Building over alley in the city?

Submitted by kale_cookie_castles t3_yey3u6 in baltimore

Hello Baltimore! I wanted to see if anyone had experience building roof deck access stairs over an alley? I'm in contact with the permits office, but if anyone has done this before, I'd love to hear about the process!

4

Comments

You must log in or register to comment.

jabbadarth t1_iu0mhcq wrote

Don't think it's allowed.

City code says buildings may encroach into public right of way but no more than any surrounding dwellings. So if yours is the outlier then it likely won't fly.

9

kale_cookie_castles OP t1_iu0syu2 wrote

There is another house on our street with a staircase over the alley, and it does look like they submitted permits for the deck construction at least, so in theory it's possible

2

instantcoffee69 t1_iu20bwn wrote

Well if someone calls that into the building department, they are gonna have a real bad day.

4

PleaseBmoreCharming t1_iu0rzba wrote

IF you could do this, and that's a big "IF", you'd have to go through the Board of Municipal Zoning and Appeals since it is not allowed to block a public right-of-way "by right".

3

Mozz2cats t1_iu16y89 wrote

Baltimore was such a Wild West years ago- our alley was completely encroached on by all people on the block until it disappeared. The house behind us burned down and the city enforced the airway easement between our houses - 8 feet. When they rebuilt making their footprint 8 feet shorter. So I think they will say no to your permit.

2

kale_cookie_castles OP t1_iu1bdyk wrote

Oooo interesting and good to know, from looking at the building code a staircase that is at least 8ft off the ground should be allowed to encroach into the right-of-way, but of course permitting in Baltimore is never straightforward 🤷

1

addctd2badideas t1_iu1einf wrote

My old house in Pigtown had a garage that was previously used for parking but a commercial space on the other side of the alley erected metal bars to encompass their parking lot at some point. This effectively narrowed the alley and made the garage useless for parking because the angle wasn't enough for any reasonably sized vehcile to turn into (except for "pregnant roller skate" cars like Fiats, SmartCars or Honda Fits)

So it's probably allowed but you're in for a kafkaesque level of bureaucracy in trying to secure the permits. Ask yourself if it's really worth the headache.

1