Some residents of the Roosevelt neighborhood of Seattle are battling with the City Council over the new construction of a three-story home. What’s the fuss about? The house is set on a small 1,760-square-foot lot where there is no other way to build but up, running contrary to pending zoning laws on small-lot development. However, the city issued a permit to builder Byron Wetherholt of Classic City Homes before the new moratorium on small-lot development went into effect, reports The Seattle Times.
That moratorium requires a minimum lot size of 5,000 square feet for single-family home construction. Some Roosevelt neighborhood residents are upset over what they see as a builder loophole and the fact that they had no opportunity to voice their concerns, since a land-use notice board was not posted. Deborah Clarke, the neighbor next door to the new house, objects to its construction, saying that is “out of character and scale with the established neighborhood.”
But builder Wetherholt disagrees and believes that Seattle neighborhoods should not limit new construction in established communities. “Houses come in all shapes and sizes. We think our home fits in with the wide variety of homes on the block, which vary in size, style and use of materials, and creates an interesting street scape.” The City Council plans to vote next week to extend the moratorium for another six months due to the fact that the Department of Planning and Development is still revising proposed regulations.