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Historic Preservation Commission to advise council: keep 40% front-facing garage rule, count carports and require material wrap
Summary
After reviewing proposed changes to Webster Groves— front-facing garage guidance, the commission voted to draft a letter to city council recommending retention of the 40% rule, counting carports toward that limit, and requiring architectural materials to wrap garage fronts so additions match house exteriors.
The Webster Groves Historic Preservation Commission voted Oct. 14 to draft and send an email and memorandum to the City Council and mayor urging the city to retain the existing 40% rule that limits the width of front-facing garages and to clarify related design standards.
Commissioners said the 40% rule preserves neighborhood character by preventing disproportionate garage faces from dominating residential elevations. Commissioners asked staff to recommend that enclosed carports be counted toward the 40% frontage calculation so that owners on streets lined with carports are not disadvantaged. Several commissioners also recommended adding explicit language requiring architectural materials to wrap around attached front-facing garages and requiring overhead garage doors larger than nine feet to include architectural detailing.
Commission rationale: Commissioners observed that only a small number of variance requests related to front-facing garages had come before the city in recent years, suggesting an existing appeals process is available and that wholesale policy change would be unnecessary. At the meeting Hillary Perkins said she was "trying to understand why it was proposed to get rid of it in the first place. Who does that benefit?" Commissioners favored narrowly tailored edits that address carport parity and garage-door detailing rather than scrapping the 40% rule.
Action taken: The commission voted to draft the letter and asked staff to send it to City Council, the mayor and the city administrator with commissioners blind-copied on the message. Staff said they would include a succinct summary tied to sections of the comprehensive plan and attach supporting excerpts.
Next steps: Staff will prepare the email/letter summarizing the commission—s recommendations and circulate it to commissioners prior to transmission to council, city administration and the mayor.
