Questions zoning plan: distance carport-street, knee wall prohibition

Hello,

I just have a mental block regarding two points in our development plan from 1979. Sorry for the quality, the sheets have been in the city archive for quite a long time.

1) We would like to build a carport, which in RLP is permit-free up to 50 m². The development plan says nothing about this, but for "garages" a distance of 5.5 m to the street must be maintained. Without having asked the city yet: Does anyone know if this also applies to carports? Because we would like to place it directly in front of the street. I can imagine that due to the lack of a permit requirement, the area covered by a carport could be considered "in front of the garage."



Furthermore, the development plan only says about garages that they must be built solidly with a flat roof and that basement garages are not allowed.

2) We are allowed to build two full stories with a gable roof and a roof pitch of 25-35°. Unfortunately, there is this thing with the knee wall:



Sorry for the silly question, but despite googling, I just can’t get my head around whether a knee wall and a dwarf wall are the same? The point is that houses with two full stories, a gable roof, and no knee wall look like the Nikolaus house from the outside (try drawing it...). It always has something of 70s social housing. With a planned room height of 2.70 m, a small knee wall would be quite nice to visually lower the roof somewhat and thus bring it closer to the upper floor windows. That just looks more harmonious.

Can anyone enlighten me here whether the phrase "knee walls are not allowed" means that the matter is settled?

Hello, we are also building in RLP and will have 2 carports installed. We have a 3 m distance to the street. The neighbor's carport even only 2.5 m. In our development plan, it also states that a distance of 5 m from the street must be maintained in front of garages. Just call your building authority tomorrow and ask.

Hi,

regarding 1) exemption from approval does not necessarily mean exemption from building regulations. However, the fact that garages as well as carports are set with the distance to the street has the following background: usually one drives in forwards and backs out. And so that when reversing you do not drive straight onto the street like blind, before the B-pillar is out of the gate and the driver can look to see if the street is clear - the distance is sensible.

Regarding 2) if the knee wall is not allowed - then the sole plate is to be placed directly on the top floor ceiling and not first on the masonry (knee wall). That’s how I understand it.

We would actually like to put it right in front by the street

I think that is possible. I would include the carport in the building application anyway. Then you are safe.

Sorry for the stupid question, but despite googling I just can't wrap my head around whether Drempel and Kniestock are the same?

In this case, the same. Words change over time! What goes on inside is nobody’s business.

The point is that houses with two full floors, gable roof and no knee wall look from the outside like the Nikolaus house (try drawing it...). It always has something of ’70s social housing.

I understand what you mean.
However, dozens of houses in southern Germany and Austria are built like this or similarly, and they look anything but ’70s social housing.

Think about whether your negative impression comes from the “2 floors plus gable roof” or rather from the very plain, almost cheap facade design. In my opinion, it is the latter, which leaves a negative impression with almost every house.

Ask the building authority whether it only refers to the attic. Maybe you’ll be lucky.

Another way to make the appearance look more positive for you is a clever facade design with window arrangement, so not just clumsily symmetrical on pure white plaster, but appealing design with combined elements.
and/or
playing a bit with the roof overhang (e.g. visible “pointed” collar beams and then colored wood, e.g. in light gray)

I could imagine that [...] the area covered by a carport could count as "in front of the garage."

The explanation suggests that the vehicle was supposed to be visible in its full length on the street at the moment of exit. Here I could imagine an exemption.

whether knee walls and dwarf walls are the same?

They are actually opposites, but due to regional building culture, many areas know only one of the two forms and the corresponding term for it. The "imported" construction method is then regularly referred to by the same term, although technically it follows the opposite approach. In RLP you have to assume that the term dwarf wall means the knee wall (especially since actual dwarf walls are not regulated by development plans). The regulation is nonsense but is not challenged by administrative courts. In the case of limitations, exemptions regularly have a chance, but not in case of exclusions. Other development plans that also want to exclude knee walls of any designation at least limit them to the constructively unavoidable measure. An absolute exclusion may, in individual cases, be suitable to overturn the regulation, but 43 years after the legal validity was obtained, Don Quixote would probably have to ask Popeye for a can of spinach first. The chances of a development plan amendment depend significantly on the age (given here) and the degree of realization (last building gap or still semi-undeveloped area).

The chances of a change to the development plan depend significantly on the age (given here) and the degree of realization (last building gap or still semi undeveloped area).

There is currently still a house on our property, which will be demolished soon. Interestingly, it seems that at the beginning of the development plan's existence there was some validity gap (so the story goes), which is why NONE of the houses on this street with about 20 houses comply with ANYTHING in the development plan. There are happily mixed hip roofs next to gable roofs with the wrong ridge direction, roof colors don’t match, almost every gable-roof house has various gable windows contrary to the plan, and so on. At the moment, I am still naively imagining that maybe one could also deviate somewhat from the plan because of that. We’ll see. I’ll have to go looking in the next few days to see if there are also houses with knee walls in the area.