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Council to revisit housing size rules Date published: 2/8/2010
BY EMILY BATTLE
How big can a new house be before it's too big for the neighborhood, and who should be the arbiter of that kind of decision? Those questions were hot topics for Fredericksburg's City Council three years ago, when a lot more home-building was going on. Despite all the talk, council members never took any action on what has come to be known as the "out-of-scale houses" ordinance when it was on the table in 2008. But the proposal hasn't gone away. City residents can tell the council what they think about it at a public hearing at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow at City Hall. Councilman Matt Kelly asked at a recent meeting that the proposal be brought back up for action. The last time the council had any public discussion of it was at an August 2008 work session with the Planning Commission. A majority of council members said at that point that the proposal should be brought up for a vote the following month, but it never resurfaced, and the council hasn't discussed the rules publicly since. "I don't like it when we just hope something goes away and we don't have to deal with it again," Kelly said. "It's an important issue in the city, and I think it needs to be brought forward for discussion and a vote." There is no indication that the rules are any more likely to be acted on this time around. The proposed rules would reduce the maximum allowed height of new homes from 35 to 27 feet in all residential zoning districts. They would limit builders from filling more than 30 percent of their lots with a structure's footprint, although that standard would be 40 percent for lots less than 40 feet wide, and 25 percent for those more than 80 feet wide. Property owners could seek special-use permits to go beyond those limits. Vice Mayor Kerry Devine said the issue has faded "The issue will come back when the market comes back, but right now I don't think it's an issue that's on anybody's front burner," she said.
Read more stories about Fredericksburg Date published: 2/8/2010
I simply stated a fact. Bigger house bigger taxes. The city is trying to take or reduce a by rights use of ones property. If I want to build a 3 story house instead of a 2 story why should I have to pay thousands in lawyers fees and special use permits. What part of the city are they trying to "protect" from property owners? The only way to in a landlocked city is up not out.
I'm missing the reference to "McMansion". What does that mean?
Dean-What restrictions, if any, do you believe are appropriate on the use of one's property? Do you agree or disagree that how a property is developed can have positive and/or negative impacts beyond its boundaries? You have stated a position and provided no rationale for it. Just want to fully understand where you are coming from. Is there a point where governmental oversight is appropriate in your view?
Once again a government body is trying to take away or reduce property owners by-right usage.
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