Residential building limitations updated during council

In addition to discussing the regular items on the agenda on Jan. 10, Mountain Brook city council discussed amendments to the municipal code with regard to building limitations in residential zoning districts as proposed by Dana Hazen the Director of Planning, Building and Sustainability. These amendments were approved after a public hearing. 

Hazen noted that before bringing these amendments to council, input form local architects was taken into account, and the amendments were reviewed by the Zoning Ordinance Review Committee, which consisted of Phil Black, the Board of Zoning Adjustments Chairman and Co-Chairman.

The first amendment, which affects the different zoning districts in articles III, IV, V, VII and VIII, addresses the lack of impervious surface area allowed on a given lot. Currently there are limitations on the size of a building on any given lot, but the limitations do not include any regulation in reference to the storm water ordinance. 

Staff have noticed it is difficult for designers to locate the storm water ordinance limitations that deal with impervious areas such as the building footprint, the driveway, any walkways or patios. “So basically what this is going to do is link those two [regulations] together,” said Dillon Wood, senior administrative intern. Through this amendment, impervious surfaces are restricted to 5 percent more than the permitted building coverage.

The second amendment affects article XVIII. The article, which focuses on the installation of utility equipment and minor structures, underwent nearly no changes, save the addition of solar panels. “That technology probably wasn’t around when this was drafted,” Wood said. The committee opted to leave out specific regulations surrounding the solar panels since their use is so new and Hazen said that for now, persons wanting to incorporate them on their property would first have to get them approved by the planning commission. 

The third amendment of the evening was added under article XX and allows for architectural enhancements without a variance. These enhancements are described as minor architectural features, such as bay windows, cornices, awnings and chimneys, all with their own particular parameters. “What we’re really striving to do is to allow people to have some architectural interests,” said Hazen. Bay windows must not project more than two feet and extend more than eight feet wide, cornices must not project more than one foot, awnings must be cantilevered and can not project more than three feet and chimneys can not project more than two feet or extend more than eight feet wide.

Finally, amendment XIX addressed accessory buildings on residential lots. Previously, buildings were defined as attached based solely on whether or not they had heating and cooling, but the first segment of this amendment adds that the buildings can be connected to the principal structure via a breezeway, as long as it is not wider than eight feet. 

The second segment of the amendment redetermined the acceptable size and height of detached accessory buildings. Hazen said that because cars are getting larger, it is harder to fit two in a garage that also holds some storage capacity for a family, and that many local architects said a common garage size is 625 square feet, a full 225 square feet larger than what is currently permitted in Mountain Brook. Under this new amendment, the dimensions of a garage increase to 25 by 25 feet for the footprint and 25 feet for the height. 

Councilman Lloyd Shelton mentioned that the height doesn’t necessarily need to be increased, but Hazen said sometimes garages appear disproportionate to the houses they are next to, and by increasing the height they may appear more cohesive. Mayor Welch also asked about the regulation of living spaces in detached buildings, and Hazen said the definition of a living space would be addressed in another meeting. 

“I’m gonna call this the first session, or the first briefing of amendments, and we’ve got probably three or four other [sessions],” Hazen said. Building limitation amendment meetings may continue into April.