Quote:
Originally Posted by Traum
I am not really understanding this -- if it is a duplex unit, why make the garage so small? If I were the duplex builder, how can I sell a unit with a non-functional / barely functional parking spot? It isn't like I have to jam in all these parking spots into this available space...
1 functional parking spot -- in the garage for a duplex. You'll be paying at least $1.5M for that right now? And the freaking garage is non-functional...
 |
Technically it's a triplex (2 in the front, coach house in the back) so it was a 41 ft wide lot that needed 3 garages. Minimum side yard on such a lot is 4' on each side so you're left with 33 ft for the garages. Best case scenario once you account for the walls (2 exterior 6-8" walls, 2 interior 4" walls) is 31 ft for parking but in this case it was a corner lot so the setback on the street facing side of the coach house needed to be larger by a few feet so now there's only 28' left on interior space so ~9'4" per garage.
But my particular case isn't unusual - every duplex built in the Norquay-Collingwood area (RT-11 zoning) is like this (I'm a snoop and go by every unit while it's under construction). Reasons why this is the case are:
- There's a minimum amount of surface area that has to be permeable on a lot (grass/gravel) so the bigger the garage the smaller the house can be depending on lot size.
- To allow for a legal suite you must have a parking spot (inside or outside). To fit that in on a 33' lot requires a garage that is no wider than ~21 ft on the outside meaning it's. It's not till you hit a 45' wide lot that the garage will be a reasonable width.
In my new neighbourhood (Central Park) this is also not uncommon even for detached houses - most of the ones I've walked by look like they have pretty small garages (they're attached and at the front) and I see a lot of minivans and 3 row SUVs parked outside. It's 8' doors and what I'd guess are 10' wide garages. My builder wasn't a loser so I'm lucky, mine is a 9' door with 12' inside the walls.
Zoning rules on garages are stupid - understandably a lot of people use it for storage but when it's used for cars they are horribly designed.
And yeah, I sold my duplex with the non-functional garage for over $1.5m so yeah