Friday, November 7, 2025
Q. We want to add a family room at the back of our house. Even though we have over 50 feet to work with to the back property line, we are being told that our garage is a problem, because it’s too close to the side property line, and when we attach the family room, we’ll need to get a zoning variance. If we take the garage down we have to put up another garage, because our building department requires us to have a garage. Why is this a problem, and how can we get around it? Our contractor said he could “take care of it,” that the garage shouldn’t be a problem, but so far that hasn’t happened, and we think we have to change our plans or not do the job.
A. There is a bigger picture than just the couple of issues you describe. The rules and regulations of the state building codes are intended to keep us all safe from fire, wind, flooding and other hazardous conditions. There are thousands of regulations and separate community zoning requirements, and when something is planned, it must meet all criteria from different sets of rules.
In your case, the garage was separate and independent from the house. In many communities, the zoning-required distance for a freestanding garage to the property line is 2 feet, but some require 3 feet, and your community requires 4 feet. But that’s just the distance to a property line, and only for a freestanding “accessory structure,” one that isn’t part of the house, such as a shed, gazebo, garage or deck.
The building code, for the entire state, then has overlapping fire protection requirements. A structure built closer than 3 feet to a property line must have fire rated materials, as an “assembly,” including wall or roof interior and exterior materials combined. Each assembly must resist a fire for one hour, and published testing reports from independent testing companies, such as Underwriters Laboratories, must be followed. I’ll address the construction issue more next week.
The problem you have is that your garage was allowed to be closer to the property line than a habitable building — your home — so it appears that it can stay because it has always been there. Now it will be part of the house, and many communities publish charts online or have zoning code chapters available for you to see which minimum distance and total distance you will need to meet for all your new work, including the garage. The garage will probably need to be reconstructed farther away from the property line. In many local communities, the minimum is 5 feet, but wider properties may require greater distances.
Always confirm before the plans are finalized. You can’t get around this legally, which is a concern, because anyone who knowingly creates a violation, especially a safety violation, puts many others lives at risk and could be subject to prosecution. Fire isn’t selective. It spreads and it kills. Good luck!
© 2025 Monte Leeper. Readers are encouraged to send questions to yourhousedr@aol.com, with “Herald question” in the subject line, or to Herald Homes, 2 Endo Blvd., Garden City, NY 11530, Attn: Monte Leeper, architect.
