Existing: A side yard is required unless adjacent building is located on side lot line.
Proposed: BSA special permit side yard waiver when adjacent lots are vacant.
In R3-1, R3-2, R4 and R5 zones, side yards are presently required unless the adjacent building is located on the side lot line. The proposed amendments would allow for a special permit from the Board of Standards & Appeals to waive this requirement if the adjacent lots are vacant. While this would require a permit from another agency, it would regularize the process, thereby making it easier to get this variance.
This measure could encourage tear downs of existing buildings to create a situation for increased lot coverage. Subsequent buildings adjoining the new, full-lot building would be free from side yard requirements, and the result would be a continuous street wall in a zone intended to encourage semi-detached and detached houses. This would include a loss of vistas, diminished architectural diversity, loss of neighborhood character, minimal landscaping and inappropriately high density. Finally, this proposal seems in direct opposition to the recent proposed zoning amendments mandating increased yards in some residential areas, which was promulgated to increase healthful open space.
