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City of Falcon Heights Planning Commission ITEM: Request for a variance from Chapter 9-4.01 subd. 4 (c) to permit the construction of a double car garage at a front setback of 23 feet where a 30 foot setback is required at 1596 Northrop Street SUBMITTED BY: Eric Schiffman and Karen Kloser, on behalf of the property owners REVIEWED BY: Phillip Carlson, AICP, City Planning Consultant INTRODUCTORY COMMENTS: (submitted by Carla Asleson) The applicants wish to receive a variance in order to build a double car garage at a front yard setback of 23 feet where 30 feet is required in the zoning code. This is a corner property, located on the southeast corner of Folwell Avenue and Northrop Street. The zoning code states that in the case of a corner lot, the front lot line is defined as the side which has the shortest dimension of public street. This means that, although this property has a Northrop address, it is the Folwell side of the lot that is considered the property's front yard. This case has been referred to Phillip Carlson, the city's planning consultant, for review and recommendation. Mr. Carlson's report is attached and he will be giving the presentation at the planning commission meeting. Because the unusual corner lot configuration of this site, it would be useful if the commissioners could drive by the property during daylight hours. This will help in being able to visualize the different proposed garage configurations as well as the existing front setbacks along Folwell Avenue. COMMENTS FROM NEIGHBORS: (submitted by Carla Asleson) As required, notice of this variance request was sent to the owners of the two properties abutting 1596 Northrop Street. 1588 Northrop Street. Mrs. Wark, one of the owners to the south of the property, called to indicate that she has no objections to the proposed variance, as building the garage on the Folwell side will not impact her property. She also commented that since this is a large corner lot, she felt that the proposed garage wouldn't look "funny" on the property. 2222 Folwell Avenue. Mrs. Menze, one of the property owners to the east of 1596 Northrop, commented that she was not against this property having a double car garage and that she was not against this particular variance. However, she had some concerns about the degree to which the garage is proposed to protrude onto Folwell Avenue, specifically that it might be visually unattractive as compared to others on the street. ATTACHMENTS: 1. Statement of variance request 2. Drawings of existing and proposed improvements (drawn by staff) . 3. Map of the Grove neighborhood and location of the property (note: this map was copied from the Grove neighborhood directory. Staff cannot be sure that it is to scale or that the house locations are perfectly accurate; however, they appear to be close. 4. Mr. Carlson's planning review and recommendation 5. Resolution recommending approval