Rule would limit home expansions

RALEIGH -- A sweeping proposal, crafted at the City Council's request, would limit construction on most of the city's residential land.

The proposal for temporary restrictions, written by city staff, would require larger side and backyards and would reduce a building's allowed height. It would affect many who want to tack on a garage or build a home in a new neighborhood.

Mayor Charles Meeker and council members Russ Stephenson and Thomas Crowder have been pushing for measures to stop new homes from dwarfing older ones next door in established neighborhoods. They want the city to approve temporary measures to last until city planners return next year with permanent regulations.

Dozens of homeowners, builders and developers have e-mailed City Council members in opposition to the proposal. A hearing before the City Council and the Planning Commission is scheduled tonight. Then the commission will review it and make a recommendation to the council.

An ardent foe

Council member Philip Isley condemned the proposal as "the most far-sweeping policy decision that we've ever looked at on the City Council." He said it would "have the greatest negative impact on every resident in Raleigh that owns real property."

Even Meeker says the proposal being discussed tonight goes too far. Still, Meeker said, the concept is worth discussing.

The trend of tearing down older homes and replacing them with much bigger, taller homes is driving the proposal. Critics say it's ruining the character of the city's established areas.

Last spring, a neighborhood group asked the city to rezone about 140 properties in the Five Points area in an effort to limit the size of the new homes. Meeker expects the council to reject that proposal, which many opposed, during the council's afternoon meeting today.

But Meeker, Crowder and Stephenson have pushed for an interim measure that would help that neighborhood while city planners take a more in-depth look at tear-downs. No date is set for the proposed rule to end.

Planning Director Mitchell Silver had recommended the council avoid interim measures to allow him to focus on the more in-depth study. He offered to speed that work up.

"That option did not fly," Silver wrote in an e-mail to city staffers.

Effect is uncertain

Silver says he hasn't had the usual time to analyze the effect of the rule. That study, including determining how many of the city's existing homes would not comply with the new rules, will take another 30 days.

"My professional preference is that we study the impact before a text change is introduced so I can respond to pros and cons," Silver said in an interview.

Opponents argue the proposal will dramatically decrease the value of residential property, limiting homeowners' rights to expand their own homes.

Some grumble that the public hearing is set on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, when some can't attend, and that the measure came up after the October election when Meeker gained several allies on the council. The new council takes its seat next month and will make the final decision on the proposed regulation.

Jonathan Goad, a home inspector, fears that the proposal could limit what he can do with a rental house he owns. He and his wife plan to add about 700 square feet to the 1,400-square-foot house inside the Beltline and live there.

"All it does is just put a blanket restriction on property rights," he said.

So far, any supporters of the proposal have not launched any major efforts to persuade the council to approve it. And it seems that at least one reason for pushing temporary measures may no longer be as much of a concern.

A couple of months ago, some said that the council's plans to consider regulations next year could prompt more demolitions now so builders could beat the new rules, Meeker said.

With a downturn in the real estate market, he said, demolitions seem to have decreased.