FangKC wrote: ↑Thu Mar 13, 2025 1:52 am
My house lot is 6,970 sq. ft. and my house is 1,024 sq. feet. Three of my houses would fit on my lot and still allow space between them for small patios and sidewalks. It just seems crazy that any municipally would limit new houses to 10,000 sq. ft. lots.
How To Turn 7 Homes Into 28: The South Street Cottages Project
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The existing zoning required minimum lot sizes of 10,000 square feet, which would have limited the number of homes we could build and driven up per-unit costs. I proposed rezoning the area to one of our town’s downtown zoning districts. This would allow for very small lot width minimums (18 feet) and no minimum lot sizes — a dramatic change, but one grounded in thoughtful design and community engagement.
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https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/202 ... ign=buffer
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Fayet ... FQAw%3D%3D
https://www.southstcottages.com/170south
Some of the cottages in this project remind me of some existing houses in the Historic Northeast of KC.
The corner house in the link below is 1,280 sq. feet on a 1,307 sq. ft. lot. All four of these houses have one off-street parking space as well.
Here is one that has been updated. It doesn't seem possible that this little house has 3 beds and 2 baths.
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/349- ... 1751_zpid/
Location:
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1093008 ... FQAw%3D%3D
I get it. I don't know why people no longer build two-story duplexes, which are one of my favorite local housing types. Small footprint. One person can live without stairs. Attractive design.
We are about 10 ft from the house to the south and around 4 ft away from the house to the north, on zero lot line. The neighborhood is social in part due to this density with a front porch and back porch culture. We've had great parties with connected backyards, which are mostly gardens. Parking is eventually going to get challenging, but it's better than vacant buildings.
That said, I do miss the nature in the suburbs, and we have let urban neighborhoods decay so badly, I understand why people don't want to come in. We've made suburbs so appealing, and we've gotten so good at them, that a lot of people have no interest.
I've seen some interesting prefab tiny homes that you can buy as an individual, that you could add on to later. I don't know what it takes to get them built and established. Sears catalog vibes.
