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In Northome most interior properties (corner lots are different) are accessed from the • alley and the city encourages maintaining the design of .alley access in this area. The zoning code has been revised to accommodate requests for double garages in the rear lots with alley access. The property under consideration is one of six properties in the Northome neighborhood that has a detached garage entirely in its rear yard with driveway access from the street rather than from the alley. There are fourteen attached garages with driveway access from the street. Staff estimates that there are a total of 237 interior lots off of alleys. Again, because of their configuration corner lots often have street rather than alley access. Therefore, this property is uniquely situated because it does not have alley access for its detached garage. By far the majority of properties, especially those with detached garages, already use alley access. Corner lots are not considered here because they usually have access from the street. Proposal's conformance to the intent of the zoning code. The purpose of limiting access to one driveway in residential zones is 1) to protect public safety by having only one driveway entrance onto a street from each lot and, therefore, reduce the number of places traffic can enter and exit the street and 2) to • minimize the amount of area that might be paved for driveways. Mr. Zalk points out that the intent of his proposal is to maximize open space on his property and to minimize paving a large area for garage and parking space. Clearly, the design does maximize open space in the rear yard. The planned additional driveway alley is six feet of pavement. The alternative proposals for double garages that conform to the zoning code and provide easy accessibility to the garage from the front or the rear of the yard would require eliminating more green space and removing the tree in the rear yard. The second driveway access from this property would mean additional vehicle trips down the alley, but it is unlikely these would create an additional safety hazard. Alternatives. There appear to be two alternatives to this request for a variance. 1. Deny the request because there is not a demonstrated hardship nor unique characteristic on this property that justifies approving a variance for more efficient access to the proposed garage. 2. Approve the request for a variance because: a. The property is uniquely situated as one of six properties that has an 3