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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBoard of Adjustments and Appeals - 04/10/1997 APPROVED MINUTES BOARD OF ADJUSTMENTS AND APPEALS THURSDAY,APRIL 10, 1997 7:30 P.M. CITY CENTER HERITAGE ROOM II 8080 MITCHELL ROAD BOARD OF APPEALS MEMBERS: Chair Kathy Nelson, Cliff Dunham, Delavan Dye, William Ford, Louis Giglio, Matthew Hansen,Michael O'Leary STAFF LIAISON: Zoning Administrator Jean Johnson and City Recorder Barbara Anderson MEMBERS ABSENT: None CALL TO ORDER Chair Nelson called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. ROLL CALL All members were present. • I. SWEARING IN OF MEMBERS A. Reappointments- Kathy Nelson and Cliff Dunham B. New Member-Michael O'Leary Reappointed members Kathy Nelson and Cliff Dunham and New Member Michael O'Leary read and signed the Oath of Office and were installed on the Board of Adjustments and Appeals. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: Foot moved, seconded by Giglio, to approve the Agenda as published. Motion carried 7-0. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF MARCH 13, 1997 MEETING Johnson noted that the draft Minutes had inadvertently been sent in the packet. MOTION: Dye moved, seconded by Dunham,to approve the Minutes of the March 13, 1997 Meeting of the Board of Adjustments and Appeals as drafted.. Motion carried 4-0. Hansen, Giglio and O'Leary abstained. MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF ADJUSTMENTS AND APPEALS April 10, 1997 . Page 2 IV. VARIANCES A Request #97-04 by Mr. and Mrs Warner for 14825 Hillside Drive to construct a garage addition to the front and side of the existing garage. The addition is proposed at a 25 foot front yard setback and a 10.7 foot side setback (Code requires 30 feet and 15 feet respectively.) Carl and Louise Warner, 14825 Hillside Drive, made a presentation regarding their intended modifications to the interior of their house and the construction of the garage addition. Warner stated the house was originally constructed with extremely small rooms which have been almost completely rebuilt over the years. They have a large family and would hike to have the existing garage as living space and add on a new garage addition. They will reside the house when the construction is completed, and plan to add a new concrete driveway. Dunham inquired what the hardship was and Warner responded that they need more living space inside the house and they also need a place to store summer equipment such as their lawn mower and they also have two vehicles which need to be stored inside the garage. They presently have only a single stall garage. Nelson inquired why they simply did not add a family room to the back and continue to use the existing garage and Warner responded that their neighbor had objected, stating the addition would interfere with his view of the pond from his deck. They wanted to put the new garage behind the house, but the neighbor objected to that also for the same reason. Johnson gave the staff report and noted the proponents have requested a 5' variance from the Code. Staff has received some calls on this variance request but no objections. Although, concern was expressed regarding the length of time the construction would be underway. Staff recommended approval, with the conditions that all driveway areas be hard surfaced and the project be completed within a reasonable time frame. Dunham inquired about the other setbacks in the area and Johnson responded that nothing stood out in this neighborhood and there have been other variances granted in this area. Hansen asked about the drainage easements and Warner responded that they would grade the lot to have water drain away from the house. There are no drainage problems existing on the property now. Dunham expressed concern regarding the location of the boat and inquired if the variance were approved,where the boat would be stored on the property. Warner responded that he has not used the boat for seven years and he will probably get rid of it. The Public Hearing was opened. No one present wished to speak. The Public Hearing was closed. Hansen stated that he perceived the hardship to be the single car garage and believed the MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF ADJUSTMENTS AND APPEALS April 10, 1997 Page 3 request was reasonable, and concurred with staff that the driveway areas should be hard surfaced and the project should be completed by this fall. Dunham stated he did not want to see the boat and other things pushed off to some other area of the yard, but overall he supported the variance. Ford stated he was not certain that the hardship was a single car garage. O'Leary commented that since most homes in this area have two car garages he could support the variance request, but he did not want to see the boat stored too close to the side lot line. MOTION:Dye moved, seconded by Dunham,to approve Variance Request#97-04 by Mr. and Mrs. Warner for 14825 Hillside Drive to construct a garage addition to the front and side of the existing garage. The addition is proposed at a 25 foot front yard setback and a 10.7 foot side setback. This approval is subject to the stipulations that all driveway areas be hard surfaced prior to final inspection, and the project be completed by October 1, 1997. Motion carried 6-1. Ford voted No. B. Request#97-05 by Four S. Properties,Inc For approval to use no more than 2% of a 7.2 acre site for outside recreational vehicle storage. (Code does not allow outside storage of equipment, or vehicles over 3/4 ton.) Todd Jones, 601 Lakeshore Parkway, Suite 350, Minnetonka, represented Four S. • Properties, Inc. He reviewed the request and stated the hardship would be offset by the addition of twelve trees along the property line to buffer the site from the adjacent property. This will allow residents to store their recreational vehicles and snowmobiles in a place that is screened from other properties and not in their yards. He showed renderings illustrating the sight lines from the surrounding properties and represented the area concerned,which will not be visible from the adjacent properties. Dunham inquired if Hennepin County was going to acquire property for the widening of County Road 4 and Jones responded that he has received a letter discussing the option of purchasing some right-of-way but he understood that there would be no taking of land for this project. Dye asked if there would be other requests for more expansion in the future, and Jones responded he did not know but believed that this would be an adequate amount of space for the intended use. Giglio was concerned about the height of the recreational vehicles and boats that might be stored on the site and Jones responded that they build covers for boats which limit the height to 13.5 feet. He did not think that height would become an issue. They do not allow junk vehicles to be stored on the property, and he noted there is a large demand for seasonal storage of recreational vehicles. He stated they keep an orderly site. O'Leary inquired what the plans were for the adjacent property and Jones responded they were not sure at this time. • Ford inquired what the hardship was, and Jones responded that site topography prevented building construction and this will allow them to provide a small amount of area for a need of the community residents by allowing them to get boats and recreational MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF ADJUSTMENTS AND APPEALS April 10, 1997 • Page 4 vehicles out of side yards and into a safe area. Johnson reviewed the staff report and noted that staff recommended approval based on the February 24, 1997 Planning Commission Staff Report with the stipulation that a height limit for recreational vehicles be established at not more than approximately 12 feet. The Planning Commission recommended approval and the City Council has held the First Reading of the Rezoning. Staff was concerned about the proponent having control over the RV units on the site,because maneuverability is so tight. Nelson asked if there would be fencing behind the area and Jones responded they intend to construct an opaque wooden fence six feet high. The fence adjacent to Terrey Pine is an eight foot high chain-link fence. The Public Hearing was opened. No one present wished to speak. The Public Hearing was closed. Ford asked about the variance for outside storage and what the history of this type of use was. Johnson responded that there have been some variances granted for small areas to have outside storage in other I-2 Industrial Park areas. O'Leary inquired if the Planning Commission and City Council had any objections, and Johnson responded there were none. Hansen inquired about the rezoning process and Johnson responded that the property was zoned I-2. Hansen inquired about the ponding and drainage on the site and Johnson responded it would be reviewed by the Engineering Department. Hansen stated he was concerned about the layout of the RV parking area and the ease of vehicular movement within this area. Johnson responded that the area may be striped differently to allow more ease of movement for vehicles on the site. Hansen inquired if they could build a building to store the recreational vehicles inside, and Jones responded that was not economically feasible. Discussion ensued regarding County Road 4 improvements and the potential impact on the site. Dye was concerned about the parking configuration and the possible size of the recreational vehicles creating problems with maneuverability. Jones stated that if any trees are lost they will be replaced with the equivalent number of caliper inches. Giglio inquired if they were granting a variance for 2%of the site area or a specific number of vehicles. Johnson responded that since the exact number of vehicles is unknown, the variance is for 2% area with specific reference to the plans submitted. Ford stated he did not support the variance request because no hardship was • demonstrated and they were being asked to approve the variance for a possible non- permitted use. Johnson commented variances of this type have been granted in I-2 based upon outside storage being allowed in the Industrial category under the sub-district of I-General. Nelson expressed concern about the low areas and standing water occurring MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF ADJUSTMENTS AND APPEALS April 10, 1997 Page 5 on the site. Jones commented that this has not been viewed as a problem by the Watershed District or the City Engineering Department and it will drain into the pond. Nelson asked if they had this type of use on other sites and Jones responded they have similar uses but not exactly the same. Nelson inquired if a height restriction would be a problem and Jones responded he was unfamiliar with the height of recreational vehicles but some of them have air conditioning units on top which could project above twelve feet. Dunham commented that only a certain amount of area can be used for vehicle storage and the property immediately adjacent is used to store trucks so his only concern was the one house in the area. Hansen commented he did not see a clear hardship demonstrated with this application. He was concerned about the new trees living through the construction of County Road 4, and Jones noted that if any did not survive,they would be replaced,or if they believed the impact would be too great, they would wait until the construction was completed before the trees were planted. General discussion ensued regarding outside storage in an Industrial zone. Nelson noted that this was not a well- manicured office park, and there was a limit to how much outside storage was permitted in a community. The trees will provide buffering, and there was already outside storage in the immediate vicinity of the subject property. • MOTION: Dunham moved, seconded by Giglio,to approve Variance Request #97-05 by Four S. Properties, Inc. for approval to use no more than 2% of a 7.2 acre site for outside recreational vehicle storage with the hardship being the topography, and the proponents are to construct a six foot high opaque board fence along the south side of the site. The proponents are to limit the vehicle storage area to 2%of the site and the height of the recreational vehicles stored on the property shall not exceed 13.6 feet. Motion carried 5-2. Hansen and Ford voted No. V. ELECTION OF OFFICERS MOTION: Dye moved, Dunham seconded, that Kathy Nelson be nominated to serve another term as Chair. Motion carried 6-0-1. Nelson abstained. MOTION: Giglio moved, Dye seconded,that Cliff Dunham be nominated to serve another term as Vice Chair. Motion carried 6-0-1. Dunham abstained. MOTION: Hansen moved, Foot seconded, that Louis Giglio be nominated to serve as Secretary. Motion carried 6-0-1. Giglio abstained. VI. OLD BUSINESS • Johnson stated that Enterprise Rental was open and they have started renting vehicles. They have applied for a sign permit. VII. NEW BUSINESS MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF ADJUSTMENTS AND APPEALS April 10, 1997 Page 6 Johnson stated that the second extension of the Chapel Hill Academy variance for portable classrooms was coming up and also Radiator West had a request for outdoor storage units and there was also one deck variance which would be on the next agenda. Johnson noted that the Tower Ordinance will be reviewed by the City Council in May, and there will be a variance coming before the Board later on. Nelson reminded the Board of the Appreciation Banquet scheduled for May 14, 1997 and urged all members to attend. VIII. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Dye moved, Giglio seconded, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 7-0. The meeting was adjourned at 9:05 p.m. • •