Planning Commission recommends extension of moratorium on Residence A building permits

About a month ago, the Mountain Brook City Council voted to place a 30-day moratorium on building permits for new single-family home construction on lots zoned for Residence A, in order to study properties that contained two or more lots, one of which is nonconforming in terms of size.

The moratorium does not affect homes under current construction.

This study — which was reviewed at the Planning Commission meeting on Dec. 3 — was prompted by the property at 10 Country Club Road. The property is listed for sale and is comprised of two lots, one of which is nonconforming, said Dana Hazen, director of Planning, Building and Sustainability. The owners wanted to know if the property could potentially hold two homes, one on each lot.

The site in question is technically two lots, one that is 32,414 square feet, and one that is 15,006 square feet.

When Mountain Brook was first incorporated, Hazen said, the minimum lot sizes for Residence A was 15,000 square feet. This was later changed to 30,000 square feet, and those that already had homes built on the sites were grandfathered in, she said.

During the moratorium, an ad hoc committee conducted a study to determine how many Residence A homesites were comprised of two or more lots, with one nonconforming, along the gateway or “landmark” roads, Hazen said.

She said she put together a “subjective list of my own” and reviewed sites along Country Club, Canterbury, Heathermoor, Montevallo (west end), Overhill, Hastings, Guilford, Dell, E. Briarcliff and Brookwood roads, as well as Country Club Boulevard, Fairway Drive and Mountain Brook Parkway.

Of the 378 homesites the committee reviewed, eight were found to have at least one nonconforming lot in terms of size. For many, the size of both lots was nonconforming.

Hazen noted that these roads were studied because they were the first that came to mind, but said there could be plenty more to look at.

“This could occur all over the city, but we know … the focus of the study was the entranceways to the city,” she said.

Hazen said the owners also asked the committee to review lot widths and home widths along Country Club Road, particularly those that are relatively narrow lots.

The nonconforming lot at 10 Country Club Road has a road width of 150 feet and a lot width of 115 feet at the front setback, which is similar to other lots along the road with widths ranging from 98 to 150 feet. In those narrower lots that were part of the study, Hazen said the home width ranged from 50 to 75 feet, although most were 63 feet or less.

Hazen said something that will be different from other lots, however, is that “anything developed on this lot, whether it be one home or two, it’s going to be closer to 40 feet [from the road].” Other homes, by comparison, are about 150 feet from the road, she said, but the minimum front setback is 40 feet.

The existing home on 10 Country Club Road is currently 75 feet from the road, and she noted that many homes are farther back because those lots are deeper.

Hazen discussed the study both during the pre-meeting and the regular meeting, and although commission member Alice Williams said the study was not technically a public hearing, she allowed some public comment.

Residents who spoke, who included former Mayor Terry Oden, were concerned that allowing smaller homes to be built on nonconforming lots will change the look and feel of the neighborhoods with larger homes and lots.

“Today’s code would allow two houses to be built there. … [The study is looking at,] do we need to make regulatory changes to prevent that type of thing, in essence preventing people from developing nonconforming lots?” Hazen said.

Hazen had said the Planning Commission was not going to take any specific action regarding the site at 10 Country Club Road, but commission members did elect to recommend to City Council to extend the moratorium by 90 days.

Because the commission only meets once a month, and the study was only initiated 30 days ago, members said they would like more time to review the findings and believed 90 days would be best considering the holidays coming up.