Questions keep coming about new homes and renovations in the neighborhood. Recently, a question was received regarding the impact of the lot restrictions enacted by the county not long ago. The question focused on why after the new coverage regulations, the new houses still look so big.

It's a sad fact that the new "restrictions" on home size were not well thought-out. The lot coverage restrictions limit the amount of property on which you can build. For our neighborhood, with its relatively small lots, this can result in an incentive to do teardowns and build taller houses. If people can’t build out and spread the footprint of their home with an addition, the only alternative is to build up. Most homes in Lyon Village are below the maximum zoned height of 35 feet to the MIDDLE of the roofline. This means that houses can be 40 feet or more to the PEAK of the roof. The County is not looking at revising this rule, which in fact was fairly recently revised. After the dubious results of the past year's coverage restrictions, this may be just as well.

The result is that we will likely continue to see tall new homes with front-loading garages (driveways count as lot coverage and the new restrictions have the effect of discouraging the preferred rear lot garages traditional to our neighborhood). So, four-story houses, fully legal under county zoning, is what we'll likely see more of. The new Fire Code contributes to this because it requires habitable basements to have low interior sills for easy exit; this leads to basements that are primarily above ground, adding to the total height of the home.

Another question often asked is, “who is buying these large homes?” Today’s families tend to desire more space than in past decades. Kids are more carefully supervised and spend less time outdoors due to increased dangers. Even couples without children are looking for more space these days. The fact is, many of the new homes built here are purchased by Lyon Villager’s looking to stay in the neighborhood while gaining more space. This is part of a national trend and not specific to our area. Do we really need all this space? The answer seems to be that we need as much space as we think we need. Our cars have grown too; your neighbor’s SUV has a lot more interior space than mom’s station wagon did. It is also true that before the 1930’s, homes in the US did tend to be larger than after WWII.

There has been interest shown in forming a group of neighbors to discuss setting some building guidelines for Lyon Village based on our listing as a National Historic Site (which in itself provides no protection to existing homes). Please contact maw123@gmail.com if you would like to participate on this committee. We need volunteers!