WYOMING, Mich. — The city of Wyoming is updating its zoning codes for the first time in roughly 60 years, a change that will impact about 9,000 homes and make it easier for homeowners to make improvements to their properties.
"What we're looking at doing is simplifying the process for people," said Nicole Hofert, deputy city manager of Wyoming. "So we're trying to take both the R2 and the R3 back to the historical context."
R2 and R3 are two of several residential zone districts in the city. While similar, they have differed in their lot size requirements. The city created a website to help breakdown what is happening with this change.
R2 homes have this description:
· The property is on enough land for a small front and back yard.
· The houses are close to the sidewalk and one another.
· The house sizes are 700 - 900 sq. ft.
· If there is a garage, it is detached and in the back yard.
R3 homes are little more updated, with more recent homes being built like this:
· A larger property with a big front and back yard.
· More distance between houses.
· The house sizes are 1,500 - 3,000 sq. ft.
· All garages are attached.
"We have several different residential zone districts, R2 and R3 are just two of them, and they're very similar," said Hofert. "They just allowed slightly different uses, and they had different lot size requirements. So R3 allowed for larger lot sizes than R2 for example."
A key driver behind the update is the high number of properties that do not meet current standards. Under the existing code, 63% of parcels are considered non-conforming. With the changes in place, 99% of parcels will meet the updated standards.
"Non-conforming meaning that the parcel doesn't meet today's zoning code, and so that was preventing people from making reinvestments back into their homes." Hofert said.
The changes include:
- R2 properties will be allowed to have detached garages.
- Lot size requirements on properties will be reduced.
- Duplexes will now be allowed, with restrictions.
"If someone wanted to be able to put, say, a one bedroom addition onto the back of their home, they might not have been able to do that because of the current restrictions. So we were just trying to make it easier for residents to make those investments back into their neighborhoods." Hofert said.
The city said the changes came in direct response to feedback from neighvbors and was apart of its master plan.
"We just kept hearing from residents about, well, why can't I put up a single you know, why can't I put up a detached garage?," said Hofert. "Or what do you mean? I can't put an addition on because it doesn't meet the requirements. So it was really a combination of those things."
The zoning updates will not affect property taxes, and homeowners are not required to make any changes to their properties. Residents in impacted areas should have already received notice of the changes.
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