Planning Board Finalizes Large House Review Rules

The Planning Board finalized the language of new Large House Review rules and regulations Tuesday at Wellesley College's Wang Center, about two months after Town Meeting approved amendments to the LHR zoning bylaw and two days before those changes take effect today. The LHR process is somewhat confusing - even to board members and architects - so the WellesleyPatch has made the following attempt to answer some of the major questions surrounding its purpose and implementation.

Why does Large House Review exist?

LHR is designed to prevent new single-family homes and additions from damaging the character of existing neighborhoods. "The intent of this review process is not to mandate certain designs or restrict house size," the town's website stresses, "but to ensure that a new large house or addition will be compatible with the scale and character of nearby properties."

In other words, the LHR process is a subjective one. It does not include firm rules about size and design, a nebulous quality with which several local architects have voiced their frustrations. The system exists to allow the presumably good judgment of planning officials to block out-of-character residential construction projects.  

If LHR lacks firm rules, how does the town know when to review a project?

OK, there are some firm numbers involved: A home becomes subject to a Large House Review when its square footage exceeds a certain threshold. The threshold depends on the lot's property regulation district. In a 10,000-square-foot property regulation district, for instance, the square footage at which a home is subject to LHR is 3,600. It is 4,300 in a 15,000 district, 5,900 in a 20,000 district, and 7,200 in a 30,000 or 40,000 district.

It's important to note that LHR applies only to new homes and additions. So if you live in a 20,000-square-foot property regulation district, and your home built in 1985 is 6,500 square feet, don't fret. You do not have to go through the LHR process. Similarly, if you are finishing your attic but construction does not include any exterior alterations, the project is exempt from review.

How is a home's square footage calculated?

The official measure of a home's square footage, for the purposes of Large House Review, is called total living area plus garage (TLAG). TLAG is different from a home's assessed square footage or the square footage a realtor might report on a property listing.

According to LHR rules and regulations, TLAG includes "the sum of the horizontal area(s) of the above-grade floors ... in the residential building(s) on a lot, measured from the exterior faces of the exterior walls."  It also encompasses "area(s) of attic(s) measured from the floor to the interior roofline, if seven feet or greater in height and five feet or greater in height on a sloped interior roofline; garage and storage space, whether in principal or accessory structures, in excess of 600 square feet; and basement areas multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which is the external, above-ground surface of basement walls and the denominator of which is the total surface (both above and below ground) of external basement walls, provided that if such fraction is less than .25, then the basement areas shall not be included."

Put simply, you start at one corner of the house and measure the height of the basement wall above grade. Then you walk 10 feet and measure again; keep doing this until you've completed the perimeter of the house. Average all those measurements, and that's your numerator (the top part of a fraction). The denominator (bottom part of a fraction) is the total height of the basement wall, from the floor slab to the underside of the joists overhead.

An example: The average wall height above grade is 2.5 feet, and the total wall height is eight feet. The resulting fraction is 2.5/8, .3125, or 31.25 percent. Therefore, 31.25 percent of the basement's square footage counts toward TLAG. If the percentage is less than 25, none of the basement's square footage counts toward TLAG.

The TLAG method of calculating square footage (including closets, basements, garages and attics -- whether they're finished or not) is designed to prevent builders from hiding square footage in untraditional ways. So if you want a 1,000-square-foot closet, 1,500-square-foot attic and 2,000-square-foot garage, all that space will count toward the home's square footage, as far as a Large House Review is concerned.

How long does the LHR process take?

Once an LHR application is complete, the Planning Board has 90 days to review it, vote on it, and furnish the applicant with a written decision. The board and the applicant may agree to an extension. If the board does not fulfill its obligations within 90 days, and no extension has been agreed upon, the application is approved by default.

What does an LHR application cost and what do I need to complete one?

The LHR fee for a new home is $2,500. The fee for an addition depends on the percent increase of the existing home's TLAG. For instance, a 1,000-square-foot addition to a 5,000-square-foot house constitutes a 20 percent TLAG increase. So the LHR fee is 20 percent of $2,500, or $500.

Required application materials include neighborhood delineation, site, building, landscape and drainage plans, among others. A complete list and more information is available at the Planning Board's office, in the lower level of Town Hall, 525 Washington Street, and on the board's section of the town website.