Comments on: How tall should a house be? http://ellensmith.org/blog/2008/10/05/how-tall-should-a-house-be/ I'm Ellen Smith, member of the Oak Ridge City Council. Thank you for visiting my blog and reading my views on public and private life in and around Oak Ridge, Tennessee. This website is my own; content here does not represent the official policies or views of the City of Oak Ridge. To add your own comments, click on the topic title to open a comment box. To read posts about a particular topic, scroll down to "Categories" (in the sidebar) or use the "Search" box in the sidebar. Look under "Archives" to see collections of past posts organized by date. Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:38:11 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Ellen Smith http://ellensmith.org/blog/2008/10/05/how-tall-should-a-house-be/comment-page-1/#comment-37426 Ellen Smith Thu, 09 Oct 2008 19:40:57 +0000 http://ellensmith.org/blog/?p=125#comment-37426 Commercial uses are still not permitted in residential zoning districts, with a few very limited exceptions. Commercial uses are still not permitted in residential zoning districts, with a few very limited exceptions.

]]> By: Ray Kircher http://ellensmith.org/blog/2008/10/05/how-tall-should-a-house-be/comment-page-1/#comment-37425 Ray Kircher Thu, 09 Oct 2008 19:38:19 +0000 http://ellensmith.org/blog/?p=125#comment-37425 I understand a problem isn’t one until it pops up its ugly head. I support your concerns if Oak Ridge is able to withstand our homes to tower 40ft. above our heads. I disagree with our city staff that a problem doesn’t exist. What I asked is it more difficult to contain a fire in a residential district with homes that are 5ft. taller and another level of finished space? What I see as the value in this zoning change is to let commercial developers creep into residential communities by allowing 40ft. structures. In my experience 40ft. structures are mostly commercial buildings with commercial setbacks, roads, and access. By allowing the extra 5ft. I believe will start the conversion of residential lots to become commercial lots due to the height restriction being eased. Without upgrading all zoning requirements to allow safety to prevail in a community like setbacks, roads and access, and available parking and fire zones, we are setting up either a more difficult fire to fight or a commercial developer to purchase lots at residential rates and then easily change over the zoning to commercial since his height requirement is already met. I understand a problem isn’t one until it pops up its ugly head. I support your concerns if Oak Ridge is able to withstand our homes to tower 40ft. above our heads. I disagree with our city staff that a problem doesn’t exist. What I asked is it more difficult to contain a fire in a residential district with homes that are 5ft. taller and another level of finished space?

What I see as the value in this zoning change is to let commercial developers creep into residential communities by allowing 40ft. structures. In my experience 40ft. structures are mostly commercial buildings with commercial setbacks, roads, and access. By allowing the extra 5ft. I believe will start the conversion of residential lots to become commercial lots due to the height restriction being eased. Without upgrading all zoning requirements to allow safety to prevail in a community like setbacks, roads and access, and available parking and fire zones, we are setting up either a more difficult fire to fight or a commercial developer to purchase lots at residential rates and then easily change over the zoning to commercial since his height requirement is already met.

]]> By: Ellen Smith http://ellensmith.org/blog/2008/10/05/how-tall-should-a-house-be/comment-page-1/#comment-37419 Ellen Smith Mon, 06 Oct 2008 13:35:07 +0000 http://ellensmith.org/blog/?p=125#comment-37419 Since Oak Ridge has several commercial buildings taller than 40 ft, it stands to reason that the ORFD has equipment to reach taller buildings, but I wasn't sure if this was true at all of the fire stations. I asked the planning staff whether they had consulted with the fire department about the height limit. They told me they had consulted on it, and that the 40-ft height was not a problem. I did not contact the fire department to verify this. Since Oak Ridge has several commercial buildings taller than 40 ft, it stands to reason that the ORFD has equipment to reach taller buildings, but I wasn’t sure if this was true at all of the fire stations. I asked the planning staff whether they had consulted with the fire department about the height limit. They told me they had consulted on it, and that the 40-ft height was not a problem. I did not contact the fire department to verify this.

]]> By: Ray Kircher http://ellensmith.org/blog/2008/10/05/how-tall-should-a-house-be/comment-page-1/#comment-37417 Ray Kircher Mon, 06 Oct 2008 11:08:07 +0000 http://ellensmith.org/blog/?p=125#comment-37417 Nice work Ellen. You are correct to think a zoning requirement of 5ft. more is very important for adjoining lots. One group I haven't heard from is the ability to fight a fire in the home that is 5ft. taller. I would believe the additional height would make it more difficult. Nice work Ellen. You are correct to think a zoning requirement of 5ft. more is very important for adjoining lots. One group I haven’t heard from is the ability to fight a fire in the home that is 5ft. taller. I would believe the additional height would make it more difficult.

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