One of the less noted but still important changes in the new draft zoning law is changes in setback distances. The Area and Bulk Table in §600 lays out setbacks that are either smaller or the same as the existing zoning requires.
As before, the old zoning districts don't correspond neatly with the new. To figure out what's changing for a specific area, you need to visit the old map (image or PDF), and figure out what zone the parcel is in. Then you need to visit the new map (image or PDF) to see where it's going.
Key:
| NEW (July 2010) DRAFT ZONING | EXISTING ZONING | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USES | RR, RA, CV | H | CC | LIO | R-B, R-B-1, R-C | R-D | M-A | |
| Minimum Front Yard Setback | 50' | 10' | 40' | 40' | 70' | 70' (90' on state highways) | 90' | |
| Minimum Side Yard Setback | 15' | 0' (attached buildings) 7.5' (not attached) | 0' (attached buildings) 7.5' (not attached) | 15' | 15' | 15' | 15' | |
| Minimum Side Yard Setback for accessory building < 15' high, 200 sq. ft. | 1' | 1' | 1' | 1' | 15' | 15' | 15' | |
| Minimum Rear Yard Setback | 25' | 25' | 25' | 25' | 25' | 25' | 15' | |
| Minimum Rear Yard Setback for accessory building < 15' high, 200 sq. ft. | 1' | 1' | 1' | 1' | 15' | 15' | 15' | |
My guess is that the smaller setbacks for small accessory buildings will spare the Zoning Board of Appeals a lot of variance requests. One foot is a pretty small margin of error, though, so hopefully people will be careful to note where the property lines actually are.
Before you start making plans to put accessory buildings in front of your house, though, you should note that buried in the definition of "Use, Accessory" is a statement that "Unless stated otherwise in this local law, an accessory structure shall not be permitted in the front yard of a principal use."
Posted by simon at September 9, 2010 8:31 AM in planning and zoning
