03-09-00 Planning Comm. Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

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Canada Road. An access easement is identified on the plan allowing access to the front of the building. The engineer has indicated the need to verify proper access rights to the property. The respite home proposes to make use of both access points. With the exception of the setback issue (discussed below) and the engineer's comments regarding drainage, the site plan has been reasonably well laid out. Parking would appear to be adequate with the two access points for both the upper respite home level and the lower office level. The drainage issue raised by the Engineer will have a significant impact on the site plan, however. The site is small, and the proposal illustrates a nearly full utilization of the property. It is not clear if there is adequate room to accommodate the proposed development and a stormwater pond. This would result in the need to downsize the building on the site to allow for less parking need and more stormwater treatment area. The setback variance issue will also impact the site plan, as discussed below. Variance. Variances are to reviewed against the criteria listed in the zoning ordinance. In summary, the standard is whether special conditions exist which create a hardship in putting the property to a reasonable use under the zoning ordinance. Narrowness of an existing lot of record may constitute such a special condition. However, the question is whether the lot width, combined with the setback regulations, make construction of an allowed use unreasonably difficult. It may be argued that a substantial structure could be built on the property without the need for setback variances. The applicant also argues that adjacent structures in the same zoning district have significantly smaller setbacks, less than two feet in one location. While these are existing conditions, they exist as legal, non-conforming setbacks. The buildings were established prior to the adoption of the current standards, and it is staffs understanding that they were not granted variances for those setbacks. SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATION The land use proposed for the R-B zoned site is appropriate for the district and for the area, as regulated by the zoning ordinance and the Comprehensive Plan. However, the City Engineer has noted that a significant impact to the site plan is likely due to the need to accommodate a stormwater pond on site. Based on the need to develop stormwater calculations for the pond, the resulting reconfiguration of the site plan, staff recommends that the CUP be tabled to allow those changes to be made. With regard to the variance, staff does not recommend approval. The site, although slightly narrower than the minimum R-B lot, could accommodate a reasonable building which meets the setbacks. The applicants apparently developed the current plan using Page 16