May 2, 2006 CCP - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Mr. Chuyx'Dillarud Planning Department City of Lake Elmo March 29, 2006 Page 2 ❑ The site surrounding the church and neighborhood is made up of rolling hills, a mature, heavily forested area to the south of the building. The east property line is over 600' — two football fields, from the building's east wall. All other walls of the building ere under the 35' height maximum, again the exception being the, east/southeast wall of the Sanctuary. ❑ To be sensitive to the site, the church chose to place proDra space under the Sanctuary to minimize the footprint of the building. The position of the church on the side of a hill, ga e us the opportunity to open both floors of the church on the south and east sides to the views and day -lighting, allowing a walkout condition from the lower level and windows into the classroc S below the Sanctuary, on the upper floor. This planning and design is favorable to the general use of the lower level_ spaces. ❑ The views of this southeast wall from the neighboring, prop Ised housing development, the adjacent eastern property owner, and the general public is very limited from view due to the nature woods and the distances (see sheets C-1 and 200.2CR). ❑ If forced to comply with the 35' height restriction, one solution would be to maintain the higher grades and retaining walls around to the east/southeast against the building, artificially covering the lower wall and the opportunity for views and day - lighting into the lower level. Another solution would be to construct a mansard -type false roof appendage to the southeast wall that would drop the effective sidewall to 35' above gradGI. Clearly these two options are poorer solutions to the design IIf the building. ❑ The hardship of this variance request, to allow the building sill e wall in this one area of the building to exceed 35', is in fitting the building to the site in good design practice to accommodate classroom space with day -lighting and views. We ask for your consideration and approval of this request Item No. 6: In response, and in clarification of the "District Requirements in PF Zoning District", ordinance regarding "Unoccupied Structure Above the Highest Point of the Roof", out interpretation is as follows: ❑ The building height is governed by the "PrindI2 Structure Height — Ma=um — with Structure", and is established as 50 feet... ❑ In the next category down, unoccupied structure above the highest roof is established at 25'. Our building's highest roof point (Sanctuary) is 49'-4" above grade, suggesting that the highest point of the cross be established at 74'-4" above grad)e. 29 March, 2006 BWBR Architects, Inc 2006-03-28 DMarud V' ance Requestdoc