Expert: Bruce E. Johnson - 4/26/2011

Question
I live in Clinton, MD.  I have two lots with an easement running through the middle.  I want to know if this house will accommodate a small 2 bedroom apartment (like an in-law apartment) with kitchen and bathroom for my Son's family.

Answer
Hi Alfreda, the easement may be a problem if you want to build over it or through it.  If it is an utility easement there may be pipes or conduit or cables running through it.  If that is the case then you might not be able to build on the easement itself.  If the easement is a shared easement between the two lots for access then you could probably get a variance from the city to build on it.  I wouldn't call it an apartment though..unless you have the proper zoning for an apartment building you might be better off calling it a mother-in-law suite for permit purposes.  I am not familiar with the zoning laws specific to your particular parcels but some types of multiple housing may require special zoning.

 There are probably set back requirements on these parcels as well, which means that you have to build within an imaginary boundary inside your actual property lines.  In other words if your lot is 50 feet wide and 100 feet long and you have a 25 foot front set back and a five foot side set back the actual area you can build on is only 40 feet wide by fifty feet deep.  All of this information can be had at your local building department or on their website.

If you can round up a plat map or survey of your properties, make a couple copies of it to draw on.  On the survey you will see what the "scale" is, sometimes it is one inch equals fifty feet or one inch equals twenty feet.  You can draw on the copy of the survey and use a ruler as a scale to see how big of a house or addition you can actually fit on the lot.  Remember you can always go up if you don't have enough room on the ground to keep it on one level, a small two story addition can accomplish the same thing as a spread out one story addition.

I hope this information his helpful, please feel free to write again regarding this or other matters, sincerely bruce e johnson..bejohnsonconsulting.com