, Three stories

• Commercial and R-17 Zones (Townhouse, Live-work, Multiplex-small and Multiplex-large units only)

              45 feet, 3 stories/4 stories
             
              56 Feel when in the walkable areas near the Downtown, 5 stories

2nd/3rd Story Stepback:

Should infill housing have a second/third story Stepback as similar to the ADU code based on Unit Types?

    •  Example:  ADU Code has the second story step-back in the Rear Yard of the property

             Only in Residential Districts

             Or if adjacent to a single-family dwelling

             Neighborhood Exclusion Areas

Lot Size to allow for Infill Housing:  Minimum and Maximums

Minimum Lot Size

        • 8,250 SF (1.5 City Lots)

        • 9, 625 SF(1.75 City Lots)

        • 11,000 SF (2 City Lots)

Maximum Lot Size

        • 16,500 SF (3 City Lots)

        • 20,000 SF(4 City Lots)

        • 27,500 SF (5 City Lots)

        • 33,000 SF (6 City Lots)

View the Workshop - 3 Powerpoint




Workshop 4 - August 27, 2020

The Coeur Housing Committee met and discussed items for the adoption of the new infill/missing housing code. Some of the items for workshop 4 that the Coeur Housing Committee discussed with planning staff are below:

• Parking Requirements and Size of Parking Spaces
• Design Standards/Form Based Codes
• Setbacks
• Lot Coverage / Open Space

Parking Size

• Current required parking space size is  9’ x 20’
• Consensus: Coeur Housing parking space size will be  9’ x 18’

Parking Requirements

• Coeur Housing Parking Requirements: Will be based on the Transect areas as shown below

Design Standards / Form Based Codes

Should Coeur Housing have unique design regulations for the different types of Coeur Housing developments?

• Yes

Staff is directed to developed code language that incorporates from and design standards for each of the Coeur Housing types.

What are the appropriate Setbacks?

Should Coeur Housing have unique setback regulations for the different types of Coeur Housing developments?

• Yes

Staff is directed to developed code language that incorporates setbacks standards for each of the Coeur Housing types.

Lot Coverage / Open Space

Should Coeur Housing have unique Lot Coverage/ Open Space/ Pervious Surface regulations for each of the different types of Coeur Housing developments?

• Yes

 Staff is directed to developed code language that incorporates lot coverage /open space / pervious surface standards for each of the Coeur Housing types.

View the Workshop – 4  Powerpoint

Workshop 5 – October 1, 2020

The Coeur Housing Committee met and disused items for the adoption of the new infill/ missing housing code. Some of the items for workshop 4 that the Coeur Housing Committee discussed with planning staff are below:

• Design Standards

• Unit Size

• Number of Unites per Coeur Housing Type

• Lot Sizes per Coeur Housing Type

• Land Survey

 
Design Standards: What design elements should Coeur Housing incorporate into the code?

*Each Coeur Housing type will most likely have differing design elements to match appropriate intensity of development

Design Element Examples:

• Change/Mix of Materials
• Roof Pitch Modulation
• Scale
• Massing/Modulation
• Landscaping
• Lighting
• Garbage/Trash Screening
• Garage Door Design
• Street Frontage Façade
• Dispersion Requirement
• Ground Level/Rooftop Equipment
• Town Home/Cottage Home Variation
• Ground Level Entrance/Front Porch
• Blank Wall Treatments
• What other design elements should we explore?

• What should Coeur Housing look to avoid within its design elements?
• Design departure process as a part of the Coeur Housing Code?
• * Staff will be directed to developed code language that incorporates form and design standards for each of the Coeur Housing types.  

Coeur Housing Unit Size:

                            850SF       1,000SF       1,250SF       1,400SF 
                           
                             * Other SF?

                            * No requirement – Let the developer decide the size of each unit.

                                 (Lot size and parking requirements will also be a factor)

                            *Should only be required for the “Tiny House Court and Cottage Court” Coeur Housing types. Should Coeur Housing require a Maximum SF required per unit per housing type?

Tiny House: = A dwelling Unit that is 400 square feet or less in floor area excluding lofts.

• Should Coeur Housing require a Maximum SF required per unit per housing type?

• Yes
• No
•  If Yes, Staff will be directed to developed code language that incorporates a maximum Square footage requirement for each of the different housing types.

Number of Units Allowed:

Examples:

• Cottage House development: Min 4  - Max 12 units?
• Tiny House development:   Min 5  - Max 10 units ?  
• Multi Family-Small: Min 6  - Max 10 units ?
• Multi Family-Large: Min 11  - Max 18 units ?
  

Housing Types:

• (3) Tri-plex
• (4) Four-plex
• (4-12) Cottage Court
• (4-10) Tiny House Court
• (7-20) Courtyard Apartment
• (1) Townhouse
• (1) Live/Work
• (6-10) Multi-Plex: Small
• (11-20) Multi-Plex: Large

Should Coeur Housing have regulations on each housing type have a minimum and maximum number units allowed per each Coeur Housing type?

• Yes
• No

* If Yes, Staff will be directed to developed code language that incorporates number of units for each of the Coeur Housing types. 

 Lot sizes per Coeur Housing type: 

Examples:

• Cottage House development: Min 6,250 SF - Max 11,500 SF?
• Tiny House development: Min 6,250 SF - Max 9,500 SF?
• Four-plex: Min 6,250 SF -  Max 8,500 SF?
• Multi Family-Small: Min 6,250 SF -  Max 12,500 SF?
• Multi Family-Large: Min 9,250 SF -  Max 18,500 SF?

Should Coeur Housing have regulations regarding Lot Sizes per Housing Type?

• Yes
• No

* If Yes, Staff will be directed to developed code language that incorporates lot sizes per Coeur Housing type.     

Should a Survey be required?  

Survey of the lot to ensure proper setbacks?

• To ensure proper setbacks from neighboring property
• To ensure proper setbacks from Alley and Street ROW

Should Coeur Housing have regulations that specify a survey be required?

• Yes
• No
  

View the Workshop – 5 Powerpoint – 1

View the Workshop – 5  Powerpoint - 2

 



Update to City Council - October 20, 2020

•  Update City Council on the progress and efforts of the Coeur Housing Committee.

View the Update to City Council Powerpoint





Coeur Housing VIRTUAL Community Meeting - November 19, 2020

Coeur Housing (VIRTUAL) Community Meeting seeking input on infill housing within the City of Coeur d’Alene on November 19, 2020 from 5:30-7:00 p.m.

A community meeting was held virtually to receive input on Coeur d’Alene’s proposed infill housing code to be known as “Coeur Housing.”  This meeting allowed the public and development community to provide additional input that will help guide the new Coeur Housing Code. 

An infill housing committee was formed in February of this year. The effort builds off of the Missing Middle Housing Forum that was held in 2019 in partnership with the City of Coeur d’Alene, Coeur d’Alene Association of REALTORS, CDA 2030, and Opticos Design, and the 2019 amendments to the City Code that allow for expanded opportunities for Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs).  The committee has been meeting and working with the City’s planning staff on infill housing topics that pertain to properties within the City of Coeur d’Alene with the goal of amending the Zoning Code to allow additional housing product types on existing lots.  The committee has discussed many topics regarding infill housing such as what areas of the city are appropriate, lot sizes, types of housing, and design considerations to ensure compatibility in existing neighborhoods.  

The Coeur Housing Code will help guide development of infill housing in the community. Infill housing is defined as new housing units constructed on vacant or underused lots, generally in existing neighborhoods.  Coeur Housing is an offshoot of “Missing Middle Housing” coined by Opticos Design, which is diverse house-scaled residential development such as triplexes, cottage courts, multiplexes and other similar unit types in walkable places.  The Coeur Housing Code will not address single-family detached homes, duplexes or mid-rise apartments, which are already allowed and regulated by the Zoning Code.

All Coeur d’Alene residents and members of the development community were invited to attend the Community Meeting to learn more about Coeur Housing, ask questions and provide feedback.  The meeting included a presentation, live polling, and an opportunity for questions and answers. 

The virtual meeting was held Thursday, November 19, 2020 on Zoom from 5:30 – 7:00 p.m.

View PowerPoint with live polling results slideshow here.  

View recorded meeting here.  




Coeur Housing VIRTUAL Public Meeting - Neighborhood Compatibility - January 27, 2021

A second public meeting was held virtually on Wednesday, January 27, 2021 to receive input and feedback from neighborhood groups and community members on Coeur d’Alene’s proposed infill housing code to be known as “Coeur Housing.”  The Coeur Housing Code will help guide development of infill housing in the community with different housing product types to be allowed in certain areas of the city depending on proximity to jobs, services, employment, transit, and trails, and zoning.  A major focus of the Coeur Housing Code is neighborhood compatibility and design.  Some neighborhoods will be excluded from the infill housing code based on existing CC&Rs and/or single-family only designations, as well as locations within the city limits that are not considered walkable or bikeable.  Part of the purpose of the meeting is to obtain input and recommendations on historic neighborhoods to determine if these areas should be excluded or limited to specific housing types and lot sizes.   

An infill housing committee was formed in February of 2020.  Since that time, the committee has been meeting and working with the City’s planning staff on infill housing topics that pertain to properties within the City of Coeur d’Alene with the goal of amending the Zoning Code to allow additional housing product types that are quality in design. Staff and committee members hosted a virtual public meeting on November 19, 2020.  Participant feedback showed a desire for more discussions with the community and neighborhood groups on this topic, and further consideration of historic and established neighborhoods.  The City’s Historic Preservation Commission and the consultants preparing a historic preservation plan for Coeur d’Alene have discussed the Coeur Housing Code in relation to historic neighborhoods and will continue to be consulted to ensure neighborhood compatibility.

All Coeur d’Alene community members and neighborhood groups were invited to attend the virtual meeting to ask questions and provide input and recommendations to ensure that the draft code addresses neighborhood compatibility.  The meeting format was a Zoom webinar with a presentation, live polling, and an opportunity for input and questions.  Attendees had an opportunity to be called upon on to speak, similar to council and commission meetings.     

The virtual meeting was held on Wednesday, January 27, 2020 on Zoom from 5:30 – 7:00 p.m.  

View PowerPoint with live polling results  slideshow here.

View recorded meeting here.