"Largely moot." That's how Elliot Liebson, then Webster Groves' director of planning and development, described the city's old front-facing garage rule to the Webster-Kirkwood Times. Over two decades, the city had approved so many variances to the 2006 requirement that the requirement had stopped doing much.
On April 7, 2026, the City Council rewrote the rule. If you're comparing houses in Webster Groves and picture adding an attached garage facing the street, the answer now comes from two things you can check before you make an offer. The first is how many houses on that block already have one. The second is whether the house falls inside one of the city's five local historic districts. Two houses with the same floor plan and the same lot width can get different answers a few streets apart.
The count that now happens on your block
The test counts single-family homes on both sides of the street on the same block. Before April 7, a front-entry garage was allowed only if 40 percent or more of those homes already had one. Outside the historic districts, that number is now 25 percent.
Here's a quick example based on the rule recorded in the April 7 Council minutes. On a block with 20 single-family homes, the old rule needed eight existing front-entry garages before a ninth could be added. The new rule needs five. The city's published text doesn't explain how fractions are rounded, where a block starts and ends, or how unusual properties are counted. The Council did direct staff to track garage applications, so a borderline block is worth confirming with the city before you count on it.
The definition of "garage" also changed. It now includes carports and converted garages. A carport on a neighboring house counts toward the block total, and so does a garage that has been turned into a family room. Adding or enclosing a carport on your own house falls under the same rules as a garage.
The rule bites when a block falls short. At the March 3 public hearing, Bud Bellomo told the Council he wanted a front-facing garage at 118 Summit Avenue to match his house. Under the old rule he was told to turn the doors sideways and move his driveway, and he asked the Council to change the code. When a block doesn't meet the threshold, the fallback is a side- or rear-entry garage, whose doors don't face a street. The city's archived code text also requires an integrated street-facing facade for those garages and keeps the garage portion from sitting closer to the front lot line than the rest of that facade. Planning staff can confirm how that language is applied today.
Five districts kept the old number
The Council kept the 40 percent threshold for single-family homes in the city's local historic districts. The city's historic district map names five:
- Central Webster
- Marshall Place
- Old Webster
- Webster College–Eden Theological Seminary
- Webster Park
| Outside the historic districts | Inside the five historic districts | |
|---|---|---|
| Share of block homes that must already have front-entry garages | 25% | 40% |
| Carports and converted garages count as garages | Yes | Yes |
| ARB size exception for oversized garages | Removed | Removed |
| Additional preservation review | Not typical | Historic Preservation Commission may review in addition to the ARB |
The historic-district exception passed 6 to 1, but the debate shows where the line is weakest. Councilmember Hixson Shepherd pointed out that many historic homes sit in neighborhoods outside the historic districts, and those homes don't get the higher threshold. Councilmember Franklin, the lone no vote, asked why historic districts get special treatment, since their homes are already more expensive to maintain and renovate, and said that seemed out of step with the Council's goal of a more affordable community. Councilmembers Bliss and Hixson Shepherd answered that preservation and the city's mix of neighborhoods have value. They added that if a historic home is torn down, nothing guarantees an affordable home replaces it.
For a buyer, the line on that map matters more than the house's age or style. An older home just outside the line falls under the 25 percent rule. A similar home just inside it needs 40 percent. The city's historic district map is the place to check, and our guide to buying a historic home in Webster Groves covers the other reviews that come with a district address.
Passing the count still leaves a design review
Meeting the threshold only gets a project to the Architectural Review Board. The amended ordinance also sets limits on what the garage can look like:
- Width. On houses with a front elevation at least 44 feet wide, the garage can be no wider than 42 percent of that elevation or 22 feet, whichever is greater. On narrower houses, the cap is 50 percent.
- Projection. The garage can stick out up to six feet past the house. At four feet or more, it needs an architecturally integrated covered porch.
- Side wall. If the garage projects in front of the house or sits back from it, the side wall between the two front-facing walls has to be integrated with the rest of the front elevation.
- Wide doors. Garage doors ten feet or wider need architectural treatment approved by the ARB. On corner lots, the ARB decides which side counts as the main front.
Liebson said the side-wall standard was meant to "prevent a hodgepodge of styles on the main façade of the house and promote architectural character."
The Council also removed an option. The ARB used to be able to approve a front garage over the size limits if 40 percent of the homes on the block also exceeded them. That path is gone, so an oversized garage now needs a variance from the Board of Adjustment. A lower threshold made the garage easier to get, and the new limits made a large garage harder to get. A buyer who wants a three-car front garage on a modest lot has fewer options than before April 7.
What the board has approved since April
ARB minutes from the past six months show how projects move through review.
At 15 Pearl Avenue, the ARB approved an attached front-facing garage addition, a front porch and a rear patio replacement on August 6. The approval came with two conditions: two transom windows, each 4 feet long by 18 inches high, on the west garage wall, and a sunburst detail on the new porch arch. That is the kind of design detail the board asks for.
At 361 Oakwood Avenue, in the Webster Park Historic District, an addition with an attached garage and a new front porch was postponed with recommendations on July 2. The resubmitted plan was approved August 6, with changes to roof drainage and a dormer window. That's about five weeks between meetings for one round of revisions.
At 5 S. Rock Hill Road, the board approved converting an existing carport into an enclosed garage as submitted on June 4. Since carports now fall under the garage definition, this is the type of project that definition covers.
At 21 W. Swon Avenue, in the Central Webster Historic District, the September 10 Board of Adjustment agenda listed variance requests for a detached garage 54 feet 6⅜ inches from the front lot line, 13 feet high and 4 feet from the west side lot line. The October 1 ARB agenda separately listed replacing a detached single-car garage there. No outcome had been posted as of October 4.
The calendar matters for timing. The city's 2026 agenda listings show the ARB usually meeting twice a month and the Board of Adjustment and Historic Preservation Commission about once a month, with occasional cancellations. A project that needs a variance, a district review and an ARB approval can stretch over several months.
A 4–3 rule with a review built in
How the vote went matters to anyone planning a garage a year or two out. The 25 percent amendment and the final bill both passed 4 to 3. Before the vote, the Plan Commission favored keeping the 40 percent rule. The ARB and Historic Preservation Commission opposed lowering it, though they supported the design and size-exception changes. The Sustainability Commission raised concerns about more greenhouse-gas emissions and impervious surface.
Councilmember Bliss argued that the 40 percent rule protects the value of every home on a block, along with street character and green space. She warned that lowering it could put the city's Certified Local Government status, and the preservation grants tied to it, at risk. Mayor Laura Arnold called the amendments a compromise and an opportunity to monitor the effects. She said the Council could reverse or amend the ordinance if it isn't working, and the Council told staff to track garage applications and report back.
As of October 4, 2026, no amendment or reversal has been found, and no garage-tracking report appears in city newsletters through September 25. The agenda for the October 6 Council meeting has no garage item. The rule stands today, but the Council has described it as open to change. If a garage is a big part of why you'd pay a certain price for a house, check the current rule with the city close to when you plan to apply.
Before you make an offer on a house you'd add a garage to
- Walk both sides of the block and count front-entry garages, carports and converted garages among the single-family homes.
- Check the address against the five districts on the city's historic district map.
- Measure the front elevation to see whether the 42 percent or 50 percent width cap applies.
- Call Planning and Development, led by Director John Wagner, to confirm the block count and how borderline numbers are handled.
- Build ARB, Historic Preservation Commission and Board of Adjustment meeting dates into your timeline if any of them apply.
FAQ
Does the 25 percent rule apply to detached garages? The amendment covers attached front-facing garages under Section 53.203. Detached garages, like the one at 21 W. Swon Avenue, go through their own setback and height rules, and those can require a variance.
Can I still get a variance if my block falls short? The Board of Adjustment remains an option when a zoning standard can't be met. A 2019 agenda listed a front-entry garage variance for a block where 28.5 percent of homes had one, under the old 40 percent rule.
Where is the official record? The City's April 17, 2026 newsletter summarizes the four changes, and the April 7 Council minutes record each vote and the debate.
A garage you plan to add should be checked like an inspection item, before you're under contract. If you're looking at a Webster Groves house with a garage in mind, Maureen Q Onder can help you check the block count and the district map against your timeline before you make an offer. Call Maureen for a local market consult, and let's talk about your goals.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
