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<br />
<br />garages, including those with workshops, offices, hobby space,
<br />dwelling units, and parking spaces. Obolensky notes that
<br />America's first car owners, the wealthy, also built the first
<br />garages, but when automobile ownership became a reality for
<br />the middle class, garage construction multiplied, Fire concerns
<br />kept them detached and along the alley, but with with the
<br />coming of fire-resistant walls in the] 950s, the garage left its
<br />mainstay and was attached to the house. Still modest in size,
<br />they faced the street.
<br />
<br />Recent Trends
<br />According to the National Association of Home builders
<br />(NAHB), the percentage of new single-family homes
<br />constructed with a two-car (or more) garage increased from 65
<br />to 82 percent between 1987 and 2000 while the percentage of
<br />single-family homes constructed without a garage or carport
<br />declined from 18 to 11 percent (see www.nahb.com/factsl
<br />forecast/sfhtml). According to NAHB, one in six new homes is
<br />constructed with a duee-car garage.
<br />The PBS program Affluen:w, produced by KCTSISeatde and
<br />Oregon Public Broadcasting, analyzed the social and environmental
<br />aspects of materialism and overconsumption in America (see
<br />www,pbs.org/kcts/affluenza/show/show.htmJ). On the program's
<br />website it is claimed that a typical three-car garage-increasingly
<br />common in new homes-contains approximately the same square
<br />footage as a home built in the 1950s. Also consider the decrease in
<br />the number of persons per household in the U.S. between 1950
<br />and 2000 from 3.37 to 2.62, and add to it the items placed in
<br />today's garages: SUVs, yard-care equipment, tools, recreational gear,
<br />and various other odds and ends. In short: garages are getting larger
<br />and more versatile. Some estimates suggest that only about 15
<br />percent of the households with a garage actually use it for parking.
<br />Furthermore, street-Elcing attached garages have come to dominate
<br />the front of many new homes-an unattractive and distinctly
<br />unfriendly trend-with zoning as the only mitigating force behind
<br />these structures.
<br />
<br />Definitions
<br />Garages and other accessory structures tend to be defined
<br />similarly across the country, with almost universal agreement
<br />that they are incidental and subordinate to the principal
<br />structure. Some communities even combine the definitions for
<br />accessory use and accessory structure.
<br />The Lincoln, Nebraska, code states that, "An accessory
<br />building is a subordinate building or a portion of the main
<br />building, the use of which is incidental to that of the main
<br />building or to the main use of the premises. An accessory use is
<br />one which is incidental to the main use of the premises."
<br />Attached garages can be a challenge to regulate because most
<br />communities consider them part of the principal structure. So
<br />how might a community determine a setback for the garage?
<br />Most communities want to apply the same regulations, such as
<br />floor area limitations, to both attached and detached accessory
<br />structures. The Lincoln definition was written so that "a portion
<br />of the main building" may be interpreted to be an accessory
<br />building or structure.
<br />Some ordinances define garage separately from accessory use or
<br />accessoty structure. Stamford, Connecticut, states "Garage -
<br />Private: A detached accessory building or a portion of a main
<br />
<br />Jason Wittenberg is a planner with the Minneapolis Planning
<br />Department.
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<br />building for the parking and storage of automobiles belonging to
<br />the occupants of the premises, One commercial vehicle which does
<br />not exceed three-quarters tons in capacity and is used solely by the
<br />occupants may be stored in a private garage." A relatively small
<br />percentage of codes ofter a separate definition for carport, a
<br />sheltering structure for vehicles that is open on two or three sides.
<br />
<br />Floor Area
<br />Being subordinate to the principle structure, floor area
<br />limitations for garages are challenged under modern-day
<br />consumet habits. Indeed, four- and five-car garages are a
<br />growing problem for communities of all sizes. Although this is
<br />particularly problematic in developing communities, built-out
<br />cities like Minneapolis also grapple with it.
<br />The Minneapolis zoning ordinance from the 1960s to 1999
<br />limited the size of residential accessory structures to 676 square
<br />
<br />
<br />Part gamge and part carport, this structure in eludes rooftop vegetation and
<br />a rooftop deck
<br />
<br />feet or 10 percent of the lot area, whichever was greater. The
<br />limitation applied to the sum of all detached accessory
<br />structures (gazebos, storage sheds, etc.) and attached garages and
<br />carports, Given that most residentiallors in Minneapolis are
<br />between 5,000 and 6,000 square feet, households were limited
<br />to constructing a garage of 676 square feet or less. This aJlows
<br />either a large two-car garage (e.g., 26 feet by 26 feet) or a small
<br />three-car garage (e.g., 30 feet by 22 feet).
<br />The city's current zoning code, adopted in 1999, eliminated the
<br />"] 0 percent of the lot area" allowance for lots with single- and two-
<br />family dwellings. City officials found that some property owners
<br />with unusually large lots (by city standards) were constructing
<br />accessory structures that negatively aftected the character of the
<br />city's urban neighborhoods. The current standards remain a topic of
<br />debate, and requests for variances are not uncommon.
<br />Some cities with the 10 percent rule have dealt with
<br />"megagarages" by setting a cap on the extent to which the rule
<br />may be applied. In Canton, Ohio, all residences are allowed a
<br />garage of 720 square feet:. For large lots, garage area may cover
<br />up to 1 0 percent of the lot area but may not exceed 1,000
<br />square feet. Lake Forest Park, Washington, also uses the 1 0
<br />percent rule with a 1,000 square-foot limit.
<br />Other comm unities express maximum garage size as a
<br />percentage of the square footage of the principal structure. The
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