Kansas City Porches

I was at a customer’s home this week and they wanted to build a new porch on the back of their Kansas City home. Their house was on a pie shaped lot that became narrower as it went back and came to a point in the very back. When I measured the distance from the corner of the new porch to the rear property line it was only 12 feet from that point. I checked with the city the project was in and they indicated that it was too close and could not be built.

This reminded me of several other projects that were complicated by setbacks and utility easements. A setback is the distance that a completed project must be from your property line. Side setbacks can be anywhere from zero feet in some older sections of town to as much as 15 feet in others. Rear setbacks can be even more diverse. Some cities do not require setbacks for low level decks but can be as much as 30 feet for porches or sunrooms in other cases. In addition, some cities require a percentage of the total lot length not to exceed a certain amount of feet.

These setbacks can also vary within the same city. Some subdivisions require greater setbacks than others.  Villas and town homes generally have different setback requirements than single family homes. In most cases the city planner is the person to check with on regulations regarding your property. There may be a variance process in place where you can get permission to build your porch if the setback is an issue. In most cases a recent survey will be required.