02-17-2005 Regular Meeting and Public Hearing of the La Porte Planning and Zoning Commission

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40% Coverage Rule • • Zoning Ordinance Amendment Page 2 of 2 Analysis• • As stated, the issues before the ZBOA have been maximum coverage issues for single family, detached dwellings. Staff habitually sees subdivisions with homes at 39.9% coverage. These homes are built with uncovered patio slabs that homeowners, eventually, desire to cover in order to gain maximum use and value of their homes. Covering the patios with a roof adds to the square footage of cover for the lot and inevitably pushes the house beyond the 40% threshold. ZBOA, in most cases, has authorized the variances. Staff analyzed the situation with all of the pending cases to determine an equitable way to possibly alter the zoning criteria to maintain the intent of the ordinance while alleviating the need for ZBOA to hear additional cases for variances. The Public Improvement Criteria Manual (PICM) uses a 55% coverage factor for drainage. The criteria, however, take into account the roofed structures and all impervious cover created by driveways, carports, sidewalks and slabs. Applying these criteria to pending cases did not resolve the issue in that all properties remained in violation of coverage requirements. • Staff also considered elevating the coverage criteria to a higher percentage of the lot. We agreed, however, that builders would tend to simply construct the homes to a larger size thereby presenting the same challenges. Recommended Requirements: • The International Residential Code exempts a detached accessory structure of not more than 200 S.F. from permit requirements. Placement issues, however, does require the City of La Porte to require a permit regardless of size. The City could choose to exempt this type of structure from the 40% rule and leave the maximum 25% rear yard coverage requirement without adversely affecting the open area. • Patio Covers are a major issue for most homeowners. To solve the issue of coverage, Staff recommends exempting from the 40% rule patio covers of up to 900 S.F. This will allow the City of La Porte to limit the total square feet of the primary structure and still be sensitive to the needs of the citizens. Conclusions• Recommend exemption of the following structures from the 40% coverage calculations on Single Family Detached homes: - Accessory Buildings 200 S.F. or less. - Patio covers up to 900 S.F. • Coverage requirements for all other developments remain intact. 2