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Supervisors discuss home setback rules
Shar Porier/Wick Communications
So more property owners can have the opportunity to build their own homes in Cochise County, Supervisor Richard Searle asked staff of the county Planning and Zoning Department to broaden the scope of the owner-builder opt-out to include more zoning districts.
Currently, one can only obtain an opt-out for a self-built home if it is in an RU-4 (one single family dwelling on a minimum of four acres) in Category D zoning districts. Searle said there are other districts where the opt-out could be applied. The opt-out program lets property owners who wish to build their own homes skip inspections and pay a lower permit fee. However, the home-builder is still held to the standards set in the building code.
"I'd like to see us broaden the conditions based on site standards rather than zoning," Searle said.
Last week, county Planning Department Director Susan Buchan and building inspector Luis Garcia presented the county supervisors with a suggestion that in reality would decrease the owner-builder option - a 200-foot setback from all property lines.
According to Garcia, Arizona Interagency Coordinating Group amended the homeowners' Firewise guide for Arizona and a 200-foot setback from property lines for homes was pulled from the guide.
Firewise is a nonprofit organization that involves homeowners, developers and others in making homes and properties wildfire-safe if they abut wildland interface zones. It describes protecting homes and lives by creating defensible space - an area free of vegetation and trees - around structures.
Buchan said, "200 feet was their recommended distance to be separated to protect structures from fire. Our biggest concern is that when we have an opt-out residence, something like a gas furnace, which they do occasionally blow up.
"Rather than depend on the zoning district as the mediator, the site development standard would be the reason you could opt out," explained Buchan. "It does a couple of things for us. One, it increases safety and opens up some opportunities for people in rural area with TR-36 zoning (one home on a minimum lot size of 36,000 square feet) because they were a subdivision that never got developed but have two acres. They are then able to use owner-builder opt-out and their separation is the reason rather than the zoning district."
Supervisor Ann English said, "If we're thinking about neighbors, when we're talking about the opt-out program, there should be sufficient setbacks. That's all we're concerned about. If this house burns, then it doesn't get the one next to it."
It also prevents people who opt out from building an unsafe home within 20 feet of the property line, English added. The setbacks would also have to be recorded. She wants to protect neighbors while still allowing the home-builder opt-out.
Homes built by contractors that paid for inspections through permits would not be subject to the 200-foot setback, Buchan explained. Setbacks for them would remain at 20 feet.
What's the reaction?
To county resident Kelly Savage at the work session, the implication that an owner-builder would not construct a safe home struck a nerve.
"What's really disturbing me is that you're treating them like they are building pieces of garbage. Owner-builders are held to the codes, like the builders," Savage said.
McNeal resident Helene Jackson questioned the setbacks, since there are areas on properties that could be unbuildable. The response from Buchan was, "It would limit what could be done with the property."
However, a 200-foot setback from property lines would create only a small building space for a home even on four acres, as was pointed out by McNeal resident Mike Jackson. Property owners who had a four-acre parcel that was not square would not be able to take advantage of the owner-builder opt-out.
In response to Jackson's question, Searle said he wanted to make sure people can build a reasonably sized house on a four-acre parcel and meet setbacks. Searle pointed out that the county was not locked in on the Firewise recommendation, though the data provided gave the supervisors something to consider. Still, there is no way someone in a TR-36 could meet those setbacks.
English said, "We want people to be able to opt out, but we also want to protect future growth. We're looking at a safety zone. We're not tied into a number, but if people choose a contractor or the opt-out, we want to be sure that there's a safety zone in-between."
When the supervisors were told this week that no such recommendation exists in the Firewise guide and that Garcia now claims he read about it in a newspaper, English said Garcia's statements were "unsubstantiated."
Helene Jackson and Savage still have questions about how the county has determined owner-built homes are dangerous. "The county talks about safety, but how does the county know there's a problem now with fires on owner-builder properties?" asked Helene Jackson. "Has anyone looked at statistics to see where fires occur and what causes them?
Savage did some research on her own and relayed what she found.
"I went onto the United States Fire Administration's site to find statistics about the leading causes of residential fires. The No. 1 cause is greasy food left cooking unattended on a stove. This is plain human error, not a building code violation. The main thing building code inspections would cover is wiring and per USFA, electrical fires are way, way down on the list of fire causes. The second-leading cause is heating-related, but it's hard to say if it's due to human error or the failure of heating devices."
Mike Jackson remains suspicious of the staff's reasoning. He said, "The difference between a permit for an owner-builder home and a regular permit is over a thousand dollars, and that's for a small house. One would assume the county has its budget in mind whenever decisions are made."
Savage added, "I truly believe that this is snob zoning. What I found most interesting was that English and Searle said they wanted to expand the owner-builder opt-out and give builders more freedom. Yet their words were contradicted by their desire to take land rights away from landowners. Every foot they take as a setback is a foot a landowner pays taxes on but can't use as they wish for construction."
Planning and zoning staff will bring back new recommendations that will make sense for owner-builder opt-out setbacks and present them to the supervisors in the future.
(Shar Porier is a reporter at the Sierra Vista Herald/Bisbee Daily Review.)
So more property owners can have the opportunity to build their own homes in Cochise County, Supervisor Richard Searle asked staff of the county Planning and Zoning Department to broaden the scope of the owner-builder opt-out to include more zoning districts.
Currently, one can only obtain an opt-out for a self-built home if it is in an RU-4 (one single family dwelling on a minimum of four acres) in Category D zoning districts. Searle said there are other districts where the opt-out could be applied. The opt-out program lets property owners who wish to build their own homes skip inspections and pay a lower permit fee. However, the home-builder is still held to the standards set in the building code.
"I'd like to see us broaden the conditions based on site standards rather than zoning," Searle said.
Last week, county Planning Department Director Susan Buchan and building inspector Luis Garcia presented the county supervisors with a suggestion that in reality would decrease the owner-builder option - a 200-foot setback from all property lines.
According to Garcia, Arizona Interagency Coordinating Group amended the homeowners' Firewise guide for Arizona and a 200-foot setback from property lines for homes was pulled from the guide.
Firewise is a nonprofit organization that involves homeowners, developers and others in making homes and properties wildfire-safe if they abut wildland interface zones. It describes protecting homes and lives by creating defensible space - an area free of vegetation and trees - around structures.
Buchan said, "200 feet was their recommended distance to be separated to protect structures from fire. Our biggest concern is that when we have an opt-out residence, something like a gas furnace, which they do occasionally blow up.
"Rather than depend on the zoning district as the mediator, the site development standard would be the reason you could opt out," explained Buchan. "It does a couple of things for us. One, it increases safety and opens up some opportunities for people in rural area with TR-36 zoning (one home on a minimum lot size of 36,000 square feet) because they were a subdivision that never got developed but have two acres. They are then able to use owner-builder opt-out and their separation is the reason rather than the zoning district."
Supervisor Ann English said, "If we're thinking about neighbors, when we're talking about the opt-out program, there should be sufficient setbacks. That's all we're concerned about. If this house burns, then it doesn't get the one next to it."
It also prevents people who opt out from building an unsafe home within 20 feet of the property line, English added. The setbacks would also have to be recorded. She wants to protect neighbors while still allowing the home-builder opt-out.
Homes built by contractors that paid for inspections through permits would not be subject to the 200-foot setback, Buchan explained. Setbacks for them would remain at 20 feet.
What's the reaction?
To county resident Kelly Savage at the work session, the implication that an owner-builder would not construct a safe home struck a nerve.
"What's really disturbing me is that you're treating them like they are building pieces of garbage. Owner-builders are held to the codes, like the builders," Savage said.
McNeal resident Helene Jackson questioned the setbacks, since there are areas on properties that could be unbuildable. The response from Buchan was, "It would limit what could be done with the property."
However, a 200-foot setback from property lines would create only a small building space for a home even on four acres, as was pointed out by McNeal resident Mike Jackson. Property owners who had a four-acre parcel that was not square would not be able to take advantage of the owner-builder opt-out.
In response to Jackson's question, Searle said he wanted to make sure people can build a reasonably sized house on a four-acre parcel and meet setbacks. Searle pointed out that the county was not locked in on the Firewise recommendation, though the data provided gave the supervisors something to consider. Still, there is no way someone in a TR-36 could meet those setbacks.
English said, "We want people to be able to opt out, but we also want to protect future growth. We're looking at a safety zone. We're not tied into a number, but if people choose a contractor or the opt-out, we want to be sure that there's a safety zone in-between."
When the supervisors were told this week that no such recommendation exists in the Firewise guide and that Garcia now claims he read about it in a newspaper, English said Garcia's statements were "unsubstantiated."
Helene Jackson and Savage still have questions about how the county has determined owner-built homes are dangerous. "The county talks about safety, but how does the county know there's a problem now with fires on owner-builder properties?" asked Helene Jackson. "Has anyone looked at statistics to see where fires occur and what causes them?
Savage did some research on her own and relayed what she found.
"I went onto the United States Fire Administration's site to find statistics about the leading causes of residential fires. The No. 1 cause is greasy food left cooking unattended on a stove. This is plain human error, not a building code violation. The main thing building code inspections would cover is wiring and per USFA, electrical fires are way, way down on the list of fire causes. The second-leading cause is heating-related, but it's hard to say if it's due to human error or the failure of heating devices."
Mike Jackson remains suspicious of the staff's reasoning. He said, "The difference between a permit for an owner-builder home and a regular permit is over a thousand dollars, and that's for a small house. One would assume the county has its budget in mind whenever decisions are made."
Savage added, "I truly believe that this is snob zoning. What I found most interesting was that English and Searle said they wanted to expand the owner-builder opt-out and give builders more freedom. Yet their words were contradicted by their desire to take land rights away from landowners. Every foot they take as a setback is a foot a landowner pays taxes on but can't use as they wish for construction."
Planning and zoning staff will bring back new recommendations that will make sense for owner-builder opt-out setbacks and present them to the supervisors in the future.
(Shar Porier is a reporter at the Sierra Vista Herald/Bisbee Daily Review.)
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