Zoning Comes First

From a designer's point of view, I would have to say it's not practical to design a home (in detail) until you know where it will be. It's important that the built environment respond directly to the energy of the site on a multitude of levels which I'll refrain from getting into at this point. Suffice it to say, solar, topo, access, views, and a mind blowing array of other considerations are huge influences for final decisions. In a nutshell, picking a site comes before the design of a home and understanding what issues you'll need to deal with comes before that.

This post is about getting an initial regulatory issue on the table, zoning. In an upcoming post, I'll write about the next biggy, waste water management. But first and foremost, a prospective homeowner must understand zoning. These are the municipal rules that govern what you and your neighbor can or cannot do on your property. Of course there are very attractive and desirable properties outside the reach of regulation, but in consideration of housing for the masses, a sustainable reality is that the domiciles we are focussed on will be closer in.

Zoning describes, and more importantly prescribes, the nature of the built environment in an area, a zone, within a municipality. Rural Agricultural, Industrial, Commercial and Village Center are a few of the common types of zones.

New home building may only occur in a zone which allows residential construction. Rules about the minimum size of a lot, the maximum height of the building, and the nature of activities which may be conducted there, will protect or inhibit occupants of that zone from activities which may be adverse to the "prescribed" character of the area.

Due to increasing awareness of the value of planning, infrastructures are organized to respond to programmed densities of use in different zones. Recently, with a focus on environmental conservation and with the goal of getting more bang for the buck from infrastructure, residential densities are being increased across the country. In the initial project example that this blog was built to follow, (132VTRT15) the zoning changed from a one acre minimum lot size to 1/4 acre for single family residences. In Vermont all residences may have a home occupation use with in them and are eligible for accessory apartments as well. (See an earlier post for a definition)

Some people may wince at the prospects of having purchased a property in a neighborhood that could now potentially have four times the number of people in it, but for others, it's better than continuing to chop up the countryside into lots that are only affordable to those comfortable driving Hummers to work 20 miles away.

My parents live on such a small, "village center" lot. They now have the opportunity to build a smaller cottage, (in the back yard), and an accessory apartment for a care giver. This will allow them to enjoy their home for many more years than if they were forced to sell and move, more than likely for their last time, and quite possibly to a facility which would offer assisted living. They're not ready for that and may never be.

The zoning change in density does a lot for my folks and the community, as well as for the planet at large. It will allow for a greater diversity of housing stock within the community. It will reduce consumption by reducing commuter miles, and it will offer an opportunity to create new, tighter neighborhoods, which will encourage the occupancy of smaller homes and shared amenities. This a move toward sustainability.

I can't describe how enthused I am to be witness to these changes. They are and/or should be happening all over. Check in with your local zoning. You may have opportunities you didn't have just a few short years ago, right in your own back yard.