Alleys and Lanes: Should Setback Rules Apply?

Tin Pan Alley, Maiden Lane, Lovers' Lane — there's a certain cachet to "alley" or "lane" that isn't shared by "street" or "avenue."

Piedmont has several alleys and lanes, mostly tucked away behind its homes along the rear property lines, although the names are mundane: Automobile Drive, Hill Lane and, ubiquitously, "un-named." Along with driveways serving more than one property, they are on today's agenda for the Piedmont Planning Commission.

The question is whether building setbacks and fences on these "vehicular passageways," as a planning staff report calls them, should be subject to the same regulations that apply on regular streets.

"Under the current [City] Code, the setback requirement for structures from all streets and vehicular passageways is a minimum of 20 feet," City Planner Kate Black says in a staff memo. "Within the same 20-foot setback, fencing is also discouraged and is subject to Planning Commission approval.

"In the past few years, staff and the Planning Commission have encountered several difficult applications that proposed new construction adjacent to public alleys and private driveways."

Black says the current rules create difficulties with new construction and generate a fair number of requests for variances.

She suggests that that structure setbacks along the secondary passageways — whether public or private — be reduced to the standard 4-foot setback typically required along side and rear property lines, and that fencing be permitted to be at the property line in accordance with existing fencing regulations for lots that are not adjacent to a secondary passageway.

Members of the public are invited to give their opinions at tonight's hearing. The proposal is up for discussion only — no action will be taken at the meeting.

For the curious, regular streets in Piedmont are mostly 40 to 60 feet wide, while lanes, alleys and shared driveway are about 10 to 20 feet wide. The city has identified eight public and semi-public lanes and alleys and 16 privately owned shared driveways and alleys.

The Planning Commission meets at 5 p.m. at , 120 Vista Ave. The hearing on alleys and lanes is the next to last item on the agenda.

The agenda for today's meeting is attached above as a PDF, along with the staff report (complete with maps and aerial photographs of the city's lanes and alleys).

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