Hi All,

Happy Holidays! 

Recently I've purchased a single family in West Haven, CT with a five car garage on the same plot of land. We are looking to convert three of the oversized garages to a multifamily residence. Does anyone here have any experience building in West Haven, CT? Any guidance on the permits, rules, restrications, and approvals needed in order to make this happen would be greatly appreciated! 

Thanks and stay safe! 

JM

So for starters does West Haven allow multiple buildings on a single parcel ? Are there others in the neighborhood that you can reference ? The next thing that comes into play is the square footage for zoning. Do you have enough to put a 2nd house there based on the current zoning regulations ? You could apply for a variance and then possibly a hardship request for wanting the conversion from garage to a multi unit dwelling but if you create the hardship yourself because you don't have enough sq footage then you'll most likely be denied.If youre in the west shore section you might get denied, if youre in downton near Campbell or up by UNH you might have a chance. Best thing to do is go to the building dept and ask questions as to what the requirements are. DO NOT go and just build it all willy nilly just because you want to. There are codes etc and if you dont have a variance or zoning approval they can give you a cease and desist and then youre in a real pickle. - hope this helps.

Hi @Rob Falcigno , 

Thank you for your input and welcome to BiggerPockets! 

It is in the downtown area by UNH. I have spoken to the Planning and Dev. board and they recommended I submit a variance as you have mentioned. The three garages combined are about over 1400 sqft. I'll keep the other two to rent out for parking. Wish me luck! 

If it is zoned commercial you may make more renting it out to a repair shop or body shop. That's up to you though. 

@James McCard - The previous owner was running an auto body/ repair shop out of the garages. However, the property is zoned for multifamily housing. 

Originally posted by @Jonathan Martinez :

@James McCard - The previous owner was running an auto body/ repair shop out of the garages. However, the property is zoned for multifamily housing. 

See that seems to be something to perhaps go after. That is just me though.