Sarah Lemmon February 24, 2016 6:06am

The Phinney Ridge Community Council is asking for your input via a survey on backyard cottages. The City Council is considering changing requirements that would affect owner occupancy, parking lot size and fees. The City’s proposal are trying to encourage the construction of more backyard cottages in single family zones.

Here’s more from the council:
“The Mayor and our District 6 City Council Mike O’Brien believe the proposed changes are a desirable tool to accommodate more density and growth. PRCC would like to know what you think in order to give feedback before legislation is drafted in the next couple of months.

With some exceptions, backyard cottages are currently allowed on all single-family lots of at least 4,000 square feet. This means that about 75,000 of the City’s 124,000 single-family lots are eligible for backyard cottages. Current law subjects backyard cottages to a number of restrictions. These include requirements in effect now:
The property owner live on site at least six months of the year,
Provide off-street parking for the cottage, and a prohibition against having a backyard cottage and “in-law” apartment on the same property.
Limits on the height and size of backyard cottages, and
Prohibits cottage entrances from facing abutting property.”

The council didn’t include a deadline on the survey, but if you’d like to participate, better do it sooner than later.
Here’s the link to the survey: www.surveymonkey.com/r/QR69TVB