Lot Merger Ordinance and Moratorium to merge "contiguous non-conforming lots of record held in common ownership"
07/24/07 9:57 pm
On July 24th, 2007 Commissioner Rader introduced an ordinance to merge "contiguous non-conforming lots of record held in common ownership". Seconded by Commissioner Gannon, and deferred to public review at their request by a unanimous Commission, the lot merger ordinance will protect stable older neighborhoods across DeKalb from unexpected development at higher densities than are normally permitted in the community. Zoning procedures require that the ordinance cannot be finalized before September 25th, 2007.
The ordinance is designed to prevent new building on lots that do not meet current zoning requirements, if the property owner owns enough contiguous land to create a lot that meets zoning requirements. By only affecting land that can be reconfigured to meet zoning, it avoids making any land undevelopable, and in no way prevents a property owner from continuing the current use of their property.
The legislation eliminates ancient subdivision plats recorded in the nineteenth or early twentieth century. These legal documents are artifacts of unrealized development proposals that occurred long ago, and were never carried out. With lot widths as narrow as 25 feet, such plats never conformed to zoning, or to the actual development that occurred in these neighborhoods. Local infrastructure does not accommodate these obsolete plats. Their resurrection destabilizes neighborhoods and undermines public confidence in government's ability to provide predictability and protect neighborhood compatibility.
In addition to introducing the lot merger ordinance, the Commission adopted a 30 day moratorium on accepting new applications for:
*Certificates of appropriateness
*Land disturbance permits
*Building permits
for structures on lots that would be affected by the ordinance. This is necessary to prevent preemptive action by property owners during the time required for public review of the lot merger proposal. Again, the moratorium is narrowly drawn, and will affect only those properties where action would undermine current neighborhood zoning.
The ordinance is designed to prevent new building on lots that do not meet current zoning requirements, if the property owner owns enough contiguous land to create a lot that meets zoning requirements. By only affecting land that can be reconfigured to meet zoning, it avoids making any land undevelopable, and in no way prevents a property owner from continuing the current use of their property.
The legislation eliminates ancient subdivision plats recorded in the nineteenth or early twentieth century. These legal documents are artifacts of unrealized development proposals that occurred long ago, and were never carried out. With lot widths as narrow as 25 feet, such plats never conformed to zoning, or to the actual development that occurred in these neighborhoods. Local infrastructure does not accommodate these obsolete plats. Their resurrection destabilizes neighborhoods and undermines public confidence in government's ability to provide predictability and protect neighborhood compatibility.
In addition to introducing the lot merger ordinance, the Commission adopted a 30 day moratorium on accepting new applications for:
*Certificates of appropriateness
*Land disturbance permits
*Building permits
for structures on lots that would be affected by the ordinance. This is necessary to prevent preemptive action by property owners during the time required for public review of the lot merger proposal. Again, the moratorium is narrowly drawn, and will affect only those properties where action would undermine current neighborhood zoning.
(Commissioner Jeff Rader represents District Two on DeKalb County's
Board of Commissioners. He was reelected in November of 2010 for
another four-year term.)
Please encourage your neighbors to sign up for my e-mail updates. Go to my web site, www.commissionerrader.com, and click on the "news signup" link at the bottom.
Please encourage your neighbors to sign up for my e-mail updates. Go to my web site, www.commissionerrader.com, and click on the "news signup" link at the bottom.