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. . . Tip Sheet. Addinq A Front Porch Why Should I add a porch onto my home? A well-designed porch can do the following for your home: . Increase its value and improve its 'street appeal" . Provide a transition space from the public street to the privacy of your home . Provide a gathering place for neighbors . Provide for a welcoming, sheltered entry . Provide an opportunity to add architectural detail to the front of your home. A well-designed porch can also do the following for your neighborhood and community: . Create a more interesting streetscape . Increase activity to the street side of the neighborhoods . Encourage social interaction between neighbors, which helps to strengthen the neighborhood and the entire community . . Allow for the casual supervision of the street and adjacent homes. which creates saferneighbo~s My house is located 30 feet from the front property line; how can I add on a front porch? I thought there were rules about adding to the front of my house? The Richfield Zoning Ordinance requires houses be set back 30 feet from the property line. In the past. unless you had extra room in your front yard. you were fimited to a six- foot, uncovered landing and steps. The City recently changed the rules so that you can , add a porch that extends up to 10 feet from the house as long as it is no closer than 20 feet from your front property fine, and as long as it meets design requirements. What are the requirements I need to follow to build a porch within the 30-foot front setback? · The porch can extend no more than 10 feel . The porch can be no closer than 20 feet to the .front property line (the street is not the property fine; the property fine is usually located 12 - 13 feet behind the curb). . The design of the porch needs to be consistent or complementary to that of the house. This includes the types and colors of materials used. . The roof of the porch must be integrated with or carefully imitate the roof of the dwelfing. . The roof must have at least a 3/12 slope (it can't be "at). . The base of a porch can't be open; it has to have an appearance that is consistent with and blends in with the dwelling_ . It is possible to add screens or combination windows on a porch addition. but 65 percent of the facade muSt be open to or consist of transparent materials such as screens. . The regulations are designed to allow front porches. not front additions that add another room to the house or expand an existing room. Such additions do not meet design requirements. ----- Richfiek:l Rediscovered New Lifr: For Old_ Homes Questions? Call1he Remodeling Advisor at 612-861-9112 w'ww.ci .richjieJd.mn.us