Building Regulations Ordinance Information

Revised April 17, 2008
 
TOWN COUNCIL ADOPTS AMENDED BUILDING REGULATIONS ORDINANCE
At the conclusion of the April 16 Public Hearing, the Town Council voted unanimously to adopt an amended Building Regulations Ordinance.  The Town Attorney will provide a copy of this amended ordinance today, which will be posted on the Town website, www.townofchevychase.org.  If you have questions, please contact the Town office at 301-654-7144 or e-mail townoffice@townofchevychase.org.   The staff will  provide hard copies of the ordinance upon request. 

 
Revised April 8, 2008
 
The Town Council will hold a second public hearing on the building regulations ordinance on April 16 at 7 p.m. in the Aiton Auditorium at the National 4-H Center.  At the conclusion of this public hearing, the Council will likely vote on the ordinance.  The National 4-H Center is located at 7100 Connecticut Avenue.  The Aiton Auditorium is located on the lower level of the main building.  There is parking on site.  You may park in front of the main building and enter through the front door or park in the back of the building and enter through a door on the lower level. 
 
After modifying the ordinance in response to resident feedback, the Council introduced an amended ordinance at its regular meeting on March 12 and hosted a public meeting on the ordinance on March 15.  A public hearing was held on April 2.  The ordinance was mailed to all Town residents in early March. 
 
The Town has developed a Frequently Asked Questions document to help explain some provisions of the ordinance.

The major change from the previous building regulations ordinance is to establish a single Floor Area Ratio (FAR) of 0.5 for all lots less than 12,000 square feet.  A FAR relates the square footage of a house to the square footage of its lot.  As an example, an 8000 square foot lot with a 0.5 FAR would allow construction of 4000 square feet. 

The provisions of the modified ordinance are:
  • FAR of 0.5 for all construction.
  • Minimum allowable buildable square footage of 3000.
  • For lots over 12,000 square feet, the FAR is 6000 square feet plus .25 times the amount of lot square footage in excess of 12,000 square feet.
  • For existing homes, remove existing attic and basement/cellar space from calculation of gross floor area.
  • For new houses and additions, include any new attic space in the gross floor area calculation. 
  • For new houses and additions, do not include basement/cellar space in the calculation of gross floor area.
  • 240 square feet of an accessory building are exempt from gross square footage. 
  • No wall plane length shall be greater than 34 feet without an offset of at least 2 feet deep and 5 feet long on the front, sides and rear of the houses. 
  • No wall plane height shall be greater than 36 feet. 
  • House height shall be reduced by two feet from the County limits unless the houses on the block are higher when an established building height is used.
  • Non-vegetative surfaces in front yards are limited to 35% coverage. The border streets of East-West Highway, Connecticut Avenue and Bradley Lane are exempt from this provision.
  • Driveways may be no more than 10 feet wide up to the front building line.  Driveways may be wider past the front building line.   The border streets of East-West Highway, Connecticut Avenue and Bradley Lane are exempt from this provision.
  • Only one 9 foot wide door for a front loading garage is allowed.
  • Front loading garages shall be set back or forward a minimum of 3 feet.
The following provisions were removed from the original ordinance:
  • Credit system
  • Requirement for pervious driveways.
  • The 5000 square foot cap for construction on lots over 10,000 square feet.
  • Requirements for lots under 6000 square feet since the minimum buildable square footage of 3000 is greater than 0.5 on lots under 6000 square feet.

The Town continues to offer the FAR Calculation Program. Upon request, the Town’s zoning consultant will calculate the estimated FAR of your existing home and the maximum buildable floor area allowed under the proposed ordinance.  A sign-up sheet is available here or in the Town Office.  Residents who have already received their FAR calculation will receive an updated calculation based on the methodology in the modified ordinance.

In addition to speaking at the public hearings, residents may submit comments on the ordinance by e-mail to townoffice@townofchevychase.org or in writing to Town Office, 4301 Willow Lane, Chevy Chase, MD 20815.