Derby approves new duplex rules on design, density. What are they?
Derby will have new regulations on duplex and design standards after the City Council approved them Wednesday following a months-long process.
This follows the council’s 6-1 rejection in October of a proposal that would have allowed a 40-acre neighborhood of duplexes at Woodlawn and 55th in Derby after it faced backlash from the community.
Since then a steering committee prepared recommended amendments for duplex density and design standards as well as building variety standards. The city collected public comment at an open house in April and the recommendations were brought to the City Council for a first read on May 12.
“We’re seeing a large demand from developers for duplex development and multifamily, because the cost of single family has gone up,” Kiel Mangus, Derby’s city administrator, told The Eagle at the April open house. “Our comprehensive plan says we want to have a mix of single family (and) multifamily throughout our community, so all levels of income, all ages of life, can afford to live here. So we’re trying to create a standard that can allow that to occur.”
Duplexes have accounted for a significant amount of new builds in the city. There have been 211 permits for duplexes from 2017 to 2025, which means 19.6% of all residential building permits in that period were for two-family homes, according to data from the city.
What are Derby’s new duplex standards?
The amendments approved on Wednesday mean duplexes are now allowed in an R-1A district, but have to follow certain standards. Duplexes built in these neighborhoods will now need to be in “self-contained units,” which means duplexes must be built together in a maximum size of two blocks and not be allowed next to another self-contained unit or other existing duplex development.
“It results in about a third of the neighborhood being able to be developed with duplexes,” Scott Knebel, Derby’s city planner, said during his presentation at the May 12 meeting.
These two-family homes must include a front entry, windows that account for at least 10% of the front facade and garage doors limited to no more than 50% of the front facade.
The city will still allow full duplex neighborhoods in R-2 districts.
All two-family and single-family homes now have to follow certain design and variety standards. This amendment is to prevent identical homes from being beside or across the street from each other. Homes in compliance will have a variety of roof types, widths, heights and silhouettes, Knebel said.
If buildings had anything similar, Knebel said the buildings would need to use other facade or roof treatments to fit the standards — like roof lines, windows and other exterior materials.
Duplex designs were one of the main concerns Mangus heard from residents, he said at the open house.
“(Residents) want a product that isn’t just garages and isn’t repetitive in nature,” he said. “They want to make sure we have variety and quality, and that’s probably the biggest thing we’ve heard over time.”
Amendments approved by the council on Wednesday also included fence requirements, outdoor display area guidelines, parking requirements and more.
Derby isn’t the only suburb in the Wichita area speaking about duplexes.
Goddard, where the City Council also rejected a duplex neighborhood in October after community pushback, was also slated to vote on duplex construction rules this month. The city tabled the vote after concerns were brought up by the Wichita Area Builders Association. The council postponed the resolution until its June 15 meeting.
