The Bowling Green Planning Commission heard about, and held preliminary discussions, on a slate of suggested edits to the city’s new zoning code during its meeting Wednesday.
The commission set the matter out for a public hearing at its next meeting on Sept. 4.
“With the zoning code adopted over a year ago, staff has had time to gauge what is working well, sections that need clarity, and sections that need improved,” wrote Planning Director Heather Sayler in a lengthy memo to the commission outlining the edits.
One suggestion is that a “design standard” be added “that a porch covered by a roof be required for new construction in residential zoning districts. … This would be a small step to add architectural character to new construction, rather than just having a few steps to a main entry of a dwelling unit,” Sayler wrote.
“Not a huge porch, just a small porch with a roof, again just to give a home some character,” at the front main entry, Sayler said during Wednesday’s meeting.
Another suggestion would “change the maximum width of a driveway for a one-unit or two-unit dwelling use from 10 feet to 20 feet (leaving that it can still be as wide as the garage, whichever is greater) and add that all driveways are required to follow the city’s Access Management Policies and Guidelines, which is helpful to minimize wide curb cuts and the number of curb cuts. The driveway width limitation has resulted in several variances (10 as of July), another indication of a regulation needing to be reviewed for potential changes,” Sayler wrote.
Another suggestion would affect some landscape requirements for developments, changing the “interior landscape island” requirement from a 4-inch diameter tree to a 2-inch diameter tree, and “perimeter landscaping” from six shrubs to four shrubs, for every 50 lineal feet, rather than 30 lineal feet. Sayler writes that current landscaping requirements “are significant and costly. There has been one variance request so far on this and concerns have been received about this requirement being intensive. This recommendation came from the city arborist.
“It saves several hundreds of dollars on one tree, and it actually tends to grow better,” Sayler said of the proposed change.
Other proposed alterations include dealing with front yard setbacks in the University Residential District, clarifying that pools are not allowed in front yards, as well as street trees and signage regulations. Among the proposed signage regulations would be the prohibition of signs that are made of bed linens, tarps, and untreated or unfinished plywood.
“Some of you are probably giggling because some of you may have seen bed linens uses as signs” at some properties on East Wooster Street during Bowling Green State University move-in, Sayler.
In other business, the commission heard from Rose Drain, president of the BG Save Our Neighborhoods Group, about their upcoming Call to Action event.
“There is certainly a need in Bowling Green for housing that is financially accessible for people of modest incomes,” Drain said, “especially as we’re having more industry come into BG.”
She said that among the concepts, BG SONG might be able to purchase and rehabilitate rental properties as they become available for purchase, and sell them to people who wish to be owner-occupiers. The group, she said, also hopes to work with investors and developers to create some residential housing in mixed-use neighborhood zones.
Drain said the group is reaching out to a broad network of potential stakeholders.
“We’re looking for people that have vision, that have the desire to make more of what we’ve got, to make more housing available to people that have challenges finding financially accessible housing,” said Drain.
The Call to Action meeting event will be held Oct. 12 from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Community Center.
