In the previous post, for example, the Planner had drafted Section 12.6.C. as:
C. Seasonal Cottages may be 1 ½ stories tall with the upper story area consisting of usable loft area not exceeding one-half of the floor area of the first story.
But now you must pay attention to the newer version of that so-called “loft”/“half-story” area. While the Town Planner stresses (at the 2:17 mark) “That is [sic] essentially establishes a maximum floor area of thirteen hundred and fifty square feet of living space . . . ,” he later says that (with the suggestion of Attorneys Reid and Brennan) there can be even more floor space which will not be counted under this new bylaw as part of that “one-half of the floor area of the first story.” In other words, this version of the SRC bylaw allows a developer to build a “cottage” with a footprint up to 900 sf and with an allowed “loft”/“half-story” of another 450 sf, PLUS additional floor space that has a ceiling which is less than 7 feet in height. That means any second-floor room with a 7-foot ceiling that slopes down to a four-foot knee wall has significantly more living space than the Planner’s implied “maximum floor area of thirteen hundred and fifty square feet of living space . . .” Though the space beneath that 7-foot ceiling might not be considered “habitable” within the building code, that space would certainly be “usable.” Elbow room. Ha!
So, did the Planner not understand what he was doing? Or was the Planner not being forthright with the implications of his proposal?
That is for you to decide. Take a look for yourself.
“Ah, Provisions specific to seasonal cottages.
“Cottages y’know this has been a big arg-- I uh I shouldn’t say ‘argument’. It’s been a an interesting issue: How big should these cottages be?
“A. You’ve got people being crowded into -- if health regulations were ever strictly applied in this area if someone applies for a rental permit then suddenly they put themselves into it -- ahh, but you’re supposed to have two hundred ahh I think believe two hundred feet for the first person and a hundred and fifty feet for the first person and a hundred square feet for every additional person. Some of these cottages are two hundred and forty square feet. And therefore are only capable of accommodating a single person. Yet, you’ve got three and four people in them. And so, the issue ... there all people are cramped even under normal standards but uh for health, but they’re also just y’know there’s almost no elbow room in some of these cottages ah when ah you just have your normal family there even if you’re a little bit bigger.
“So, the idea was to look at it and say, “When there is the space to be able to do it based upon all the standards we put in here, that it be capable for cottages to get a little more elbow room.” And ultimately looking at the various sizes that are out there, we have cottages ranging from two hundred forty square feet up to eight hundred and eighty square feet, and so we said, “Okay, we’ll define a cottage of having a maximum footprint of nine hundred square feet. And, y’know, that would be the largest size you could have for a cottage. They may be one-and-a-half stories tall, provided that the half story is located under a sloping roof so that we get some design to it ah and that the floor area for that half story is essentially limited to the building code requirements, which is that you can have on that upper that half-story, you can have floor space with a seven foot ceiling equal to one-half of the floor space that is on the floor immediately below. That is essentially establishes a maximum floor area of thirteen hundred and fifty square feet of living space, which for there’s at least with one building down there at Chase’s Ocean Grove that will still be non-conforming. It also has a garage and so that it’s clearly non-conforming throughout. Ah, but it gives you some it gives the ability for some people to get more elbow room. Still you’re very close together.
“Then we wanted to be sure we laid out what did not count towards that floor area unheated storage space could not count. Ah, if you had a bay window eighteen inches deep six feet wide that would not count. The some things that break up the architecture so you could have these without it counting. Ah if you’re not we allow roofed porch up to two hundred forty square feet to be attached to these without counting toward that floor space. And the half, when you’re on that second story and this was suggested by ah both Attorney Reid and Attorney Brennan representing two different property owners already covered in the building code but they wanted they felt it was important to spell out that the area of the second level that is less than seven feet ah is not counted towards it. It’s already not counted towards it under the building code. I think it’s extraneous to put it in here, but ah where they felt y’know spell it out anyway I finally said okay we’ll just put that in.”
