Politics & Government

Council to Hold Public Hearing Monday on FAR Exemptions for Garages

Here's your chance to weigh in on the controversial zoning change that would reduce the amount of square feet of garage space that's exempt from the total building space allowed on your property.


The City Council will hold a public hearing tonight at 7:30 p.m. at City Hall on a proposed zoning change that many residents say will unfairly reduce the size of a remodeled home, especially on smaller lots.

Council members received more than 50 letters opposing the change prior to their June meeting, and plan to have an in-depth discussion of the issue and receive feedback from the public.

The update to the zoning ordinance involves regulating the Floor Area Ratio (FAR), which is a formula that determines the building area of a property as it relates to the height, bulk and mass of a structure. Under the current code, 500 square feet of garage space is automatically exempt for all homes in Mill Valley, meaning it doesn’t count toward the square footage of building space allowed on your property. 

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The change would reduce this exemption, or eliminate it, depending on the size of your lot; the smaller your property, the less the exemption.

Here’s the breakdown:

Find out what's happening in Mill Valleywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Lot Size:                    New FAR Exemption

4,000 sq. ft or less           0 – no exemption

4,001 - 5,000 sq. ft.        200 sq. ft. exempt

5,001 - 6,000 sq. ft.        250 sq. ft. exempt

6,001 - 7,000 sq. ft        300 sq. ft exempt

7,001 - 8,000 sq. ft        400 sq. ft exempt

Residents, particularly those from the Sycamore Park and Triangle neighborhoods, said the proposed zoning change unfairly targets those with smaller lots. Their concerns have been a sticking point for the City Council, prompting members to look at increasing the exemptions for lots 4,000 square feet or less:

“Should the presently allowed exclusion of 500 square feet of garage space be reduced on lots less than 8,000 square feet as shown above? If so, should the exclusion for lots of 4,000 square feet or less, be 200 square feet or zero square feet?”

Other Notable Items Also on the Agenda:

Budget revisions: The City Council will vote to adopt a resolution that includes changes to the adopted 2013/2014 budget. The changes include revisions to the projected consolidated revenues to be $35,022,859, up $351,109 or 1 percent from the adopted budget and expenditures to be $36,925,966, down $325,420 or 0.9 percent from the adopted budget.

Plastic bags: The City Council will hear an update regarding the city’s environment sustainiabilty efforts including the development of regulations regarding single use plastic bags.

Environmental responses: The City Council will issue a response to two Marin County Grand Jury reports, “Holding the Bag,” and “Garbology in Marin: Wasted Energy.”

New hires: Introduction of the City’s new Supervising Senior Engineer, Tim McSorley, and Operations Superintendent, Denise Andrews.

View the agenda


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