What's the deal about setbacks: Part I

As one neighborhood's rezoning effort winds its way thru the process, one word keeps coming up over and over.

The word is Setbacks.

Defined as: Zoning restrictions on the amount of land required surrounding improvements; the amount of space required between the lot line and the building line.

Boring sounding stuff, but it is the one thing that unifies a neighborhood -- more than building style or color.

Setbacks from the street are usually a combination of factors. The minimum setback is set in the zoning, and is in addition to the right of way. In older neighborhoods, the setbacks may be even deeper than the minimum. The tone was set by the orginal development.




Over the years, multiple renovations have occurred in this neighborhood, by respecting the established setbacks, there is a uniformity.



In older neighborhoods, you also see greater setbacks between the side lots than the minimum requirement. In our neighborhood, we call these yards.