ᐅ Garage too deep due to local development regulations

Hello everyone,

I need your help and experience regarding garage construction and a local development ordinance.

Problem:
We are planning to build a townhouse with an attached garage. The natural ground level at the garage location is slightly lower than the rest of the site. The neighbor’s ground level is also about 10cm (4 inches) lower. The garage is planned to be built on the property boundary. According to the height measurements, our construction company could just barely manage to build the garage if we assume that a value shown on the site plan (height reference) is approximately the same. This value is located right next to the garage, and the surface appears visually level. However, the surveyor will still need to determine the exact value. Now here’s the big problem: according to the local development ordinance, we have to install a gable end facing the street side. That would no longer fit, as the garage would then be over 3m (10 feet) higher compared to our neighbor. I don’t know the exact height difference.

Does anyone have experience with how this could be resolved?

The only current solution from the architect is to build the garage lower than the house, but then we would have to drive slightly downhill into the garage, making it more vulnerable to water intrusion. Besides, that looks really unattractive.

Applying for a variance or exemption? Does that make sense?

Thanks in advance!

sauerpeter schrieb:

Application for a deviation? Does that make sense?

I’m unsure if I fully understand your point. What I believe I’ve gathered is the following: Your garage is supposed to match the neighbor’s garage at its highest point, but due to a local development ordinance, you have to take a different approach—why were different conditions applied to the neighbor? And how can a local development ordinance require neighbors to follow different procedures when these rules are usually intended to ensure harmony?

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Ok, I’ll try to explain in more detail this time. Last time, it had to be quick.
We are building an urban villa with a garage that is supposed to stand directly next to it. Please take a look at the attached sketch. At the top is the neighbor’s elevation at 69.39 meters (227.7 feet). Then comes the boundary line, where the garage is planned to be, in the area without an elevation indication. At around 69.48 meters (228.3 feet), there is already part of the house.
I’m not sure if I understood everything correctly, but if we want to build our garage now, from the neighbor’s perspective the garage would be more than 3 meters (10 feet) higher. He is situated at a lower elevation. I have to consider it from the neighbor’s point of view, right? The architect said that the elevation in the area where the garage should be is at least 69.48 meters (228.3 feet) as well (this still needs to be measured), so then the garage might be possible. The problem is: according to the local design regulations, the garage must have a gable roof sloping toward the street at a 45-degree angle. That would make the height completely incompatible.
I hope this is clearer now. Do you see any possibilities for building the garage after all? We have 1400 m² (15,070 sq ft), and without a garage, it’s already tight.

Our right neighbor’s property is roughly at the same level as ours. However, the left neighbor must have completely excavated a section of their land back then, which is why their property appears to be lower in some spots. Now we have to deal with that somehow.

The architect said that we could also build the house and garage at a lower level, but then there would be a dip in the driveway. When driving onto the property, you would effectively go slightly downhill since the public area in front of the lot is at an elevation of 69.70 meters (229 feet). That doesn’t make any sense, because I would constantly have to deal with large amounts of water and puddles during rain.

The building permit / planning application was supposed to be completed and submitted next week, but now it looks like this will be delayed for an indefinite period. Frustrating...

I still don’t understand either nothing or nothing that makes sense: Your plot is 9 cm (3.5 inches) higher than the neighbor’s. The height of the garage should not exceed 3 m (10 feet), cautiously measured from the neighbor’s ground level—that much I can follow. But the neighbor has a flat-roofed garage, and your garage is supposed to have a 45° pitched roof (which means the roof alone would be 3 m (10 feet) high at a length of 6 m (20 feet)). My question remains open: how are the garage roofs, "flat at the neighbor’s" and "45° pitched at yours," supposed to comply with the SAME set of design regulations?

Or have I misunderstood and your reference neighbor’s garage also has a pitched roof but was lowered by one roof height?

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https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/

No, the neighbor does not have a garage. On their 1,400 m² (15,070 sq ft) property, they only have a bungalow located at the rear of their lot. We are building our townhouse with a garage at the front area of our property. The garage will be built on the boundary line with the neighbor, who is situated at a slightly lower elevation than us. We are not required to build a pitched roof; it is sufficient if the garage’s front has a kind of fascia that resembles a pitched roof. Is that called a parapet? But only at the front, not all around. Essentially, there is a fascia at the front with two rows of roof tiles that imitate a pitched roof.

Would it make a difference if the neighbor agrees and our building height exceeds 3 meters (10 feet) by a small margin? Without any encumbrance or easement involved.