Jersey Village zoning ordinances tweaked with tear-downs in mind

Jersey Village City Council adopted several changes to its existing zoning ordinance Dec. 16 following a presentation from consulting firm Kendig Keast Collaborative, which the city has been working with in updating its comprehensive plan.

The presentation, made by KKC's vice president Gary Mitchell, dealt specifically with how to prepare the city for possible residential tear-down and rebuilding projects. The concept involves property owners tearing down old residential infrastructure and rebuilding new developments on the land.

"We had a few objectives for this, including keeping it simple and not discouraging reinvestment in existing single-family neighborhoods," Mitchell said. "It is good to allow homes to expand. However, as homes get older, if someone decides to tear down and rebuild, that is generally good for the neighborhood."

KKC looked at current ordinances, took input from the community and area builders and looked at what happened in other cities, Mitchell said. He went through several workshops with the city's planning and zoning committee and city council before the hearing and final consideration stage.

The updates passed Dec. 16 applied to Jersey Village's District A—a largely single-family residential area between Jones Road and Beltway 8. The updates applied to lot sizes, garage heights and setbacks and driveway widths.

Read the finer details on exactly what has changed on the city's website. Some of the changes include:

• When add-on construction increases the square footage of an enclosed living area on the ground floor, it will only be permitted to the side or rear of the existing dwelling.
• An attached private garage oriented toward the front of the property line must be set back at least 25 feet. The garage must also be set back at least 25 feet from the front faade of the attached house.
• When a new building exceeds 35 feet in height, 1 foot of additional side setback and one foot of additional rear setback must be provided for each 1 foot of additional building height above 35 feet.

The changes do not just apply to tear-downs, but to new buildings built in existing vacant lots or for buildings lost to fire damage or similar situations, Mitchell said.