October 15, 2007
5:00 p.m.
City Hall, 139 South Kirkwood Road

In Attendance:                                                          

Tim Griffin, Chair

Joe Godi

Iggy Yuan

Staff: Georgia Ragland, Ken Yost                        

Call to Order

Tim Griffin called the meeting to order at 5:04 p.m.

Approval of Minutes

Iggy Yuan moved approval of the minutes of the September 10, 2007 meeting. Joe Godi seconded the motion. All were in favor.

Old Business

None.

New Business

Tim Griffin asked Public Works Director Ken Yost to walk the committee through a review of material staff had compiled which included current provisions of the code, P&Z recommendations, comparison with what the City of Olivette’s code requires, and additional options. Staff also presented an updated Summary of Single-Family Site Plan Reviews and a page that compared proposed infill housing regulations versus those in Olivette, Webster Groves and Glendale.

Total Lot Coverage – Single Family Residential

The consensus of the subcommittee was to recommend to the city council the following:

Lot Coverage. The lot coverage of a single-family detached residential lot, including accessory buildings, shall not exceed:

(1) For lots 7,500 square feet or less in area, 30%;

(2) For lots greater than 7,500 square feet in area, 25% or 2,250 square feet, whichever is greater.

Floor Area Ratio – Singe Family Homes (Floor Area Ratio = Total Floor Area ÷ Lot Area)

The consensus of the subcommittee was to recommend to the city council the following:

Approve P&Z recommendation  - Floor Area Ratio: The Floor Area Ratio for a single-family detached residence shall not exceed 0.40. (Note: Total Floor Area is the living area of a residence not including the garage or other accessory structures).

Front Entry Attached Residential Garage Design

The consensus of the subcommittee was to recommend to the city council the following:

Garage Design. This section applies only to attached residential garages which have the vehicle entry facing the front yard; and for purposes of this subsection on a corner lot, only the front yard shall be the frontage of least dimension.

(1) The width of an attached garage with an entrance facing the front yard shall not exceed 55% of the overall width of the façade of the principal structure (inclusive of the garage);

(2) Only one sidewall of the residential portion of the structure shall extend beyond the sidewall of the attached garage.

(3) The front face of an attached garage shall not project more than 10 feet beyond the front face of the residential portion of the house.

This recommendation varies from that of P&Z in P&Z 33-05 in that sections 2 and 3 are applied to all lots, not just those that are 55 feet or less in width as suggested by P&Z.

Regulations for Accessory Structures (Such as Detached Garages)

The consensus of the subcommittee was to recommend to the city council the following:

Regulations for Accessory Structures.

(1) Accessory structures shall be located behind the front line of the primary structure. For corner lots, accessory structures shall be located behind the front line on each frontage;

(2) Accessory structures shall be a minimum distance of five (5) feet from any side and rear property line.

(3) Accessory structures shall be a minimum distance of ten (10) feet from any other building or structure on the property.

(4) Accessory structures shall not exceed 1 ½ stories; and

(5) All accessory structures in total shall not exceed a site coverage of 7% of the total lot area nor more than 1,500 square feet of total lot area;

(6) Accessory structures shall be of a height not greater than 24 feet and less than that of the primary structure on the lot.

General Provisions for Single-Family Dwellings

The consensus of the subcommittee was to recommend to the city council the following:

Side Yard Encroachment Prohibited. Terraces, uncovered porches, decks, ornamental features, flues, bay windows, cantilevers, mechanical equipment (including air conditioners and emergency generators) shall meet the side yard setback requirements of the single family residential zoning district, except fireplaces and chimneys may project up to twelve (12) inches into the side yard. Roof overhangs are permitted but shall not exceed twenty-four (24) inches. This subsection shall not prevent replacement or repair of existing legal non-conforming encroachments.

Cantilever Construction on Single Family Residences. Cantilever overhangs including bay windows shall not extend into the required yard setbacks.

This was a staff recommendation.

Staff Recommended Definition Changes

The consensus of the subcommittee was to recommend to the city council the following:

(96) Story, half: A space under a sloping roof which has the line of intersection of roof decking and wall face not more than three (3) feet above the top floor level, and in which space not more than two-thirds (2/3) of the floor area is used for residential living purpose. [ No portion of a room or space with a ceiling height of less than five (5) feet shall be used in the computation of allowed living space. A half-story shall not contain cantilevered areas, or more than twenty-five (25) percent open dormer floor area.] In single family residences, a half-story shall not contain independent apartments or living quarters.

(107) Yard, Rear: A yard extending across the full width of the lot between the rear of the principal building and the rear lot line unoccupied other than by [accessory buildings which do not occupy more than thirty (30) percent of the required space and] steps, walks, terraces, driveways, lampposts, and similar structures, the depth of which is the least distance between the rear lot line and the rear of such principal building.

Maintaining Sidewalks During Construction Process

The consensus of the subcommittee was to recommend to the city council the following:

Sec. 20-27. Existing sidewalks along the public right-of-way shall be maintained throughout the demolition and construction process of single-family infill residences and remain open for public use at all times except for temporary reconstruction of utilities, driveways, and sidewalks not exceeding 24 hours and with appropriate permits and authorizations of the Public Works Director, Police Chief, or their authorized representative.

The subcommittee discussed how to proceed with additional issues that had been either recommended by P&Z or brought up in the public forums. It was agreed that the above recommendations should go to council now and that additional issues would continue to be worked on by the subcommittee with appropriate input from the city attorney and other people the subcommittee might chose to involve.

Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 6:08 p.m.