Florida Town Immersed in Residential Zoning Battle
Fred Schorr, Mayor of Lighthouse Point, FL, has made it his mission to limit the size of “monstor-homes” that are popping up all around the town.
Long-time residents have been complaining for some time now about the two-story monster homes, which are built straight up like boxes, leaving shadows over many residential neighborhoods.
Schorr’s plan is to force the second level of new homes to be set back 4 to 6 feet from the first, creating a “layered” design rather than a box. This idea has overcome its first hurdle of getting approval from the Planning and Zoning Board, but it has me opposition from builders and real estate agents.
“If you’re limiting the second floor, you’re limiting square footage,” said Kenneth Kerr, a local Realtor with ReMax Partners. “If a home is 5,000 square feet today, it’s not big enough. You’re probably devaluing land value from $200,000 to $400,000.”
Although there is no doubt that enforcing these building restrictions would limit the value potential of properties, one might wonder how a normal home’s value would be affected by having a massive and overpowering box-home built next door. When it comes down to it, this is clearly an issue of neighborhood aesthetic, involving two opposing design preferences.
Mayor Schorr says that his plan is to work together with architects and builders to come up with a fair and balanced plan.
“We’re not doing this in a rush,” he explained. “We are being very deliberate in making sure what we do is right so we don’t affect property values.”