Des Moines city staffers today will recommend to the Plan and Zoning Commission revisions to a new zoning ordinance that include removal of a requirement for basements in newly built houses and across-the-board reductions in minimum square footages of single-family houses and duplexes, officials announced in a news release issued this afternoon. 

Earlier today, the Business Record reported that three City Council members had proposed reducing square footage requirement in newly built houses by between 10% and 17% from what a new zoning code had originally recommended. Des Moines-area homebuilders have said that complying with the proposed guidelines would boost the cost of new home construction, putting new houses out of the reach of moderate-income buyers.

The news release did not include specifics of what Des Moines city staff was proposing for the across-the-board reductions.

The Plan and Zoning Commission meets at 6 p.m. today at the Richard A. Clark Municipal Service Center, 1551 East Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway.