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MINUTES CITY OF FALCON HEIGHTS • • • REGULAR PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING June 17, 1996 PRESENT ABSENT Wendy Treadwell, Acting Chair Tom Brace Paul Kuettel Betty Wilcox Wayne Groff Alex Hanschen Irene Struck ALSO PRESENT Carla Asleson, Planner Sue Gehrz, Council Liaison Meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Acting Chair Treadwell. REQUEST FOR A VARIANCE OF 11 FEET FROM THE REQUIRED FRONT YARD SETBACK FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF A WHEELCHAIR RAMP AT 1806 PASCAL STREET, CHAPTER 9-2.05 SUBD. 2(A) Planner Asleson reported that Mr. and Mrs. Utne of 1806 Pascal Street were requesting a variance to place a handicapped accessible ramp in their required front yard area at a 19' setback rather than the 30' required by the code. The zoning code also requires a variance whenever a wheelchair ramp is placed in the front yard. The Planner verbally granted a temporary variance to begin construction of the ramp due to several considerations, but primarily because the ramp was necessary for the health, safety and welfare of the applicant, as she would be unable to get out of her house without it. The ramp is temporary in nature in that it is built without footings and can be dismantled if necessary or when the occupants no longer need it. The slope and size of the ramp were designed to accommodate the applicant's medical condition and the provisions of the Uniform Building Code. Asleson stated that the property meets the criteria for granting a variance, specifically that the granting of the variance is necessary for the preservation and enjoyment of substantial property rights and that a hardship could result if the variance were denied. The ramp is necessary for the owners to be able to safely enter and exit the property and to escape the house in the event of a fire or other emergency. The ramp could not be built in the rear of the house due to the smaller size of the rear door and the interior layout of the home. The variance is the minimum needed to alleviate the hardship, since the ramp can't be made smaller or with a steeper slope without sacrificing the safety of the applicant. Kevin Dooley, representative of the applicant, answered questions posed by Commissioner Struck, specifically the rationale for the design of the ramp. The ramp was designed by an accessibility specialist at the State of Minnesota to accommodate this particular property and the physical needs of the applicant. The commission also discussed staff s use of a temporary variance in this situation. Asleson noted that, while not an ideal situation, the case was handled this way to avoid the possibility of an accident or fire happening during the two weeks that it would take for the variance to be processed through the planning commission and city council. Commissioner Treadwell suggested that the contingency clause in the resolution be changed to read: "That the ramp not be converted into any type of alternative use." This