Snout Houses

[dsjeffries]

Tulsa has witnessed an invasion of Snout Houses in recent years. Sometimes disguised as McMansions, the most prominent feature of Snout Houses is their 2-, 3- or 4-car garages which project violently from the front of the house and toward the street, assaulting passersby with their ominous blank walls. Often, guests of the Snout Housers (the unfortunate occupants of said homes) have gotten lost trying to find the front door or a sign of human activity. What can we do to prevent this problem that has engulfed much of South Tulsa and the suburbs in a blaze of monotonous tract-home glory from spreading its 40-foot-wide garage tentacles further into midtown? Zoning, my friends.

Ft Worth, one of the originators of the Snout House movement, has turned its back on the monster it helped create. Much like Dr. Frankenstein, the City of Fort Worth realized its grave past mistakes and in 2007 set in place a zoning ordinance which limits the distance a garage is allowed to project in front of the main body of a house to a mere eight ( 8 ) feet (Zoning Code 6.507.D).

In this case, cutting off our snouts won't spite our faces - indeed, a snout job may just be what the doctor ordered.

Kidding aside, nothing I've found in the proposed zoning code update addresses this issue. The closest thing I've found is a minimum setback of 20 feet for garages.

If the new zoning code is our blueprint for a better Tulsa, we need to seriously consider eliminating snout houses from our repertoire.


(By the way, Fort Worth, the liberal mecca it is, requires at least 50% of residential walls be masonry, and 100% masonry if that residence is on a minor arterial or wider street.)

[carltonplace]

What happened to front porches?

[dbacksfan 2.0]

What happened to front porches?

They went the way of the dodo bird about 30 years ago. Keep the kids in the back yard and there's no "Stranger Danger".

[Red Arrow]

Tulsa has witnessed an invasion of Snout Houses in recent years. Sometimes disguised as McMansions, the most prominent feature of Snout Houses is their 2-, 3- or 4-car garages which project violently from the front of the house and toward the street, assaulting passersby with their ominous blank walls. Often, guests of the Snout Housers (the unfortunate occupants of said homes) have gotten lost trying to find the front door or a sign of human activity. What can we do to prevent this problem that has engulfed much of South Tulsa and the suburbs in a blaze of monotonous tract-home glory from spreading its 40-foot-wide garage tentacles further into midtown? Zoning, my friends.

Ft Worth, one of the originators of the Snout House movement, has turned its back on the monster it helped create. Much like Dr. Frankenstein, the City of Fort Worth realized its grave past mistakes and in 2007 set in place a zoning ordinance which limits the distance a garage is allowed to project in front of the main body of a house to a mere eight ( 8 ) feet (Zoning Code 6.507.D).

In this case, cutting off our snouts won't spite our faces - indeed, a snout job may just be what the doctor ordered.

Kidding aside, nothing I've found in the proposed zoning code update addresses this issue. The closest thing I've found is a minimum setback of 20 feet for garages.

If the new zoning code is our blueprint for a better Tulsa, we need to seriously consider eliminating snout houses from our repertoire.


(By the way, Fort Worth, the liberal mecca it is, requires at least 50% of residential walls be masonry, and 100% masonry if that residence is on a minor arterial or wider street.)

Forcing home builders to leave enough room for a driveway beside the house would leave access to a garage behind the house.  If you want to reach out and literally touch your neighbor, you should probably have an alley behind your houses for car access.

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.935228,-75.326723,3a,75y,69.5h,90t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sCn0wIKrZYqx8gCfvJXzszw!2e0

We have a requirement for a percentage of masonry around our neighborhood.  Some have "met the requirement" by putting about a foot high brick wall around the perimeter of the house and then putting siding or whatever on all the walls except the front wall. UGLY!

[Red Arrow]

What happened to front porches?

Central air conditioning, home entertainment centers, video games, texting....

[PonderInc]

It's like using a picture of your naked butt as your head shot. Very backwards and strange. I assume this happens in part to save concrete...ie: short driveways are cheaper than long ones. Of course, narrow driveways are also cheaper than wide ones, and alleyways would be even more affordable, bc the city would provide the access, and you could just build your garage where it belongs, in the back!

[saintnicster]

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.935228,-75.326723,3a,75y,69.5h,90t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sCn0wIKrZYqx8gCfvJXzszw!2e0

Highlight the google maps link, then press the button above the editor

That, or just manually type a url tag before and after

Code Select Expand

[url]https://www.google.com/maps/@39.935228,-75.326723,3a,75y,69.5h,90t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sCn0wIKrZYqx8gCfvJXzszw!2e0[/url]

[Red Arrow]

Highlight the google maps link, then press the button above the editor

That, or just manually type a url tag before and after

Code Select Expand

[url]https://www.google.com/maps/@39.935228,-75.326723,3a,75y,69.5h,90t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sCn0wIKrZYqx8gCfvJXzszw!2e0[/url]

Thanks.

I managed to copy the url but it only treated part of it as a url.  The url tag worked.

I fixed my post so the url works now.

[TheArtist]

Living in a house like that would make me feel depressed and lonely. Its isolating enough to travel down a road not seeing another human being but to then enter a neighborhood and then go live behind a garage like that. egads.

[Conan71]

I do not get the attraction.  Those are just awful.

[sgrizzle]

I guess mine is technically a snout house, although the courtyard is flush with the garage.

[heironymouspasparagus]

It's like using a picture of your naked butt as your head shot. Very backwards and strange. I assume this happens in part to save concrete...ie: short driveways are cheaper than long ones. Of course, narrow driveways are also cheaper than wide ones, and alleyways would be even more affordable, bc the city would provide the access, and you could just build your garage where it belongs, in the back!

It's right there with no basements - it's cheaper for the builder.  He can still sell the house for the same $90 per sq ft, but put less into it.

[Red Arrow]

Living in a house like that would make me feel depressed and lonely. Its isolating enough to travel down a road not seeing another human being but to then enter a neighborhood and then go live behind a garage like that. egads.

Our place requires a turn parallel to the street to enter the garage.  Mom and dad would not have bought a house with the garage door facing the street.  They didn't want folks looking in whenever we had the door open.

[carltonplace]

Not a snout

[PonderInc]

If the most prominent feature of the house is the garage, and you need a trained detective to find the front door--congratulations! You have a snout house.  (Snout house motto: "Showing our a$s to the street is just our way of being neighborly!")