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Planning Commission - 04/25/2005 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE PLANNING COMMISSION MONDAY,APRIL 25, 2005 7:00 P.M., CITY CENTER Council Chambers 8080 Mitchell Road BOARD MEMBERS: Larry Kacher, John Kirk, Vicki Koenig, Kathy Nelson, Peter Rocheford, Fred Seymour, Ray Stoelting, Jon Stoltz,William Sutherland STAFF MEMBERS: Stu Fox, Manager of Parks and Natural Resources Al Gray, City Engineer Mike Franzen, City Planner Julie Krull, Recording Secretary I. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE—ROLL CALL Chair Stoelting called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Absent: Kacher and Kirk. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION by Nelson, seconded by Koenig, to approve the agenda. Motion carried 7-0. III. MINUTES PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING HELD ON APRIL 11, 2005 Koenig requested two changes to the April 11, 2005, minutes. They are as follows: 1. Page 4,paragraph 6, states "Koenig stated to Franzen that the City is getting a substantial amount of land with the proposal and asked if it would not be advantageous for the City to work with the developer in the project." Koenig would like to change it to say, "advantageous for the City to work with the developer before sewer and water are put in. Eliminate "in the project". 2. Last page under Members Reports. Koenig would like it changed to say, "5,000 people" and not"5,000 members". MOTION by Sutherland, seconded by Seymour, to approve the minutes. Motion carried 5-0. Rocheford and Stoelting abstained. IV. PUBLIC MEETING V. INFORMATIONAL MEETING Planning Commission Minutes April 25, 2005 Page 2 VI. PUBLIC HEARINGS A. VARIANCE#2005-04 This is a petition by Matthew Bryan, located at 16213 Valley View Road, Eden Prairie. The variance request involves a lot size variance request from 22,000 sq. ft., to 18,551 sq. ft., in the R1-22 Zoning District. The second variance request is a front yard setback variance from 30 feet to 15 feet from the R1-22 Zoning District. The third variance request is the accessory structure site coverage variance from .075 to .092 in the R1-22 Zoning District. Matthew Bryan, of 16213 Valley View Road,presented the proposal. Mr. Bryan stated that the reasons for the petition are based solely on the fact that the Valley View Road expansion project decimated his front lot, his driveway and parking, and privacy and trees. He stated that he did try to get the City to buy him out but that request was denied. He stated he also tried to get alternate egress,but that was denied also. He stated that he is trying to add some value to his house and to create a safer egress situation for the property. What he is proposing is that the two car unattached garage would be torn down and he would shift the structure back 25 feet, expanding the overall new structure from 24 ft. by 24 ft.,bringing it to 1520 sq. ft. That would bring it from a two-car garage to a three-car garage with a shop. In addition, he requested replacing the dilapidated shed, which is a 10 ft. by 10 ft. structure and rebuilding it to a 12 ft. by 16 ft. structure. Stoelting asked Franzen to review the staff report. Franzen stated that the acquisition of road right-of-way caused a physical impact for the property. He stated that Mr. Bryan lost parking spaces because he lost the distance between the road and his garage. Franzen stated that looking at the setback and lot size and additional square footage for the garage and shed, the City feels that this is not an unreasonable request. Franzen also pointed out that this variance request would not alter the character of the neighborhood. Stoelting opened up the meeting for public input. There was no input. Nelson stated that it clearly makes sense to move the garage back on this property. She pointed out that the way it is now, it does not look properly placed on the land because of the road. She also stated that he would need the extra parking spaces since they were eliminated with the new road. Nelson said that this request would improve a less than desirable situation for Mr. Bryan. MOTION by Koenig, seconded by Nelson, to close the public hearing. Motion carried 7-0. MOTION by Koenig, seconded by Nelson, to approve the following variances: Lot size variance from 22,000 square feet to 18,551 square feet in the R1-22 Zoning District; Front yard setback variance from 30 feet to 15 feet in the R1-22 Planning Commission Minutes April 25, 2005 Page 3 Zoning District; Accessory structure site coverage variance from .075 to .092 in the R1-22 Zoning District. Motion carried 7-0. B. VARIANCE#2005-05 Petition from Lance and Dawn Stover, located at 16291 Hilltop Road, Eden Prairie. The variance request is for a side yard setback variance from 15 feet to 13 feet in the R1-22 zoning district. Mr. Lance Stover presented the proposal. He stated that he and his wife built the house in 1993 and are now asking for a variance from the west setback from a 15 foot setback to a 13 foot setback. Mr. Stover said that the reason for this setback change is so that he can put an addition of two bedrooms above his garage. He illustrated this proposal by using the overhead projection. He showed the garage space, stating that the encroaching area would be over the garage. He also pointed out that the foundation of the garage would not be changed and that the addition would not affect the character of the house. He stated that when the house was originally built it was placed on a difficult lot; which includes a deep ravine. They tried to put the house in the most reasonable corner and that is where the hardship exists today. Mr. Stover addressed two alternatives that were previously raised by Staff. The first would be to make due with the smaller room. The second would be rather than expanding to the west, to expand to the south. Mr. Stover pointed out two problems with that. The first being if he tries to retain the same slope of the roof, in order to keep with the character of the house, the wall height on the south side of the room would have to be shortened and they would end up with a pitched roof and smaller windows. The other problem would be that they would end up with something that resembles a shed roof, which would break up the continuity in the backside of the house. For those reasons, Mr. Stover felt that it is not unreasonable to ask for the variance for the minimal request of the 2 foot bump-out that would retain the character of the house. He also pointed out that he did meet with all of the adjacent neighbors and they did not have a problem with the proposal. He stated that there is no issue with privacy for windows to the west because it is 68 feet away from the neighbor's garage and there are evergreen trees between the two houses. Stoelting asked Franzen to review the staff report. Franzen stated the variance request is for a small portion of the total length of the side of the house. The addition blends with the existing house. The ravine makes it impossible to expand the house to the east. Fore these reasons the variance request is reasonable. Stoelting opened the meeting up for public input. There was no input. Seymour stated that this request seemed reasonable based on the restrictions of the lot and the bump-out seemed rather small and did still maintain the character of the house. MOTION by Stoltz, seconded by Nelson, to close the public hearing. Motion carried 7-0. Planning Commission Minutes April 25, 2005 Page 4 MOTION by Stoltz, seconded by Nelson, to approve the request of a side yard setback variance from 15 feet to 13 feet in the R1-22 Zoning District. Motion carried 7-0. VII. MEMBERS' REPORTS VIII. CONTINUING BUSINESS IX. NEW BUSINESS X. PLANNERS' REPORTS Franzen stated that there would be three items on the agenda for the May 9, 2005, Planning Commission meeting. They are as follows: 1. Road right-of way variance for Shurgard Storage at 7921 Eden Prairie Road. 2. Code Amendment to add a"showroom"; as a permitted use in the Industrial Districts. 3. Public Hearing at Eagle Ridge at Hennepin Village. XI. ADJOURNMENT MOTION by Nelson, seconded by Sutherland, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 7-0. There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 7:25 p.m.