Do porches and garages count toward the minimum house size?

**No.** The minimum means living space, and both authorities say so.

**Your covenant** requires a dwelling to have the stated minimum of **enclosed living space**, exclusive of:

- Porches
- Breezeways
- Carports
- Patios
- Pool areas
- Garages
- Other accessory uses

**Freeman Township** excludes a similar list from its required minimum floor area per dwelling unit:

- Basements
- Utility rooms
- Breezeways
- Porches
- Attached garages
- Accessory buildings

**Basements are the one to notice.** The Township excludes them expressly. So a finished basement does not help you reach the minimum, even though it is enclosed and heated.

**The number you must meet is 720 square feet**, because that is the Township's figure and it is higher than the covenant minimum in eight of the nine subdivisions. So it needs to be 720 square feet of actual living space, before you count any of the excluded areas.

**Why this matters when planning.** A design that looks comfortably over the minimum on a total-square-footage basis can fall under once the garage, porches and basement come out. Work it through on living space alone.

**Confirm with the Township Zoning Administrator** before finalising plans — the building permit depends on it.

*Source: Restrictive Covenants, Article VII; Zoning Ordinance No. 8, Table 1 footnote (c).*