As Council will recall, Councilman Butler introduced a motion, a copy of which is attached for reference, to amend the City's Land Development Code to allow for front porches to be screened in at your regular meeting on August 6, 2024. At that time, Councilman Altman stated a motion was not needed to place something on the agenda and that he agreed with Councilman Butler and would like to see the item placed on a future meeting agenda. City Attorney Driscoll replied that if there was a consensus it can be directed to be placed on the agenda but it would have to go to the Land Development Review Board for them to review the matter first.
To assist Council with this discussion, I wanted to provide you a brief history of some of the information regarding this matter. Back in April of 2016, City Council approved an ordinance which amended our Land Development Code to allow for front porches. The agenda item brought forth by then-Development Director, Lisa Fierce, stated that the purpose of the agenda item was to encourage residents to add front porches to their homes, in order to improve the appearance of residential neighborhoods, encourage social interaction among neighbors, create a safer environment and improve property values. The proposed ordinance provided a definition of “front porch” that identified the required minimum elements of a front porch, as follows: “(a) covered structure attached to the front of a dwelling unit and providing the following elements: providing primary access into the dwelling unit; typically having a separate roof; unenclosed except for a roof, balustrade, and flooring; extending a minimum of 50 percent of the building façade; having a minimum 10-foot depth; and having a floor that is typically raised above the finished horizontal elevation of the lot. The design elements of the porch are typically consistent with those of the building and include the finish materials of any exterior surface, stem wall materials and/or foundation skirting.”
The agenda item also specifically stated that "Alteration of the porches to form enclosed or air-conditioned living spaces is prohibited and the porches are required to maintain at least 80 percent openness and may not be screened. This will further the goal of encouraging interaction amongst neighbors."
The City Council at that time agreed with Ms. Fierce's recommendations regarding maintaining the openness of the porches and passed the ordinance with a 5-0 vote on April 19, 2016.