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MEMORANDUM To:St. Anthony Village Planning Commission From:Stephen Grittman, City Planner Date:Planning Commission Regular Meeting for May 17, 2022 RE:R-1 Zoning District – Options for Amendment The purpose of this memorandum is to initiate a discussion over the potential for expanding buildable area on single family parcels in St. Anthony. The simple impetus for this discussion is to consider whether there are opportunities to allow more significant reinvestment in existing housing stock given a changing expectation for single family home design. St. Anthony has demonstrated a strong interest in its single family neighborhoods for a variety of reasons. However, without continuing private reinvestment in housing stock, and attention to the wider residential housing market, there can result a loss in interest, and the fear of housing decline over the longer term. This discussion is intended to head off this potential before it can become a factor in the community’s single family neighborhoods – preserving what is valued, and enhancing those aspects to best take advantage of the community’s housing opportunities. One of the considerations for maintaining the health of single family neighborhoods is allowing homeowners to reinvest in their homes, and consider adding space to accommodate changing demands and patterns of single home use. Among these are an increased need for home office space, and in the case of many of the homes in St. Anthony, more contemporary interior spaces such as dining and kitchen design, owner’s suites and expanded bathroom square footage, entertainment spaces, and others. While considering increasing the livable areas or significantly remodeling homes that were built and designed in the 1940s and 1950s, there are external impacts on neighborhood livability as well. Increasing buildable area on smaller lots will have a visual impact on the streetscape. It can also impact function of the single family lot, which is typically intended to accommodate outdoor recreation space (room to play with children on a lawn, entertain guests on a deck or patio, etc.). Cities that grew up with this suburban model in mind were designed to rely on the availability of private outdoor space. One of the impacts of this pattern is reducing what had been (prior to suburban development) a greater emphasis on small pocket and “tot-lot” style parks. Thus, the availability of private suburban lawn for recreation lessened the need for short walks to public spaces. For fully developed communities like St. Anthony, retrofitting neighborhoods with tot-lot style parks is often impractical, thus, retaining this private recreation role is an important consideration.