Lower Merion, PA Accessory Structures: Garage Conversions (2026)

Under Article VIII of the Zoning Code, garage location is regulated by § 155-8.4.D, which covers detached garages, attached garages and reconversions. Subsection D(3) specifically addresses building area that was previously used as a private garage: if it still has existing driveway access, the owner may convert that space back into a garage without a variance, but the code bars any change to the existing footprint. That means an owner who earlier converted a garage bay into a den, workshop or home gym cannot enlarge the slab, extend the roofline, or push the walls outward when restoring it to garage use; the footprint on record when the original garage was built is the ceiling.

The same section separately regulates new garages: detached garages must sit within their underlying district's placement rules, while attached residential garages must generally sit on the secondary facade (stepping back at least 20 feet if placed on the primary front facade) and garage doors are capped at 30% of the facade width. A corner or multiple-frontage lot must put an attached garage on the secondary facade. Anyone proposing to exceed the frozen footprint, add a second story to a reconverted garage, or otherwise deviate from these placement standards needs a zoning permit application reviewed by the Building and Planning Department, with a variance from the Zoning Hearing Board required if the project cannot meet the dimensional standard as written.