From the Record:
Rules to limit McMansions may squeeze home additions
A tactic being used by some municipalities to curb the building of McMansions could wind up hurting modest home expansions such as enlarging a kitchen or adding a bathroom.
More and more towns are turning to the “floor area ratio,” a formula that caps a home’s living space. Within the last year, Fair Lawn, River Edge, Wayne and Tenafly have adopted or considered adopting ordinances that use the ratio to create more stringent building limits.
The tool takes into account all livable space — including basements, second floors and garages — not just the footprint of a building.
This means that everyone — from the developer interested in knocking down an existing home to the homeowner seeking an addition — could be limited by the formula.
Any building plans have to fit a calculation which divides the square footage of the house by the area of the lot. If expansion plans exceed the allowed ratio, then a variance would be required. What constitutes “livable space” is decided by the municipality.
In the eyes of elected officials, the limit isn’t a burden. It’s a way to stop massive homes from being built on lots designed for smaller residences, a phenomenon that officials say is ravaging the character of their communities.
Some homeowners are pushing back, worried that the limitations could affect their property values.
THIS is excellent.
One problem, taxes are too high, which chokes off any possibility of getting out of the whole we’ve dug for ourselves. So, taxes must come down. I agree with you one point, spending and government services must be cut in a major way. Provide incentives like tax cuts to keep old revenue producers here and entice new revenue producers to set up shop here.
One way to save loads of money is to do away with the state tax code, have some sort of flat tax/consumption tax. I’m very sure tax revenues will increase while collection expenses will decrease. Why wait for a national program, let NJ be an innovator which will attract new investment for sure.
My heart broke when I saw the loaded-with-potential Craftsman house in Tenafly pictured in this article — that is going to be torn down and replaced with some big faux-“elegant” box with a “bridal staircase” that looks like a catering hall.
I don’t know why ALL of the McMansion building in Bergen County is so ugly. Does NO ONE know how to build anything other than ugly boxes with little teeny tiny windows? Last spring I did some political canvassing in my old neighborhood on the Cranford border of Westfield, and while there were the same bash-and-builds, the new houses were gorgeous — more like early 20th century houses than these big ugly boxes they’re building in Bergen.
I don’t know why ALL of the McMansion building in Bergen County is so ugly. Does NO ONE know how to build anything other than ugly boxes with little teeny tiny windows? Last spring I did some political canvassing in my old neighborhood on the Cranford border of Westfield, and while there were the same bash-and-builds, the new houses were gorgeous — more like early 20th century houses than these big ugly boxes they’re building in Bergen.
The builder who built the ugly house doesn’t care, he’s selling it. Therefore, the cheapest materials go in it, the shoddiest work, etc. I wouldn’t move into any house that was built in less then 4 months.
Richie nailed it.
Big Windows (true divided light) = Expensive
Complicated Rooflines = Expensive
Slate Roofs = Expensive
Non-rectangular Footprints = Expensive
Clapboard/Shingle = Expensive
Clear stacked molding = Expensive
Small Windows (false divided light) = Cheap
Simple Roofline = Cheap
Asphalt Roofing = Cheap
Rectangular Footprint = Cheap
Stucco (EIFS, not true)/Vinyl = Cheap
Paint-grade MDF molding = Cheap
jb
My personal favorites are the homes that are nothing but “fronts”.
Take every popular architectural style, combine them all together, throw it all on the front of the house (with some “cultured stone”, of course) and then don’t bother worrying about any other side of the house. The fewer windows and architectural features the
cheaperbetter.North Jersey’s closest architectural relative is Las Vegas. A gaudy facade slapped on top of some rickety scaffolding.
jb
Fires, foreclosures, high taxes plague NT neighborhood
April 4th, 2007With stunning views, abundant trees and manmade lakes, theres hardly a prettier place in North Texas than Lake Ridge. On the southwest edge of Cedar Hill, the developments custom homes on oversized lots make a clear statement of prosperity.
http://www.wfaa.com/video/wfaageneral-index.html?nvid=133491&shu=1
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