Council directs staff to restore porch exemption from gross floor area after resident outcry

The Saint Helena City Council directed staff to prepare an ordinance to clarify how covered porches, balconies and similar structures are treated under the city’s zoning code, concluding covered outdoor spaces should be excluded from gross floor area calculations.

City staff explained a conflict between the zoning code’s rules of measurement and a footnote that appeared to limit exemptions to unenclosed spaces. "I revised my opinion on that and I don't think that's the case," said the staff presenter (Mister Walsh), describing a return to the code’s original intent that covered porches not count toward gross floor area. A June 13 city attorney memorandum reached similar conclusions, urging reconsideration of prior implementation changes.

Several residents, architects and civic voices urged the council to preserve porch exemptions. "Porches are not oppressive bulk, but critical buffers," said Mister Hale, citing livability, cooling and historic character; architect and public commenters noted lot coverage, height limits and other code tools already address massing and that counting porches could create legal nonconformities.

Councilmembers expressed broad concern for unintended consequences of changing the exemption and for the public trust; by majority consensus they asked staff to draft a narrowly tailored ordinance, send it to the Planning Commission and return with recommended language and community outreach. Staff said they will also correct an unrelated clerical change elsewhere in the code and consult stakeholders before formal amendments return to council.