[KOMO]
When completed, four new townhomes will grace the land at 1730 NW 60th St. in Ballard. And when completed, they will be so close to Laurette and Leroy Simmons' house next door that the retired couple would be able to reach into one of the townhomes if they both opened their windows.
How the heck does this happen? Blame a recent change in city regulations that allows a developer to build right on the property line.
Drawings filed with the city show that the rowhouse closest to the Simmons' home could be as close as 2.5 feet from them, with the Simmons' gutter 10-12 inches from their neighbors' wall. "I'm a mathematician. So is my husband. There's no angle that we could possibly work out where we could actually get up to fix it," Laurette said.
The Simmons say they're not against urban density, which is certainly a hot topic in Seattle these days, but they just don't understand why you'd build two houses so close together that it makes it impossible to take care of either. Fair enough. Those plans will be going before the design review board soon enough and we're guessing that'll come up.
· What if you could touch your neighbor's house through your bedroom window? [BNE]
· Too close for comfort? 2-3 feet to separate Ballard homes [KOMO]
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