Planning Commission - 05/09/2022APPROVED MINUTES
EDEN PRAIRIE PLANNING COMMISSION
MONDAY, MAY 9, 2022 7:00 PM—CITY CENTER
Council Chambers
8080 Mitchell Road
COMMISSION MEMBERS: John Kirk, Frank Sherwood, Andrew Pieper, Ed
Farr, Rachel Markos, Carole Mette, William
Gooding, Robert Taylor, Dan Grote
CITY STAFF: Julie Klima, Community Development Director; Carter
Schulze, Assistant City Engineer; Kristin Harley,
Recording Secretary
I. CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER
Chair Pieper called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE – ROLL CALL
Absent were commission members Mette, Taylor, Kirk and Markos.
III. APPROVAL OF AGENDA
MOTION: Grote moved, seconded by Sherwood to approve the agenda. MOTION
CARRIED 5-0.
IV. MINUTES
MOTION: Farr moved, seconded by Gooding to approve the minutes of April 25, 2022.
MOTION CARRIED 5-0.
V. PUBLIC HEARINGS
A. VARIANCE #2022-01
Location: 6939 Barberry Ln
Request for:
• To permit the construction of an accessory garage within a front yard
setback
Jacob Barker, owner of the property, displayed a PowerPoint and detailed the
application. He displayed the school side of his property showing Peterborg Road
and explained he had two front yards, the property being on the corner lot. An
existing 24-foot by 24-foot garage was on the property. A secondary structure
PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES
May 9, 2022
Page 2
could not be built with the existing and City Code mandated setback. The
proposed layout showed the maximum of the 30-foot by 30-foot footprint. The
13-foot setback would match the existing garage. He displayed a rendering and
explained the garage would match the others in the neighborhood and he also
assured the commission members he would work with an architect to match the
15-foot roofline requirement. He would work with the City to handle the
landscaping and the water runoff. He displayed an elevation view showing a
potential concept of the garage with rock materials and the attached office. A
surveyor would mark all property lines to ensure his garage was properly located.
Farr asked if there was a rear door to the garage, and Baker replied there would
not be. The architect would produce a more accurate blueprint. Both the garage
and the office would not be attached to the deck or the house, making it a
secondary structure similar to what a nearby neighbor had. Farr asked if he had
communicated with his neighbors, and Barker replied he had.
Klima presented the staff report. The application was for a variance for a front
yard setback. City Code required 30 feet, whereas the applicant requested 13 feet.
At the time of construction there was a different requirement, so the 13-foot
setback was a legal nonconforming setback The proposed variance met the three-
part test required by State Statute. The architectural renderings were not under
approval at this hearing; only the variance required action. Other Code
requirements would be reviewed at the time of the building permit application.
Staff recommended approval.
Farr asked if there was a limit on the number of multiple accessory buildings
allowed on a residential lot in Eden Prairie. He also asked if there were any
potential changes to the Zoning Ordinance for accessory structures because more
people are working from home. Klima replied City Code did not have a specific
maximum number of accessory structures but had a maximum 7.5 percent of a
residential lot being occupied by accessory structures (approximately 1730 square
feet in this case). The City allowed home occupations but they had to be carried
out in the primary structure. The applicant would use the office for his own
personal use, but not for his primary occupation.
Sandra Davis, a neighbor to the north of the property, expressed concern that this
900-square foot structure was industrial sized and would obscure her view of the
water as she walked by. She viewed it as almost another house that would be out
of place in the neighborhood.
PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES
May 9, 2022
Page 3
MOTION: Sherwood moved, seconded by Farr to close the public hearing.
Motion carried 5-0.
Farr noted this was a corner lot and there was a variety of front yard frontage in
the neighborhood that offered gaps between homes and sideyards.
MOTION: Grote moved, seconded by Farr approval of Variance #2022-01 based
on the conditions in the staff report dated May 9 2022, and the findings and
conditions of the Final Order 2022-01. Motion carried 5-0.
PLANNERS’ REPORT
MEMBERS’ REPORTS
VI. ADJOURNMENT
MOTION: Grote moved, seconded by Gooding to adjourn. Motion carried 5-0.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:16 p.m.