From
Chris Hartmann
Title
Proposed amendments to requirements and restrictions on single-family residential carports.
Presenter
David P. Jones, Chief City Planner
Recommended Action
Approve
Analysis
In the year since regulations on single-family and two-family carports were last updated, the City has continued to see a large number of applications for carports which are required to go to the Zoning Board of Adjustment. Between October 2016 and October 2017, 34 carport applications required a variance. In many cases the proposed carports require variances for one of two reasons: They technically exceed the 400 square foot limitation but still meet dimensional restrictions by not exceeding 25 feet in length or 25 feet in width, or there is no existing permitted carport within 300 feet.
The revisions proposed are designed to minimize technicalities and allow homeowners more flexibility in constructing carports which meet the intent of the current ordinance and also conform to the design of the house or lot on which the carport is proposed. If the square footage limitation is increased to 500 square feet and the existing carport restriction is increased from 300 feet to 500 feet, staff believes instances of carport variances can be reduced by as much as 75 percent. Dimensional controls would remain in place or be enhanced so that a carport could not be wider than 30% of the frontage of a house in order to maintain proportionality, and also must be constructed of materials similar to the house, including the roofing material.