Be sure to read the "Neartown Notebook" article on page 10 of This Week section of today's Chronicle.
This is very important for all of us who would like to preserve both the value and the ambiance of our blocks.
It tells about a proposal by Neartown to enable property owners on a block-by-block basis to apply for adherence to existing lot sizes (50 x 100 in most cases).
As it is, when a developer buys a lot in the middle of a block, he can cut up the lot into as many as three small lots (as many as four on corners) and build out to the property line in some cases.
This, of course, makes it hard to sell the other houses on that block for anything but teardowns--very bad news if you plan to make improvements to your home or even keep it up.

*EMCA* For All of You Trying to Work on Set-Backs--
Be sure to read the "Neartown Notebook" article on page <NUMBER> of This Week section of today's Chronicle.
This is very important for all of us who would like to preserve both the value and the ambiance of our blocks.
It tells about a proposal by Neartown to enable property owners on a block-by-block basis to apply for adherence to existing lot sizes (<NUMBER> x <NUMBER> in most cases).
As it is, when a developer buys a lot in the middle of a block, he can cut up the lot into as many as three small lots (as many as four on corners) and build out to the property line in some cases.
This, of course, makes it hard to sell the other houses on that block for anything but teardowns--very bad news if you plan to make improvements to your home or even keep it up.
article page number apply adherence existing small teardowns bad neartown enable property plan make improvements basis cases developer buys value ambiance lot middle block