Inyo’s Planning Department Takes a Creative Look at Opportunities for Housing
Inyo’s Planning Department Takes a Creative Look at Opportunities for Housing
Affordable housing in a county where the majority of the land is owned by public entities requires more than a little creativity as well as a bundle of grant funding. Inyo County’s Planning Department has both: a grant through the California Department of Housing and Community Development, consultants, Precision Civil Engineering, as well as Department staff members who have been wrestling with housing for years.
The result of those elements was a presentation to the Board of Supervisors last month on the County’s zoning codes and General Plan requirements. More specifically, how the two standards by which land use and density are regulated do not agree. Now, with more people to house, fewer parcels available for housing, and a reluctance among those already housed to see more housing, Planning was looking for a way to nibble away at the issue.
Jenna Chilingerian, with Precision, outlined the incongruities between zoning ordinances and the General Plan to Inyo’s Board of Supervisors in late May. The presentation covered Big Pine, Independence, and Lone Pine, coming up with a total of 52 lots that could allow an Additional Dwelling Unit (ADU).
The County’s zoning ordinance requires larger set-backs between property lines and any structure, whether that structure be a garage, shed, primary residence, or an ADU. By applying only the General Plan set-back requirement, more R-1 and R-3 lots could provide additional housing opportunities. Planning staff’s solution is to go by the General Plan’s reduced set-back requirements. The decision to incorporate a dwelling unit, under the General Plan parameters, would be made by the land owner.
Supervisors Jeff Griffiths and Scott Marcellin both agreed to go with the General Plan set-back requirements. Precision’s contract extends through 2025 with public hearings on the available options through October and November.
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