Granny Flat Front setback and Sig Trees

[laurieload]

Serge our GF guru is away today and I need some urgent GF advice..

Just had an offer accepted on a place on a long corner block which lends itself to having a GF at the side. Some issues however:

- sig tree in yard area
- slight slope to rear requiring dispersion pit.

Other complicating factors: Front setback for GF is ???

Rang NSW planning but they had no answers. Basically, if facing the existing house, on the left hand side is the corner the block is on (so neighbours are effectively around the corner); on right hand side is the back end of the other neighbours house which is also on a corner (the front of their house faces a different street). That neighbours house is about 1m from their side boundary that faces the street of the house I am interested in. Confused yet? Hang on, will try a drawing...
http://somersoft.com/forums/images/attach/jpg.gif

Anyway, I want to know:
- is it same setback as main house? (around 4m)
- is it average setback of main house and side boundary of adjacent house? (3m - which faces street 2; there are no other houses facing that street on this block) or,
-is it 4.5m as stated in the nsw complying development guide?

Whether we can go ahead with this one depends on above, especially because of the significant tree. The attached pic shows the approx dimensions of the space that we would have to put the GF on (and the max size I think it could be - I have estimated a L shape but I might be wrong), and where the existing house and sig tree are located.

http://somersoft.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=8630&stc=1&d=1335431427

Also, we are willing to ask for DA to remove tree if necessary - anyone know how likely council are to approve this and how much it might cost?

Finally - anyone ever build a 2 storey GF and any idea of the extra costs that might be involved?

Please can anyone help with any of this asap or offer guidance as to how likely it is we might be able to get even a 1bed GF through? Thanks so much in advance

 

[laurieload]

OK - having finally managing to get Serge (Brazen) on the phone heres the answers in case anyone is ever in a similar situation:

Front setback - average between the setback of adjacent houses on that street line (this means even a neighbouring house that is around the corner, even if its on a different street name too). (Note: NSW Planning were very hazy on this when I rang, and said in the end its up to the individual certifier ???)

Sig tree - Serge says allow about 5k for removal and need to go through council; also that councils are usually more receptive to the idea if it is done with or after a granny flat application rather than before. Of all the species, native gums are most difficult to get approval for.

Double storey - silly me I temporarily forgot about the extra setbacks that would be needed for higher roof heights, which would be unsuitable for this block anyway so sorry no approximate cost figures for those.

Happy GF building everyone!

 

[Propertunity]

Sig tree - ....need to go through council; also that councils are usually more receptive to the idea if it is done with or after a granny flat application rather than before.

Serg is right. Once a DA is approved then the tree is a goner (subject to all the tree laws oif your local council). In the case of a non-DA granny flat application being approved - same thing. Applying to cut down a tree without either is not normally granted unless the tree poses some kind of hazard.

Of all the species, native gums are most difficult to get approval for.

I don't get it with gum trees. They are great in the bush - where they belong.
Virtually EVERY time you see on the news, a tree down in a storm acroos a road, on top of a car, through a house, in ANY city it is.....a gum tree.

Double storey - silly me I temporarily forgot about the extra setbacks that would be needed for higher roof heights, which would be unsuitable for this block anyway

Also floor m2 for a granny flat is 60m2 max. That's a pretty narrow building for a double storey.

Happy building.

 

[laurieload]

I don't get it with gum trees. They are great in the bush - where they belong.
Virtually EVERY time you see on the news, a tree down in a storm acroos a road, on top of a car, through a house, in ANY city it is.....a gum tree.

Exactly Prop! We had one that totally crushed our kids school fence just last week

 

[JoP]

front set back to side street on corner block

I think you were asking for the set back from the secondary street on a corner block? NSW Housing Code provides - depending on lot size - Lots 450 - 600m2 is 2m; For lots 600 - 900m2 is 3m; for lots 900 - 1,500m2 is 3; for lots 1,500m2 and larger is 5m. I can't see anywhere that the Affordable Housing legislation changes this. Someone let me know if I'm wrong. And you can build some things in the articulation zone.

 

[Stacey Survey]

Speaking of granny flats, I've been on the phone a bit the last few weeks to a granny flat designer, Damien. Website is here: http://quick-hang.com/index.html

Thought the site was very informative anyway as I more-so specialise in subdivison rather than granny flats so have learnt quite a bit! Might be a useful source of research for other people looking at doing the same thing in Vic, NSW and SA.

Also for those wondering the councils around Melb ask for a "Feature and Level Survey" to be accompanied with the design. I've attached one of these below that was for a GF building project to give an idea of what is needed (apologies for the .pdf being rubbish resolution).

Cheers,

 

[laurieload]

I think you were asking for the set back from the secondary street on a corner block? NSW Housing Code provides - depending on lot size - Lots 450 - 600m2 is 2m; For lots 600 - 900m2 is 3m; for lots 900 - 1,500m2 is 3; for lots 1,500m2 and larger is 5m. I can't see anywhere that the Affordable Housing legislation changes this. Someone let me know if I'm wrong. And you can build some things in the articulation zone.

thanks JoP these would be even better, hopefully certifier sees it this way too

 

[quickhang]

Here are the correct set back

1. Minimum Lot Size:

- 450 - 900sq.m lot and 12m minimum frontage; or

- 900 – 1500sq.m lot and 15m minimum frontage; or

- 1500 or greater sq.m lot and 18m minimum frontage.

2. Maximum Site Coverage (maximum building footprint of all building on the lot):

- 50% of the site for Lots 450 - 900sq.m;

- 40% of the site for Lots 900 - 1500sq.m;

- 30% of the site for Lots greater than 1500sq.m;


3. Maximum Floor Area (of all building on the Lot):

- 330sq.m for Lots 450 – 600sq.m;

- 380sq.m for Lots 600 – 900sq.m;

- 430sq.m for Lots 900sq.m or greater;


4. Side Boundary Setbacks:

- 0.9m for Lots 450 – 900sq.m;

- 1.5m for Lots 900 – 1500sq.m;

- 2.5m for Lots 1500sq.m or greater;


- This increases by ¼ of the height over 3.8m when the building is more than 3.8m high. EG, on

a 450 – 900 sq.m site with a height of building of 4.5m the side setbacks will be 0.9m + 0.175m = 1.075m.


5. Rear Boundary Setbacks:

- 3m for Lots 450 – 900sq.m, + 3 times the height over 3.8m if the height of the building is greater than 3.8m up to a maximum setback of 8m;

- 5m for Lots 900 – 1500sq.m, + 3 times the height over 3.8m if the height of the building is greater than 3.8m up to a maximum setback of 12m;

- 10m for Lots 1500sq.m or greater, + 3 times the height over 3.8m if the height of the building is greater than 3.8m up to a maximum setback of 15m; damien

 

[JoP]

secondary street setback for corner block

Thanks Quickhang. What do you say is the setback on the secondary street? Assume that there is a corner block and the existing house is of course on the frontage to the primary street. Going around the corner, what is the front setback to the street which the granny flat will face? There is still only one lot which has one frontage. Or do you say because the new GF will face another street, and has another frontage, the setback is a front setback. Or, looking at the old block from its previous frontage, is it the side setback that applies to how far the GF can be built to the secondary street frontage?

 

[ali]

Hi Laurieload, we bought a very similar block (ie long frontage on side street
with existing house taking up the front half of the block) with the view of building a GF. We aren't at the point of building the GF yet, so I would be very interested in how you go with yours. We don't have tree or slope issues, though. Good luck!
Cheers, Ali

 

[brazen]

Hey guys,

Regarding setbacks to frontages on corner blocks, it is corretly calculated as stated by someone above and is refered to as the 'secondary road'...BUT Lauriload's enquiry was about a block that, even though it looks like she's on a corner block, it technically isn't. You see, it's the same street name- so technically it is not a 'corner block'. So, there was no 'secondary road'.

Imagine a street that bends very sharply (90 degrees)... It looks like a corner block but it's just a very sharp bend in the road. It's like that. Thus, there technically was no 'secondary road'.

In such a case we must use the normal 'font setback' precriptions as listed within the Affordable Rental Hosuing SEPP which talks about not being further forwad than the (average of), the adjoining dwellings (within 40m).

Fortunately for Lauriload, the adjoining dwelling was really quite close to the front boundary anyway, something like 2m. There was no house on the opposite side. So she could go 2m from the street boundary, which is a lot closer than most of my clients with this kind of space constraint.

I hope that^ all made sense?

Cheers,

Serge.

 

[brazen]

Just an update:
We went out and surveyed the property last week. There's a bloody Jacaranda tree in the back yard, which limits the usable space for a granny flat. Another issue is that the main dwelling has a huge front yard but the back yard isnt so big; so we're going to design the floor plan so that no windows face the main dwelling and the granny flat. The rear yard is going to be quite fragmented (not desirable) but because the block is a (pseudo) corner-block, we can create physical separation with fencing and perhaps (I need to suggest this) fence off some of that front yard to encourage it's use by the main dwelling's tenants in the future.

I'll post plans up here as we go along. Here's the Build-Zone-Map...I'll be scratching away at a suitable floor plan during the next week; fingers crossed we can maximise privacy.

 

[brazen]

Thought of a way to give the main dwelling some yard back. Basically an L-Shaped granny flat to mitigate the tree and a fence between them to create separation. Perhaps some vegetaion post-construction will also help.

Drainage is going to be a challenge due to slope of land so we will either:
1. Charge to the street or
2. Install a dispersion pit

Placing wardrobes against the closest wall (to the main dwelling) will provide additional acoustic privacy as well. Lots to do but we should be able to come up with a granny flat design that works for her property.

Ive made this a test case for people to see how we can work to mitigate:
1. Trees
2. Negative slope (away from the street)
3. Private open spaces

 

[laurieload]

Just letting anyone who's interested know am blogging the whole new GF build process here. Will try to carry over the design diagrams later too.

 

[brazen]

Just letting anyone who's interested know am blogging the whole new GF build process here. Will try to carry over the design diagrams later too.

Cool.cool. I did a recent amendement to the floor plan concept. This should be better.

Once we get a basic concept confirmed, we can work with the Drainage and height calculations. It's gonna be tight.

 

[C-mac]

Just wanted to say thanks to all contributors on this thread. It's an excellent insight for the inexperienced (such as myself) who are considering granny flat additions/sub-divisions to properties, and know very little about them!

 

[laurieload]

No worries and many thanks Operative_me
Will be putting all the nitty gritty over here if you want the complete picture.
http://somersoft.com/forums/showthread.php?p=911331&posted=1#post911331
Its are first time at this GF business too so hopefully it will all go well