Exclude covered porches from the Building Area Ratio (BAR) Requirement, 156.330(E)(3).
Why is this important?
The Old Village Historic District Commission guidelines and town ordinance includes porches in the BAR (Building Area Ratio) Requirement for allowable square footage for homes in the Old Village Historic District. The BAR ordinance should be amended because it puts an unnecessary restriction on builders and homeowners in the OVHD. When designing a home people shouldn't have to choose between a bedroom for a child and a front and/or back porch. Porches don't make houses look overly large. Porches are cherished places and historically they are the "ubiquitous feature of the Old Village." Therefore, the Town of Mt. Pleasant should embrace porches as welcome additions especially on Old Village homes. Old Village residents should be encouraged to have porches, not discouraged from them. No other town in the Southeast restricts porches. So let's face it; it's absurd that the OVHDC has this restriction in their BAR ordinance and it needs to be fixed.
