Salt Lake City Council looks to stop McMansion growth.

The Salt Lake City Council has approved a height limit for housing in historical neighborhoods at 23 feet high. I want to applaud the Salt Lake Council for taking a progressive, historically preserving action when it comes to retaining many of Salt Lake's historical neighborhoods. The rules also state that secondary structures cannot be larger than 480 square feet or 50% of the house size.

The Avenues Community Council however is proposing the secondary structure limit be raised to 600 square feet, telling the Salt Lake Tribune that they [Avenues Community Council] don't want people building 1,200 square-foot homes just to get the 600 square-foot garage. I agree with the community council, as this could create larger structures instead of curbing that type of development.

The Salt Lake City Council obviously feels that this is a pressing need and they are right. But we need to make sure there aren't many loopholes that actually deters the ordinance’s significance in the first place. Salt Lake has too many historical neighborhoods to allow McMansion development within them, especially when not many western cities can boast about the architectural housing stock throughout the city.

The Salt Lake Tribune article can be read here: SLC's new limits on rebuilding older homes taking shape.