Evansville City Council weighs in on parking regulations, 'tiny homes'

EVANSVILLE, Ind. — A consultant’s proposed rewrite of planning and zoning regulations for Evansville and Vanderburgh County won’t finish until late 2020, but the City Council on Monday showed some eagerness to weigh in.

The council forwarded to the Area Plan Commission a pair of ordinances. One relaxes some off-street parking rules. The other eliminates minimum floor area standards for residential properties.

The latter proposal, if it’s eventually adopted, would help clear the way for so-called “tiny houses” in the city and county.

Jonathan Weaver, D-At-Large, sponsored the ordinances. They go to the Area Plan Commission, which can endorse them or make changes. After that, they would return to the City Council for final consideration.

This is happening while the Area Plan Commission’s consultant is preparing a recommendation to overhaul all local zoning codes and subdivision regulations, which have been untouched for many years.

Rundell Ernstberger Associates of Indianapolis is being paid $250,000 to steer the process of writing what’s being called a Unified Development Ordinance. The public is invited to a hearing about the process 5-7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Oaklyn Library, 3001 Oaklyn Drive.

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The City Council vote Monday in favor of tweaking parking regulations passed 8-1, with President Alex Burton, D-Fourth Ward, voting no. All councilors seemed in agreement local parking codes need to be simplified, but Burton cited the ongoing process led by the taxpayer-funded consultant.

Others cited urgency in doing something about Evansville’s obtrusive parking regulations. They said they hoped a short-term remedy could be found before the consultant completes its work.

“We want parking looked at as quickly as possible,” said newly-elected Councilor Ron Beane, R-At-Large.

Beane said that during his career as City-County Building Commissioner, “developers hammered me every time I talked to them about these things. I hope there’s something we can do — if not this then something similar, rather than wait until the end of the year.”

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Weaver’s ordinance eliminates mathematical parking space requirements for a variety of development types. It also strikes requirements related to signage, buffer screens and more.

The ordinance scrapping minimum floor area standards passed 5-4. Weaver was joined by Ben Trockman, D-First Ward; Missy Mosby, D-Second Ward; Jim Brinkmeyer, D-Sixth Ward; and Kaitin Moore, D-At-Large. The no votes were from Burton, Beane, Zac Heronemus, D-Third Ward and Justin Elpers, R-Fifth Ward.

Tiny houses are manufactured by a small company on Evansville’s West Side, and they are sold all over the country in locations where they are legal. Evansville’s current codes forbid them unless the Board of Zoning Appeals approves a variance.

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“They are very nice homes,” Mosby said, adding that the ordinance “is just a recommendation, putting it out there for Area Plan to take a look at this.”

Those who voted no said they wanted to learn more about the subject. Beane suggested tabling a vote on the ordinance. But that idea didn’t come to a vote.

“This is only dealing with how the house is constructed, not where it’s constructed or where you put them on a lot,” Beane said. “The real nuts and bolts that are going to limit tiny homes are the rules on setback and how many can be built on a lot. (Minimum floor size) is just a smaller issue with tiny homes.”

County officials also call for relaxed parking rules

Vanderburgh County Commissioners last year passed an ordinance relaxing off-street parking rules outside the city limits. As yet, the Area Plan Commission has not acted on that recommendation.

During Tuesday's County Commissioners meeting, Commissioner Cheryl Musgrave criticized the Area Plan Commission for not taking up the issue yet.

"Everyone's in agreement they need to be cut," Musgrave said of local parking regulations. "The Area Plan Commission has trapped that and several other ordinances."