McMansions, like SUV's, just aren't cool anymore. Who wants to vacuum the Taj Mahal, anyway? Yet, someone is buying them, even while the rest of us roll our eyes, shake our heads, and mutter something about "size queens" under our breath.
Colorado has proposed an initiative that would reward homebuilders who reduce the size of their home, and require the builders of McMansions to purchase tax credits.
Shari Shapiro of the most excellent blog Green Building Law writes:
Since the main objections to McMansions are moral and aesthetic--as well as environmental and economic--I think it might be wiser (and more likely to withstand legal challenge) to tie a fee to ameliorate the impact the house will have on the community and the environment. For example, if there will be additional sewage draw, or roads, or fire protection needed, the inidividual homeowner will need to compensate the community.
Shapiro makes an excellent point. Do we have a right to regulate someone's taste? Who is to say what "too big" looks like? And is a large, energy-efficient house worse than a small, inefficient one? Perhaps we should be talking about energy footprints, rather than square footage.
What do you think? Should our freedom to consume be regulated, or does that very notion open a constitutional can of worms?
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McMansion initiative in Colorado
This country has always struggled with regulation versus constitutional rights. I do believe our forefathers intended future generations to be good stewards of the land. Penalties and incentives are useful tricks in the game of government, however they do nothing to actualy change the culture of the people.
So, I'm wondering, how do we as a society change the culture of our citizens from showing off to showing well?
"Go Green" ----------------- Aron Buterbaugh
Mc Mansion
Onee possible way would be to have 'development credits'. Say a town has 1,000 parcels of buildable land left. The average house size that is deemed to be 'reasonable' is based on (say) 2500 SF.
Each parcel owner could build a house of any size BUT would have to have enough credits to build the size they want. Others can sell the credits they don't use.
So I build a home of 750 SF (and that's big for me) I have 1750 credits I can sell at market value. They could be auctioned online through the county/city.
Want to build big? Fine, you buy the credits at marlet rate. Want to build small - make money selling your unused credits. In the end if all properties are developed the maximum area of build out will be 2500000 SF - it's just distributed unevenly - as it would be now. But this way there's a disincentive to building too big, especially as the county nears build out. People selling their unused credits will hold out for more money for their now valuable credits.
Market forces.
freedom to consume is regulated
Regulated by our resources, our social consciousness, our age, our mobility. The conditions and attitudes of the world around us will always impact the choices we make. Many of the inner city grand old houses built by the lumber barons and newspaper tycoons of the past have been converted to offices or cut up into apartments or condos. The same fate may well await the McMansions of today. "Regulation" smacks of devolving into a socialist state. Remember the scene in Dr. Zhivago where Yuri returns to the family home to find his family crammed into one room, with crowds of angry people sharing the rest of the house? I think the mere fact that people of conscience are having these discussions will lead to a groundswell of support for thoughtful solutions.
what is to big?
It has always been a dream of mine to have a large home. A place where my children can play hide & seek indoors on a rainy day. After years of apartment living, I really need space. I know that with advancing technology, there is room for those of us that would like a house that you won't feel claustaphobic in. I am determined to build a home that doesn't negatively impact the environment, invade and destroy the nature around me, and that will let me be independant from the power companies as much as possible.
I am opening a business next to the house that I am going to build. I want to make it energy independant as well and good for the environment. I am not rich so this is taking time. I don't want to feel that people are pointing fingers because I have a small library in my house and a media room. Let people build how they want. Just be helpful and give them the facts and encouragement to do the right thing, to build and live "green".
What is too big?
The *average* American home has increased in size from approx. 1000 SF in the 1950's to over 2500 SF in recent years. Many home these days are 4000 SF and up, whcih seems excessive to me if you have a small family, but then it's not for me to dictate what other people need. One of the major issues today is that most american homes are designed and built by contractors and are not designed by architects. Houses, especially on the west coast, are not designed as long-term homes but as investments to be sold quickly, gain the new owner lots of equity to be cashed out for a bigger home.
Developers are very conservative in their designs - 2 bed/3 bath/familiy room. What about single parents? Divorced? Snowbirds?
It's not that hard to build a smaller home that uses natural light, long sight lines, raised ceilings etc to give a sense of space in a smaller home, while costing less to build, easier to maintain, lower mortgage costs, heating/cooling etc. Sarah Susanka (the Brit architect settled in the US) has written several books on this topic that show beautiful home designs in typically 2500 SF.
One size fits most?
But not all. Some of us have a passion for spacious living, others of us want to have a garden, or a horse and barn, while some of us just want to own lots of pairs of shoes. I think an overall ethic of prudence and thoughtful consumption does not mean doing without one's passions in life. There is no one size fits all, no one true way. The fact that you express your desires so articulately is enough for me--you are thoughtful and consciencious and will save and reduce in many other ways, I'm sure. Enjoy your green media room!