Austin Real Estate Scene

Ok folks it's finally happened and official….home owners and builders now have limits on how big a home they can build on their lots.

Crowd packs City Hall to speak out about task force proposal.

By Sarah Coppola
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Friday, June 09, 2006

The Austin City Council unanimously passed rules limiting home size at 3:35 a.m. Friday after hearing four hours of public comments.

They approved the rules, which govern everything from how tall homes can be to what a "habitable attic" is, on first and second readings only and could still tweak the details before voting on third reading at the next council meeting, June 22.

Written by a citizen task force, the rules limit homes to either 2,300 square feet or a square footage that's 40 percent of the lot size, whichever is greater.

Features such as attics, small attached garages and first-floor porches wouldn't count toward the size because task force members say those elements don't add to homes' mass and bulk.

The rules would apply to new and remodeled single-family homes and duplexes in older, central-city areas where residents have complained about big new houses that block sunlight, destroy trees and mar neighborhoods' character.

This has been a battle between the builders and many neighorhood associations that were tired of seeing the Big McMansion's being built around them. I've got mixed feelings about this and see the merits of each sides argument. Plus I live in one of those affected neighborhoods where the McMansions have been popping up over the last few years. I also know you can't legislate people's taste. Although some people would sure like to. Other markets have gone through similar scenarios like this and one trend I found is that instead of building larger homes, builders are starting to spend money on improving the quality of their homes with better architectural designs. Anyways, who wants to live a BIG BORING BOX? So make up your mind of what you think about it… Here's the article from the Austin American Statesman. Read the entire article here:Austin City Council OKs home size limits 

There is also a map of the Task Force’s PROPOSED BOUNDARIES posted online at http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/zoning/images/sfregs_proposed_boundaries_06.02.06.jpg

The website for this issue is at http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/zoning/sf_regs.htm.