Home addition: what to expect?

In My Humble Opinion
21

I can’t urge you strongly enough to talk to someone in the Planning Department. They will tell you what your options are, and there are more issues than just setbacks. Have your lot size and sq footage with you, and bring a set of plans if you have any. If not, make a rough sketch so you can describe what you’d like to do.

If you’re near any of those large power lines, you might even have a PG&E easement to deal with.

One other thing to do right away: Check the Santa Clara County Assessor’s web site and download the map for your neighborhood. That’s a good start-- it will have all the lot line dimensions on it. It’s not the easiest web site to navigate, so let me know if you have trouble doing this. It should also show if there are any easements on your lot.

22

What John Mace said. The city/counties are used to homeowners trying to navigate and usually have tools in place to assist you.

You should also be able to find out the maximum lot coverage you can do. If you house is taking up that much of your lot you probably are exceeding it but you won’t know until you find out what the zoning allows. You can get a variance on that but again you need to find out where you sit before you can make any plans

Good luck

23

Key things to keep in mind:

Setbacks (we already talked about that)

Lot Coverage (HM described that)

Impermeable coverage: Some municipalities limit how much impermeable (water does not pass thru) area you can have on your lot-- things like driveways and walkways count.