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I has an angry
November 16th, 2012 05:00 pmThe "two parking spaces required" problem that I was afraid of running into with my studio remodel has become reality.
I thought it wasn't an issue, since the plan reviewer examined the site plan while I was there, twice, and never made a squeak about it. I was expecting I might have to go in and pay for a mechanical permit for tweaking the gas line, or mark more details about the floor.
No.
Since it had been three weeks I called to ask if there was anything else they needed from me. Apparently they put a letter in the mail today: I can't do the project unless I show them how I'll make another parking space.
For the car I don't have.
I know the code reviewer is just following the municipal code (though I wish he'd said something weeks ago!). BUT IT IS A STUPID CODE.
The problem appears to be how rigidly they defined parking space. My current driveway doesn't even technically qualify -- it's one foot too narrow. And it's quite possible that even if I widened the gravel strip in front, they wouldn't count it because the cars are parallel to the road instead of perpendicular. It has to be at least 18 feet long, too -- so, y'know, I can park two of my boyfriend's car there.
Have I mentioned I live in an area that was built up in the 1960s, when roads were HUGE? There is NO WAY anyone parked in that gravel is EVER a problem for anyone in the road. You could shrink the road by fifteen feet and no one would notice (except perhaps for starting to obey the speed limit -- I'd LOVE it if they narrowed the road).
It may be about pedestrians, but: A) road like a runway, and B) crappiest neighborhood sidewalks ever. I don't just live where the sidewalk ends; I live where the sidewalk ends every thirty feet. Intermittently. And I know, because unlike all the people with cars to put in their parking spaces I walk to the bus throughout the winter.
If you just looked at my house, you'd say the easiest thing is to build a second driveway to the left of the house -- but I can't suggest that to the city, or they'll remember that the area to the left of the house is technically their land for an alley right-of-way (which had fences built across it far before i ever bought, and has a 40 year old tree in the middle).
I have no idea what the hell I'm going to do about this.
EDIT to add: the other ridiculous part of this is that my garage is 12' wide at the widest, 10' at the narrowest. Very, very few Americans ever use that size of garage for a car anyway, so even when you imagine years down the road after I've sold it, I most likely STILL haven't removed any functional parking space.
I thought it wasn't an issue, since the plan reviewer examined the site plan while I was there, twice, and never made a squeak about it. I was expecting I might have to go in and pay for a mechanical permit for tweaking the gas line, or mark more details about the floor.
No.
Since it had been three weeks I called to ask if there was anything else they needed from me. Apparently they put a letter in the mail today: I can't do the project unless I show them how I'll make another parking space.
For the car I don't have.
I know the code reviewer is just following the municipal code (though I wish he'd said something weeks ago!). BUT IT IS A STUPID CODE.
The problem appears to be how rigidly they defined parking space. My current driveway doesn't even technically qualify -- it's one foot too narrow. And it's quite possible that even if I widened the gravel strip in front, they wouldn't count it because the cars are parallel to the road instead of perpendicular. It has to be at least 18 feet long, too -- so, y'know, I can park two of my boyfriend's car there.
Have I mentioned I live in an area that was built up in the 1960s, when roads were HUGE? There is NO WAY anyone parked in that gravel is EVER a problem for anyone in the road. You could shrink the road by fifteen feet and no one would notice (except perhaps for starting to obey the speed limit -- I'd LOVE it if they narrowed the road).
It may be about pedestrians, but: A) road like a runway, and B) crappiest neighborhood sidewalks ever. I don't just live where the sidewalk ends; I live where the sidewalk ends every thirty feet. Intermittently. And I know, because unlike all the people with cars to put in their parking spaces I walk to the bus throughout the winter.
If you just looked at my house, you'd say the easiest thing is to build a second driveway to the left of the house -- but I can't suggest that to the city, or they'll remember that the area to the left of the house is technically their land for an alley right-of-way (which had fences built across it far before i ever bought, and has a 40 year old tree in the middle).
I have no idea what the hell I'm going to do about this.
EDIT to add: the other ridiculous part of this is that my garage is 12' wide at the widest, 10' at the narrowest. Very, very few Americans ever use that size of garage for a car anyway, so even when you imagine years down the road after I've sold it, I most likely STILL haven't removed any functional parking space.
