Soap Lake works on odd lots

Council considers zoning revision

SOAP LAKE — The Soap Lake City Council discussed how to allow construction on odd sized property Wednesday.

Current zoning code requires property to have at least one side be 65 feet across and facing a roadway in order for owners to build on the lot. Many lots within the city do not conform, Moses Lake Community Development Director Gilbert Alvarado said.

Previous zoning requirements only required lots to be at least 50 feet across.

Some lots are even smaller with people wishing to build on them, he said. The city does not have a process to deal with such requests.

One lot in Soap Lake has 45 feet facing a roadway and is unable extend the boundaries because lots are developed on both sides.

The council agreed by consensus that they did not want certain lots to remain vacant due to limited property facing a roadway.

Alvarado presented the council with a solution to handle the non-conforming lots on a case-by-case basis.

He proposed amending the zoning code to allow owner's of non-conforming lots to request relief from a hearing examiner in order to build, rather than follow a public hearing process. According to the amendment, the owner has the option to appeal to Grant County Superior Court, if they are unsatisfied with the decision.

He also proposed allowing a variance to the zoning code because a hearing is costly.

The variance would allow construction on a non-conforming lot if the property facing a roadway is within a certain percentage of the requirement, he said. Some lots fail to meet standards by 1 to 5 feet.

Staff are preparing an ordinance with the zoning code change for the council to discuss at their next meeting June 20. Regular council meetings are held in city hall, starting at 7 p.m.

Councilmember Marina Romary was absent from the meeting.