Houses are growing as families are shrinking

Nationally the average household has shrunk slightly since 1990, to 2.6 people. However in the same period, the average new house grew 400 square feet to 2,434. One in five American homes had at least 4 bedrooms in 2005. That is up from one in six in 1990. Locally 20.7% of homes in Washington have at least four bedrooms, up from 18.3% in 1990. Houses are growing in size as families shrink, even though cost of materials, labor and energy to heat and power the homes rise.

Some communities are fighting back, though their motivations are not likely ecological. In the Seattle/Bellevue area it has been a popular practice to tear down an 1100 square foot rambler and replace it with a 4,000 square foot home that bulges up to the property line. These “McMansions” as they are called overpower their neighbors and do not fit in with the neighborhood. Neighbors are fighting back and trying to get their cities to regulate the tear-down/rebuild practice.

Seattle is considering:
· Shrinking the height limit from three stories to two.
· The house can occupy only 35% of the lot. Currently it is 35% or 1,750 sq. ft., whichever is greater. This means a 1,750 house can be built even if the lot is under 5,000 sq. ft.
· Replacing multiple houses with one large one would also be prohibited.

Bellevue is considering:
· Requiring a certain percentage of trees on the lot to be preserved, possibly up to 15%.
· Measuring the height of the home by grade before construction begins. Some developers have changed the grades of lots dramatically to get around regulations.
· Requiring weekly removal of debris, distributing guidelines to developers, posting of informational signs before construction, and cleanup of abandoned work sites.

The cities are weighing the regulations against concerns over property rights and effects the regulations will have on home builders. Of course the larger homes often mean higher tax revenue for the cities, so I am sure that is a major factor in their decision.