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LAKE ELMO CITY COUNCIL MINUTES 10-2-84 PAGE 4 Pursuant to published notice, this public hearing was opened at 7:50 p.m. in the council chambers. Mr. Durand was present at this meeting and explained his proposal to construct an accessory structure on the 7.34 acres that he owns and on which he resides. He feels that appearance wise, it would be advantageous to the City if he could store his equipment and working material inside of a building, rather than having it sit outside, and he will need a 1200 square foot building to hold all of this equipment. Also, this building would replace the existing 12' x 12' accessory structure. There were no residents present at this public hearing to speak for or against Mr. Durand's proposal, and the public hearing was closed at 8:00 p.m. Eder asked Mr. Durand what the hardship is which would justify the Council granting this variance. Mr. Durand stated that he does have a commercial strip of property. The proposed structure is the minimum square footage that he can use for his business. His business equipment (scaffolding, planks, tractor, trailers, etc) is now stored outside and would be put inside to clean-up the area. Fraser stated that she did not understand the hardship of the land that would justify this variance. In order to grant a variance, there has to be a hardship that has to do with the land. Dunn stated that considering the fact that we have bad winters in Minnesota, and since we have already granted Mr. Durand commercial use of the land, he does not feel the request is out of line. What is out of line is the City's ordinance with a maximum of 1000 square feet for a storage shed. This is something we may want to look at in the future. The Engineer pointed out that the size of the property is unusually large in a residential zone, and suggested that if the Council is looking for some kind of a hardship, the size of the parcel of land may be taken into consideration. Mazzara stated he has always questioned the 1000 square foot maximum, although there has to be some kind of reasonable restriction on what you do in a residential area. Fraser stated the hardship has not been justified.. The adjoining commercial operation and some storage from that operation tends to decrease the justification. In terms of consistancy with other rulings the Council has made on similar requests, she would not vote in favor of this request. M/S/P Dunn/Mazzara - To approve the variance requested by Donald Durand at 2901 Lake Elmo Avenue to allow a 1200 square foot accessory structure, the hardship being Mr. Durand owns an unusually large parcel of land in a residential zone, and the City has allowed a commercial business operation adjacent to this land. (Motion carried 3-1 <Fraser>)