Home Ordinance
Designing and building under the HOME ordinance in the City of Austin can be challenging, the rules are constantly changing.** Building under the HOME Ordinance can allow greater square footage, and increased economic advantages, and great flexibilty for homeowners.
The designs are influenced by an number of elements;
FAR
FAR stand for Floor to Area Ratio, currently 40% of the lot area (so a 10,000 s.f. lot has 4,000 s.f. of FAR). Under HOME a two unit project gets 0.55 FAR and a three unit project gets 0.65 FAR.
The Preservation Bonus allows structures built before 1960 that have over 50% of their floor area preserved and 100% of the street-facing facade left intact are exempted from the FAR calculation.
Setbacks
For the most part setbacks in the City of Austin are standard, however each lot can have unique Easements and/or Deed Restrictions. The COA HOME setbacks are 5' from the side lot lines, 15' from the front and 10' from the rear, as well as reduced setbacks from side-street.
The Height limit for HOME ordinance is 35'.
Trees
The City of Austin is extremely particular about trees - most any tree other than a few invasives are protected trees if over 19" in diameter or 60" in circumferance.
The rules say that no slab etc can be built within 1/2 of the Critical Root Zone. Driveways and walkways have been permitted in the 1/2 CRZ, yet the COA has gotten tougher on its interpretations.
So the very first step in designing any structures is to get a licensed survey for both Trees and Topography, including any trees on adjacent lots that might impact your design.
Impervious Cover - Building Coverage
Impervious Cover is typically limited to 45% although there are some areas close to the lake that are limited to 40%. And a few other areas that can have a variety of IC, some 20%, some based on the slope of the lot.
Impervious Cover includes everything that is hardscape, the house, garage, and porches, but also includes walkways and driveways (even if they are gravel). The City of Austin eliminated parking requirements in late 2023, but impervious cover and building coverage have not changed.
Building Coverage and Impervious Cover are now typically the limiter on development.
**This is a brief overvue and should not be consider as advice on the suitability of HOME for your property. Every effort was made to accurately portray the rules at the time of this writing, however, the rules within the City of Austin are constantly changing. You should hire a qualified Architect and rely on their professional experience to tailor a specific design for you and your lot.**
Designing and building under the HOME ordinance in the City of Austin can be challenging, the rules are constantly changing.** Building under the HOME Ordinance can allow greater square footage, and increased economic advantages, and great flexibilty for homeowners.
The designs are influenced by an number of elements;
- FAR
- Setbacks
- Trees
- Impervious Cover
- Building Coverage
FAR
FAR stand for Floor to Area Ratio, currently 40% of the lot area (so a 10,000 s.f. lot has 4,000 s.f. of FAR). Under HOME a two unit project gets 0.55 FAR and a three unit project gets 0.65 FAR.
- one unit - 0.40 FAR
- two units - 0.55 FAR
- three units - 0.65 FAR
- Preservation Bonus - FAR exempted for preserved structure
The Preservation Bonus allows structures built before 1960 that have over 50% of their floor area preserved and 100% of the street-facing facade left intact are exempted from the FAR calculation.
Setbacks
For the most part setbacks in the City of Austin are standard, however each lot can have unique Easements and/or Deed Restrictions. The COA HOME setbacks are 5' from the side lot lines, 15' from the front and 10' from the rear, as well as reduced setbacks from side-street.
The Height limit for HOME ordinance is 35'.
Trees
The City of Austin is extremely particular about trees - most any tree other than a few invasives are protected trees if over 19" in diameter or 60" in circumferance.
The rules say that no slab etc can be built within 1/2 of the Critical Root Zone. Driveways and walkways have been permitted in the 1/2 CRZ, yet the COA has gotten tougher on its interpretations.
So the very first step in designing any structures is to get a licensed survey for both Trees and Topography, including any trees on adjacent lots that might impact your design.
Impervious Cover - Building Coverage
Impervious Cover is typically limited to 45% although there are some areas close to the lake that are limited to 40%. And a few other areas that can have a variety of IC, some 20%, some based on the slope of the lot.
Impervious Cover includes everything that is hardscape, the house, garage, and porches, but also includes walkways and driveways (even if they are gravel). The City of Austin eliminated parking requirements in late 2023, but impervious cover and building coverage have not changed.
Building Coverage and Impervious Cover are now typically the limiter on development.
**This is a brief overvue and should not be consider as advice on the suitability of HOME for your property. Every effort was made to accurately portray the rules at the time of this writing, however, the rules within the City of Austin are constantly changing. You should hire a qualified Architect and rely on their professional experience to tailor a specific design for you and your lot.**
