Riley works on micro units passage

Council Member Chris Riley touted potential changes to an ordinance that would amend City Code to reduce restrictions on the construction of micro units at Tuesday’s work session, ahead of a public hearing scheduled for Thursday’s meeting. The new language, he said, is “very simple and clean, and encourages those sorts of units near the center of the city.” Riley wants to pass the current micro units amendment this week on first reading only, after which he will work to modify it before final passage. Riley emphasized the flexibility of adding micro units — studio apartments with floor plans of less than 400 square feet — to developments along core transit corridors, as they generally would not count toward site area requirements or parking requirements. He did acknowledge concerns that the units could undermine vertical mixed-use or transit-oriented development, but said they could actually increase affordability in some circumstances. The Planning Commission voted 6-1 in September against recommending the changes.