Chapter 18.35
“UR” (URBAN RESIDENTIAL) DISTRICT

Sections:

18.35.010    Purpose.

18.35.020    Permitted uses.

18.35.030    Additional uses.

18.35.040    Development standards.

18.35.990    Severability.

18.35.010 Purpose.

The purpose of the UR district is to establish areas for more concentrated residential development and multiple-family residential buildings and to establish regulations for their development. (Ord. 2766 § 3, 2012).

18.35.020 Permitted uses.

The following are the only uses permitted in a UR district:

A.    Residential one single-family dwelling per lot;

B.    One duplex per lot;

C.    Multifamily residential uses not exceeding twelve dwelling units per acre;

D.    Accessory apartments in accordance with Section 18.60.140;

E.    Family day care homes in accordance with Section 18.60.190;

F.    Accessory uses and structures related to a permitted use. (Ord. 2766 § 4, 2012).

18.35.030 Additional uses.

The following uses require a permit in accord with Chapter 18.75:

A.     Public and quasi-public uses after the issuance of a conditional use permit in accordance with Section 18.75.050;

B.    Nursing homes, homes for the aged after the issuance of a conditional use permit in accordance with Section 18.75.050;

C.    Nursery schools and day care centers in accordance with Section 18.60.060 or after the issuance of a conditional use permit in accordance with Section 18.75.050;

D.    Home occupations in accordance with Section 18.75.060; and

E.    Bed and breakfast operations in accordance with Section 18.60.240 and after the issuance of a conditional use permit in accordance with Section 18.75.050. (Ord. 2766 § 5, 2012).

18.35.040 Development standards.

Development standards for urban residential density (UR) districts are as follows:

A.    Lot area: the minimum lot area is five thousand square feet for a single-family dwelling and seven thousand five hundred feet for a duplex. For multifamily residential uses, there is no minimum lot size but the density shall not exceed the maximum density allowed by this chapter.

B.    Minimum setbacks: street frontage, twenty feet; sides, five feet on one side, and ten feet on the garage side or if no garage then the driveway side if the same exist; rear, twenty feet. Zero lot lines may be permitted after the issuance of a conditional use permit in accordance with Section 18.75.050.

C.    Minimum lot width: fifty feet.

D.    Maximum building height: thirty-five feet. Building heights in excess of thirty-five feet require a conditional use permit in accordance with Section 18.75.050.

E.    Off-Street Parking. Off-street parking shall be provided in accordance with Chapter 18.63.

F.    Site Review. Site review, in accordance with Section 18.75.040, will be required when more than one living unit per lot is proposed.

G.    Design review in accordance with Chapter 18.07.

H.    Provisions for Open Spaces and Recreation Areas. Each development of five lots or more must provide for usable common open space or a public park in an amount determined through review pursuant to Chapter 16.04. The city and developer may agree to a cash payment to the city in lieu of the provision for open space; provided, that such payment is sufficient for the city to construct or enhance a park elsewhere in the city. Any agreement between the city and the developer shall comply with RCW 82.02.020 as now codified or as hereafter amended. If the open common space is private, it must be concentrated in a large, homogenous, centrally located parcel designed to provide for active or passive recreation. Private common open space shall not include:

1.    Areas reserved for the exclusive use or benefit of individual property owners; and

2.    Dedicated vehicular and pedestrian right-of-way, easement or off-street parking areas. There must be adequate provisions for permanent retention and maintenance of such private common open space.

I.    Maximum Density. The maximum permitted number of lots/dwelling units for any development in the UR zone is determined by dividing the gross area of the parcel in square feet by forty-three thousand five hundred sixty square feet, multiplied by the allowed maximum density of twelve. The closest or next lowest whole number is the permitted maximum number of lots. If the maximum density limitation would prevent a single-family dwelling unit from being built in the UR zone, on a lot which was legally existing at the time this section was enacted, then maximum density shall not apply to that lot.

J.    Affordable Housing Density Bonus. This section is intended to implement the city’s comprehensive plan which provides that density bonuses should be considered in the UR zone for affordable housing. A duplex is permitted on any lot which legally existed at the time this section was enacted; provided, that the duplex complies with the following:

1.    Both dwelling units in the duplex are “affordable dwelling units.”

2.    For the purposes of this section, “affordable dwelling units” or “affordable” means dwelling units for use as a primary residence by households both of which earn less than eighty-one percent of median household income. The planning department shall calculate and publish annually the maximum household income applicable to this section.

3.    For the purposes of this section, “median household income” means the amount calculated and published by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) each year for the Benton County, WA HUD Metro FMR Area, as the median household or family income, adjusted by HUD for household size.

4.    Prior to issuing a certificate of occupancy, an agreement in a form acceptable to the city that ensures compliance with the provisions of this section shall be recorded with the Benton County auditor’s office. This agreement shall ensure that both units will remain affordable, as now provided for in this section or as it may hereafter be amended, for the life of the project for the units. This agreement shall be a covenant running with the land and shall be binding on the assigns, heirs, and successors of the applicant. This agreement shall be enforceable by the city of Prosser.

5.    For the purposes of this section, “life of the project” shall mean forty years from the date the certificate of occupancy was issued by the city of Prosser. (Ord. 2766 § 6, 2012).

18.35.990 Severability.

If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, paragraph, phrase, or word of this chapter should be held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, such invalidity or unconstitutionality thereof shall not affect the validity or constitutionality of any other section, subsection, sentence, clause, paragraph, phrase or word of this chapter. (Ord. 2766 § 7, 2012).