Lot Coverage Question: Help from the Community?

I would love to know the coverage on the house being built at 222 Battle Street SW. No way that is 25% lot coverage. It looks like half the lot is used.

You're looking at footprint. The foot print of the house is not 4000 sq feet. That is the total square footage of the 2 floors. I'm guessing, you'd have to ask the town exactly what the lot coverage is that they calculated.

I believe on some renovation projects around town (I can't speak to Bukont’s projects) they use permeable driveways to help in the lot coverage. There are a number of products around that allow the area of the driveway to be reduced (% reduction based on the product) and the area used toward your addition. I think several of the newer homes along Park Street SE use such products. It may seem like a stretch but it is within the limits of the regulations and allow this person to build their addition.

I know the footprint isn't 4,000 sq ft, but if you look at the county public records on plats, you can calculate the impervious sq footage (which includes driveway and patio). The county breaks it down very nicely and includes above grade sq ft footprint, so you actually can get an idea of lot coverage.

Yes, permeable surfaces are counted differently. Paver patios are counted at 80% (so a 100 sq ft paver patio would only count as 80 sq ft).

I don't have a problem with Bukont's houses, just to be clear. I just would like to be able to make mine nicer.

I guess I would welcome an answer from Deb Brehoney, if she's reading this - she probably knows?

It's all in who you are "original". I'm glad and sorry that you had to witness this first hand. It is an awful experience. Some go for variances and are struck down, whereas some get what they want first time. Then some people just add on and do what they can do, and it is not what they wanted. But I have to agree with you as to the zoning office personal, most of them go out of their way not to work with you. Greg Hembree always says to people who go in there first time "No, we don't grant variances." BS. The house across from Louise Archer got a variance for their house, and he is on the Hysterical Review Board. Maybe you need to go kiss some ___.

SEPTEMBER 11 -PLANNING AND ZONING 7:30 AT TOWN HALL. I WOULD LOVE TO SEE SOME FOLKS GO AND ASK MR. HEMBREE SOME QUESTIONS!!!

I just stepped off the house at 222 Battle St SW. It is roughly 90 feet long and 45 wide except the back 30 feet is about 42 feet wide. Per my rough calculation the total square footage is about 3960 Ft. excluding a driveway for a two car garage and a small deck. This lot is shown on the tax rolls as 13066 square feet. Did that last figure change?

I don't know the 222 Battle St house, but if you're right about the footprint, Bigfoot, that's about 30% lot coverage. And the driveway would count, if it's asphalt or concrete, so it would be higher than 30%.

There must be a simple answer to this question of why the new construction can have so much more lot coverage.

OK, are you ready? I just stepped off the lot at 222 Battle St. SW and came up with an estimated size over 16000 square feet. Obviously, based on the existence of two driveways, one on Plum and one on Battle St. the house there was built on two lots.

I don't mind Bukont's houses that much, but he certainly gets whatever he asks for from the town to build them... like the town land that he got to build the 800 block of Shady Drive SE in exchange for a small sidewalk and a bit of escrow money to keep it up.

Just remember in this town its not a matter of right or wrong its WHO you know and do the power monkeys like you or not... There is no rhyme or reason for what they do in any facet of town government. You gotta be on the down low with the IN crowd...

The woman in the zoning office was the absolute least helpful, most willfully obtuse person I've ever met, to the point of jaw-dropping rudeness. I was naively shocked that someone like this is allowed to work in any government position.

The Town needs to beef up their staff to handle the growing demand for teardown/redevelopment oversight. They don't seem to be gearing up for what's happening in Vienna. Business as usual is not going to handle the load of rebuilding this Town.

For the excellent service you received today at Town Hall, I just want to let you know, I'm giving your friend more days off! Here's to the lucky folks of Vienna who get to visit my Town Hall!

Vienna Officials Give Employees Extra Day Off
by BRIAN TROMPETER, Maud's Personal Staff Writer
(Created: Thursday, August 30, 2007 7:14 AM EDT)

Members of the Vienna Town Council recently voted 6-1 in favor of giving town employees extra days off on Friday, Dec. 26, 2008, and Friday, Jan. 2, 2009.

Christmas and New Year's Day will be on Thursdays next year, and the town sometimes gives employees an extra day off to bridge with the weekend.

“This will compensate for all the other times that I'm a Scrooge,” Robinson said.

Council member Michael Polychrones, who cast the sole nay vote, questioned why town employees did not have to give up a minor holiday, such as Columbus Day, during years when Christmas and New Year's Day fell close to weekends.

“This will compensate for all the other times that I'm a Scrooge,” Robinson said.

There you have it... Maud admitting to her nature... scrooge, "a word for a person who is always complaining"... a griper. With her and her crowd controlling our Town government, it's no wonder that Town staff are rude, uncooperative, and that nothing gets done right. Welcome to the Town of Scrooge!

“This will compensate for all the other times that I'm a Scrooge,” Robinson said. Translation (and its not too subtle either) MY TOWN. I OWN IT. I OPERATE IT!
You know we keep getting these gems from Maud in which offers great insight into who she is, and what she believes, but sadly it is ignored.

So now Bukont is going for 2 houses on Glyndon. I wonder how that lot coverage will work out. Also what is going on with his desire to put up the Townhouses on Berry?

I have a question and I don't know where to put it -- are those houses on Berry Street (at the 7-11 end) single family homes or are the boarding houses of some type? Also, is it the same builder who is building them? They look.....interesting....

you mean the white brick MEGA-mansion-palaces?!

i have yet to figure out how the berry/east street residents are screaming over bukont's condos when they will be more attractive/desirable than those monstrocities.

how come no one is down at town hall screaming about those being built in the neighborhood? i would go ballistic if that was put next door to me.

I tried to get the Town to answer questions on the lot coverage issue. The answer was that I could "do it myself". They refuse to answer questions about properties that anyone with a glance can see that the coverage is well beyond the 25 % limit. The Town is totally inconsistent and not truthful about the issue. I personally calculated the coverage on a number of properties in the SE area and found them to be over the 25 % limit

What is the situation with that white unfinished monstrosity on Tapawingo Rd? It has been years in various stages of construction? Who owns it? Do they live there? Those poor neighbors...

What is the situation with that white unfinished monstrosity on Tapawingo Rd? It has been years in various stages of construction? Who owns it? Do they live there? Those poor neighbors...

Good question. Maud, got an explanation?

I'm having trouble letting this issue go - everywhere I go in Vienna, I find myself checking out the size of the house and trying to estimate the lot coverage. I don't want to call or write letters right now, because my project is now in progress and I don't want to fail the inspections. The violations seem so unbelievably blatant.

The white house on Tapawingo is a good example. The red Ayrhill one on Glyndon seems like another. Practically every newer house in Vienna seems to be over 25%. So why not MY house?!

I know from my experience that our lot is almost 17,000 sq feet and our new home is 23.5% lot coverage including our asphalt driveway. From the front, it looks like we are over but our back yard is deceptively big.

I still think the one on Plum/Battle looks awfully big for the property.

Will the town give you their calculations for lot coverage on specific properties through a FOIA? Are these people slipping through because they do not factor in a driveway & instead use pavers that count for less coverage?

The houses on Berry all belong to the same Persian/Iranian family. They're like the Kennedy compounds. :-) Or so they think.