As a first step toward controlling controversial teardowns in the village, Hinsdale’s Plan Commission has agreed on a new formula to determine the ratio of the size of a home to its lot.
During a special meeting this week, commission Chairman Jeff Finlay said the new floor area ratio and other proposed changes will be discussed at public hearings that could begin as early as May. A recommendation would then go before the Village Board.
The commission has been discussing the floor-area ratio for months as part of an overall review of village zoning laws governing the practice of demolishing small, older homes in favor of larger, costlier structure.
Under the proposed formula, the maximum house size on Hinsdale’s smallest lots, which are about 6,000 square feet, would be reduced by 100 square feet to 2,800 square feet. The maximum house size on a 28,000 square-foot lot would be 7,920 square feet, down from the current limit of 9,000 square feet. Hinsdale lots run as large as 52,000 square feet.
