Community: The Skinny on Skinny Houses
Posted by:
tomcarter
on
Dec 19, 2009
COMMUNITY CONTENT
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COMMUNITY CONTENT
How can they build two houses on one lot?
In a lot of older neighborhoods, the original subdivisions were platted – laid out – in 2,500 square foot lots, 25 feet wide and 100 feet deep. Most people bought two lots at a time and built one house on what looked like a 50-foot wide lot.
Later, these neighborhoods were zoned to have one house per 5,000 square feet, but the 2,500 square foot lots continued to exist. Because of population growth and rising housing costs, the City allows the original lots to be split up. By meeting certain rules, each original lot can have a house of its own.
What keeps them from just tearing down whole neighborhoods and building skinny houses?
Nothing actually forbids it. But any skinny lot that has any portion of a house on it cannot have a new house on it for 5 years after the original house was demolished. When the real estate market was really hot, builders sometimes would leave vacant lots behind, planning to return in 5 years to fill in between the other houses they had built. That’s not happening much these days.
Why North Portland?
There are a lot of neighborhoods in North Portland where the lots were originally platted as 25 feet wide by 100 feet deep. Also, housing prices in North Portland were lower than elsewhere, so builders found it practical to buy a modest house here, demolish it, and build one or more skinny houses.
Don’t skinny houses hurt the neighborhood?
They have mixed effects. The neighborhoods certainly look different.
But as Christian and Deborah found, residents in the older houses are sometimes encouraged to fix their houses up, property values may rise, and there is new energy to support local businesses. Parking is a concern, but most skinny house residents seem to park in their own driveways, leaving at least some spaces on the street.
The vacant lots that are left behind can be a problem if they’re not maintained. In Christian and Deborah’s neighborhood, the vacant lots were stabilized by the builder and are in good condition.
A report by Portland’s Bureau of Planning & Sustainability about skinny houses, including zoning code amendments, can be found at:
