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owner re- configure the proposed addition to use the available side yard area and, therefore, require a less substantial variance at the next meeting. For example, adjacent property owners to the north and south of 1775 Asbury constructed additions into their sideyards. Because the property's front and rear setbacks are at 28 feet rather than the required 30 feet, a variance is required to keep the same front and rear setbacks. In Falcon Heights most homes can be added onto with a rear yard addition because the rear yards are often 50 feet deep (not 28 feet), but they cannot be added onto in their sideyard because they fall too on or within a foot or two of the sideyard setback requirement of 5 feet. Recommendation The Wigers did not resubmit new plans for the addition for the March 28, 1994 meeting because they were not prepared to develop one that did not require a substantial rearyard variance with the major addition going onto the side of the structure. At the March 28, 1994 planning commission meeting, the commission recommended denying the variance. The commission recommended denial of the request for a variance because they determined that it did not meet the standards for granting a variance (attachment A). The commission considered that: 1. The property owner must a hardship in order to have a variance granted. 2. Any past variances granted by the city, and any building or site improvements that do not conform to the city's zoning code, do not create a hardship for a property owner requesting a variance, and therefore, are not a reason for granting a variance. Although there are some existing structures which encroach into the rear yard further than the 30 foot rear yard setback along this block with the shallow Tots, the city records do not show that any variances were granted for this purpose. No additions appear to be two stories in height. Two building permits for rear yard additions were found in the files. 3. A property owner's preference for how the interior space is arranged in a home or how the exterior of a home is designed are not identified as a hardship standard for granting a variance. If a variance was the only way to preserve the architectural or historical significance of a structure, this might meet the standards for granting a variance. The proposed addition of a two story attached garage to this two story home will change the exterior appearance and symmetry of the structure. 4. A fence, even a six foot high fence, or a tall hedge, will not eliminate the impact of a two story garage and house within fourteen feet of the neighboring property to the west because the addition will be substantially higher than the fence or landscaping. 5. The variance request does not meet the standards for granting a variance. Additional specific points in the discussion included that: The property is not unusually small in area for Falcon Heights. There