• Welcome to the new and improved Building Code Forum. We appreciate you being here and hope that you are getting the information that you need concerning all codes of the building trades. This is a free forum to the public due to the generosity of the Sawhorses, Corporate Supporters and Supporters who have upgraded their accounts. If you would like to have improved access to the forum please upgrade to Sawhorse by first logging in then clicking here: Upgrades

Lot Coverage Meaning

jar546

Forum Coordinator
Joined
Oct 16, 2009
Messages
11,051
Location
Somewhere Too Hot & Humid
Most commercial & residential developments have a maximum lot coverage requirement but not all. Where I am, for example we have zoning setbacks but no maximum lot coverage limitations for single-family dwellings. Actually, the requirement is based on the zoning, not the building. For example, if you are in a RML or Residential Medium Density and want to build a single family home, normally only seen in RS zones, you would have setbacks and maximum lot coverage. If you built the same SFR in an RS district, you would have setbacks but no maximum lot coverage so you could essentially build the home from setback to setback to setback to setback.

With all of that being said, I have one real question:

What constitutes lot coverage for your jurisdiction? Is it building footprint, or pervious vs impervious,etc?
 
We have 2 requirements
1) impervious areas, 25% of the lot mut remain unoccupied
2) Maximum building coverage 25% of the lot in the resident zone, with other zones 30, 40% and the village district at 60%
 
Lot Coverage. The total area of a lot covered by the principal and accessory buildings, or structures including any area occupied by overhangs or roofs and any attachment to a building or structure, but excluding (a) open decks less than 30 inches in height. (Measured from grade to top of the platform); and (b) an eave extending up to two feet from the exterior wall of the building or structure.
 
Zoning is usually concerned with building volume, which translates to building footprint and height limit.

Stormwater management is concerned with runoff, which translates to impervious area. There usually aren't limits, but increasingly stringent (and expensive) requirements as impervious area increases.
 
Top