Agenda - Council - 02/22/1982 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

PLANNING REPORT FROM: SUriIEC~: CASE NO.: DATE: Planning and Zoning Co~nission Anne W. Hurlburt, Planner Amencl~nt/Planning Cor~nission/House Size Requirements 81-21 July 15, 1981 The Implementation Section of the Comprehensive Plan states that the City will eliminate house size requirements within one year of adoption of the plan, as part of the City's efforts to help reduce housing costs. Although the Plan has not yet been adopted, an ordinance amendment is being considered at this time because of a recent request by Orrin Thompson Homes to construct a home containing 880 seA, are feet of floor area. The City currently requires 960 square feet in the R-1 and R-4 districts, and 1200 square feet in the R-3 and R-4 districts. Floor areas in the R-5 district vary with the number of bedrooms. In a 1974 Metropolitan Council Study, house size was found to be the most significant variable in housing costs. It is obvious that a smaller house will cost less. The size of a house is also related to energy costs for heating and cooling. Prior to the adoption of the State Building Code, there were no minimum house size standards to protect health, general welfare and safety, so cities adopted their own. But since the code was adopted, local requirements duplicate and often exceed the building code requirements. Eliminating the Zoning Ordinance house size could make building smaller, lower cost homes more feasible, and also help eliminate confusion from having different standards from community to community. Most minimtuns do not vary with the number of bedrooms needed or the number of persons who will occupy the unit. The assunt0tion that all single family hon~s must be big enough for a family of four may no longer be valid in the face of declining birth rate and family sizes. Floor area requirements need to be flexible to respond to