Before engaging someone to design a house around the restrictions you cite you may want to explore the variance situation within the specific scenic zone with which you're concerned. The area also seems to be pretty much built out with little room for development. Using a standard residential garage door height of seven feet it is simple to get a good approximation of total building height and see if there are similarly located lots with taller houses.

I have seen places where waterfront houses are limited more than those away from the shore. some had what appear to be second level additions exceeding the height requirement. Of course there may be areas I missed but even in areas where it appears one level houses are the norm, and probably original. Nonconformance of nearby properties would work in favor of getting a variance, if such a process exists. Is this restriction by zoning law or by HOA edict? Having spot checked a number of areas, I found none that did not have some houses that exceeded the eighteen foot limit you cite. If you're talking about Redwood Shores, the location shown in your profile, it appears from a bit of Google driving there may be a very active variance process available. What do you think is the meaning of this 18' height limitation? Does it have any implied intention with regard to the # of stories? (Is it forcing property owners to have just one story?)Īnd is my assessment correct, that my best option is a 2-story structure with a flat roof? With this height limitation I feel I can only have a flat roof. So this limitation seems generous for one-story but limiting for 2-stories.ĭue to availability building space I need to minimize the footprint of the house, hence I need a 2-story house. I read that legal minimum height for living space should be around 7' and normally it should be 10-12'. Building regulation states this is measured to the highest point of the roof, not the lowest. My location has a building height limitation of 18', because it is in a scenic zone.

Height of two stories