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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-16-11CITY OF LAKEVILLE Planning Commission Meeting Minutes JUNE 16, 2011 The June 16, 2011 Planning Commission meeting was called to order by Chair Davis in the City Hall Council Chambers at 6:00 p.m. Flag pledge and roll call of members: Present: Chair Davis Vice Chair Lillehei Commissioner Boerschel Commissioner Drotning Commissioner Grenz Commissioner Maguire Ex- officio Fitzhenry Absent Commissioner Adler Staff Present Daryl Morey, Planning Secretary. Director, and Penny Brevig, Recording ITEM 3. APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES: The June 2, 2011 Planning Commission meeting minutes were approved as presented. The June 2, 2011 Planning Commission Work Session notes were approved as presented. ITEM 4. ANNOUNCEMENTS: Mr. Morey stated that the following items were distributed to the Planning Commission at tonight's meeting: 1. Two additional e -mails regarding Agenda Item 6, Anthony and Ann Schiller, in support of their plans for a deck variance. ITEM 5. KIRT GARRISON Chair Davis opened the public hearing to consider the application of Kirt Garrison for a Conditional Use Permit to allow an expansion of a single family home with a non - conforming setback within the Shoreland Overlay District of Lee Lake, located at 11073 164th Street. The Recording Secretary attested that the legal notice had been duly published in accordance with State Statutes and City Code. Lance Swecker, contractor for Kirt Garrison, presented a brief overview of the project. Planning Commission Meeting June 16, 2011 Page 2 Planning Director Daryl Morey presented the planning report. Mr. Morey stated that the existing house has a non - conforming setback to the OHWL of Lee Lake. He explained that the reason this is a conditional use permit rather than an administrative approval is because it is in the Shoreland Overlay District. He stated that the Zoning Ordinance allows additions and expansions to non - conforming structures in the Shoreland Overlay District subject to the approval of a conditional use permit provided the addition meets all setback requirements. The Zoning Ordinance allows administrative approval of additions and expansions to non- conforming structures in areas other than the Shoreland Overlay District provided the addition meets all setback requirements. Mr. Morey stated that should the Planning Commission recommend approval of the Garrison Conditional Use Permit, Planning Department staff recommends approval subject to the 3 stipulations listed in the June 10, 2011 planning report. Chair Davis opened the hearing to the public for comment. There were no comments from the audience. 11.32 Motion was made and seconded to close the public hearing at 6:07 p.m. Ayes: Boerschel, Lillehei, Davis, Maguire, Grenz, Drotning. Nays: 0 Chair Davis asked for comments from the Planning Commission. Discussion points were: • Commissioner Drotning asked where the front yard setback is measured from. Mr. Morey showed that the front yard setback is based on the portion of the Garrison property that fronts on 164th Street. 11.33 Motion was made and seconded to recommend to City Council approval of the Kirt Garrison Conditional Use Permit to allow an expansion of a single family home with a non - conforming setback within the Shoreland Overlay District of Lee Lake, located at 11073164th Street, subject to the following 3 stipulations, and adoption of the Findings of Fact dated June 16, 2011: 1. The total attached garage area shall not exceed 1,250 square feet. The garage addition shall be constructed in accordance with the plans approved by the City Council. 2. A building permit shall be obtained prior to construction of the garage addition. Planning Commission Meeting June 16, 2011 Page 3 3. The fence attached to the neighbor's accessory building shall be removed to comply with Zoning Ordinance requirements. Ayes: Lillehei, Davis, Maguire, Grenz, Drotning, Boerschel. Nays: 0 ITEM 6. ANTHONY AND ANN SCHILLER Chair Davis opened the public hearing to consider the application of Anthony and Ann Schiller for a variance to allow a reduced rear yard building setback for the construction of a deck onto an existing house, located at 21077 Istria Path. The Recording Secretary attested that the legal notice had been duly published in accordance with State Statutes and City Code. Anthony Schiller presented an overview of their project. Mr. Schiller stated that his house was a spec house and they were not aware of the 30 foot setback requirement until they were denied a building permit for the deck. They assumed that because the house was constructed with sliding glass doors and a ledger for a future deck, that they would be able to construct a deck onto the back of the house. Planning Director Daryl Morey presented the planning report. Mr. Morey stated that staff has reviewed this request at length to see if there were other options to allow the construction of a deck onto the rear of the house without the need for a variance. He indicated that staff, at the recommendation of the City Attorney, is utilizing the new state legislation concerning variances that was passed last month and the amendment that will be incorporated into our Zoning Ordinance shortly in their review of this variance request. Mr. Morey stated that the configuration of the adjoining lots and the shallow depth of the Schiller's lot were two factors that staff examined when reviewing this request. Mr. Morey stated that should the Planning Commission recommend approval of the variance, Planning Department staff recommends approval subject to the 2 stipulations listed in the June 10, 2011 planning report, and adoption of the Findings of Fact dated June 16, 2011. Chair Davis opened the hearing to the public for comment. There were no comments from the audience. 11.34 Motion was made and seconded to close the public hearing at 6:20 p.m. Ayes: Davis, Maguire, Grenz, Drotning, Boerschel, Lillehei. Nays: 0 Planning Commission Meeting June 16, 2011 Page 4 Chair Davis asked for comments from the Planning Commission. Discussion points were: • Commissioner Grenz asked what the front yard setback is for this house. Mr. Morey indicated that it is 30 feet and that the house was constructed at the 30 foot setback which is consistent with the other homes in the neighborhood. • Commissioner Grenz feels that the builder created this problem and the owner of the house should have known what the setback requirement is. • Mr. Morey stated he spoke with the City Attorney regarding the hardship in this case. The City Attorney gave as an example of a self created hardship a property owner that had a larger lot but subdivided off a portion of the lot for sale to a neighbor and then requested a variance for a deck that could not meet the setback requirement to the new (reduced) property line. Mr. Morey stated that the applicant for the variance is the Schillers, not the homebuilder. The Schillers bought this spec home with the deck doors and a deck ledger and reasonably assumed that a deck would be allowed in the future. • Commissioner Grenz stated that the builder should have known better. The builder created this situation. He cannot reconcile this with respect to Variance Review Criteria C listed in the June 10, 2011 planning report. Mr. Morey asked Commissioner Grenz to consider the situation of a house constructed 70 years ago with subsequent owners. Should the current owner be responsible for how the house was built 70 years ago? • Commissioner Drotning stated that this situation is why he is such a strong supporter of the as -built survey requirement. He indicated that with the new variance criteria, this request is considered a reasonable use. Mr. Schiller did not create this problem. • Commissioner Drotning felt that if the City was never going to grant a variance, we should take it out of the Zoning Ordinance. He felt that this is a reasonable use. • Chair Davis agreed. He commented that we approve perhaps one variance a year. If the deck setback issue was caught with the building permit for the new house, the Schilling's would not have to be here today. Chair Davis agreed that we should not penalize this applicant for what the builder did. • Commissioner Borschel asked that when this deck deteriorates, will the owners have to come back to ask for another variance. Mr. Morey stated that they would not as long as the deck was reconstructed not closer than 20 feet from the rear property line. • Commissioner Lillehei commented that the Zoning Ordinance is available for any perspective home buyer to review therefore the applicant should have been aware of the deck setback requirement. Planning Commission Meeting June 16, 2011 Page 5 • Commissioners Maguire and Borschel felt there would be a reasonable assumption that a deck could be built onto this home and that the hardship was not created by the current landowner. • Mr. Morey commented that because this was a spec house, if the Schiller's had walked away from it, another perspective buyer would likely have come forward with a variance because of the assumption that a deck could have been built. He indicated that a variance application would likely have come forward eventually by either a potential homebuyer or the homebuilder. • Commissioner Drotning felt that particularly in a newer subdivision, buyers assume all bases have been covered. He felt that it would be an unrealistic expectation for the buyer to know the setback requirement for a deck. He stated that in this particular instance we missed one with the design of the lots in this subdivision and the shallow depth of this particular lot, which is rare. The variance will correct this mistake. • Commissioner Grenz agreed that the current homeowner had nothing to do with this hardship. He felt that the landowner that built the house created the hardship. The hardship criteria just states landowner, not current landowner. If it stated current landowner he could support the variance request. 11.35 Motion was made and seconded to recommend to City Council approval of the Schiller variance to allow a reduced rear yard building setback for the construction of a deck onto an existing house, located at 21077 Istria Path, subject to the following 2 stipulations, and adoption of the Findings of Fact dated June 16, 2011: 1. The deck shall be constructed in accordance with the site plan approved by the City Council. 2. The setback of the deck or any appurtenance of the deck shall be set back no closer than 20 feet from the rear property line. Ayes: Maguire, Drotning, Boerschel, Lillehei, Davis. Nays: Grenz. Commissioner Grenz felt that this request does not meet Variance Review Criteria C listed in the June 10, 2011 planning report. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 6:41 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Penny Brevig, ecording Secretary 7/7/11 Pl annin g Commission Meeting June 16, 2011 Page 6 ATTEST: Bart Davis,,/ Chatr 7/7/11