1 reply to this topic

[Zetna]

A builder friend came by yesterday and was upset at the 2012 approved residential codes as he is going to build a house in an older neighborhood (not historic) and wants the house to fit in. Apparently, depending on where a house is it has to be 50% - 100% masonry; the neighborhood he wants to build in is all wood exteriors and he was going to use cedar siding. Supposedly, you need an extra parking spot for every bedroom over 3 bedrooms. I guess it's time to start calling bedrooms "home gym", "study", "studio", "gift-wrap room" (I've actually seen that), etc. Also, one can't reuse the same design within a 6 block distance? Does the city think a developer is going to have so many different house designs for 6 blocks?...or due to their clout will they be able to skirt this aspect of the code guidelines? So, who comes up with these laws and are they run by the public for discussion / approval?

[pelligrini]

That all sounds like zoning, not building codes. The city council has final approval of them. Some of the overlays have input from neighborhood organizations and commercial organizations like Near Southside Inc. when developing them through the zoning commission.