03-27-2013 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

MINUTES CITY COUNCIL MARCH 27, 2013 Dave Brausen suggested that a portion of the garage space could be converted to another use, like a closet, thus reducing the garage square feet to under 1,500. The City Planner stated that might be an option, but the Building Official would have to make a determination on the classification of finished space. Jaede again stated that he feels the amount of garage space allowed should be based on lot size. McGraw asked Jaede's timeline for constructing the new garage. Jaede indicated that he hoped to begin building within 3 weeks and noted that he will be doing the work himself. The City Administrator suggested that the issue is whether or not the existing ordinance is reasonable. He suggested that staff could contact surrounding cities to determine what their standards are and give a report to the Council. He noted that the existing ordinance standards were established in the mid- 1990's at the time that a large garage was proposed on a parcel that is larger than this one. At that time the Council struggled with the issue and established the standards maxing out garage space at 1,500 square feet. The Administrator suggested that based on survey results, the Council may or may not be willing to consider a text amendment. Montour stated that he would like to accommodate the applicant's request; however, there are other property owners in the City that might then have similar requests. Montour noted that to approve a Variance would be a violation of the standards that justify a Variance. He suggested that a text amendment would be the more appropriate change. The City Attorney noted that the application date for the CUP and Variance is February 25, 2013. To delay action on these requests for longer than 60 days would require approval of the applicant. Keis asked if the City's standards are in line with other cities'. The City Planner reported that they are either in line or very close. He noted that he is addressing an issue relative accessory building standards in another suburban city, so has recently done some research. The most common standard for garage space appears to be between 1,000 and 1,200 square feet maximum, with 1,500 square feet not being uncommon. There are a few cities that base the garage space allowed on a percentage of property size; however, a standard of that nature is rare. Boss felt the zoning standard should be reviewed, noting the garage space proposed does not look out -of -line for this property. 6