HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolution 2013-007 Allowing Christ Lutheran Church to Split Lot. CITY OF '
WASHINGTON
WHEREAS, the City of Lake Elmo is a municipal corporation organized and existing
ander the laws of the State of Minnesota; and
WHEREAS, Christ Lutheran Church, 11194 36" Street North (the "Applicant") has
submitted an application to the City of Lake Elmo (the "City") for a variance to split the lot at
3549 Lake Elmo Avenue North into two separate parcels that do not meet the minimum. area and.
lot width requirements of the GB -- General Business zoning district; and
WHEREAS, notice has been published, mailed and posted pursuant to the Lake Elmo
Zoning Ordinance, Section 154.017; and
WHEREAS, the Lake Elmo Planning Commission held a. public hearing on said matter
on January 14, 2013; and
WHEREAS, the Lake Elmo Planning Commissionhas submitted its report and
recommendation to the City Council as part of a Staff Memorandum dated February 5, 2013; and
WHEREAS, the City Council considered said matter at its February 5, 2013 meeting.
NOW, THEREFORE, based on the testimony elicited and information received, the
City Council makes the following:
1) That the procedures for obtaining said Variance are found in the Lake Elmo Zoning
Ordinance, Section 154.017.
2) That all the submission requirements of said Section 154.017 have been met by the
Applicant.
3) That the proposed variance is to split the existing lot at 3549 Lake Elmo Avenue North.
into two separate parcels that do not meet the minimum area and lot width requirements
of the GB — General Business zoning district. The proposed parcels would be 0.42 acres
RESOLUTION 201 3-07
and 0.27 acres in size, which is under the minimum lot size requirement of 1.5 acres. The
proposed parcels would also be 80 and 123.5 feet in length, which is shorter than the
minimum requirement of 150 feet.
4) That the Variance will be located on property legally described as follows: Lots 39 and
40, County Auditor's Plat No. 8, as surveyed and platted and now on file in the Office of
the Registrar of Titles of Washington County, Minnesota, being in the Village of Lake
Elmo, Minnesota. More commonly ki-own as 3549 Lake Elmo Avenue North.
j) That the strict enforcement of Zoning Ordinance would cause practical difficulties and
that the property owner proposes to use the property in a reasonable manner not permitted
by an official control. Specificndirrgs: That the proposed use is reasonable because
the potential buyer of the,forrner Lake Elmo Bank building has stated that they do not
have a needfir all of the parking provided on the site. Between theformer Dank
building and the Christ Lutheran Church facility there is an expected an?ount of
parking that will be using this property that will not change due to a change in
ownership over a portion q f the site.
d) That the plight of the landowner is due to circumstances unique to the property not
created by the landowner. Specific findings: That the applicant's property is unique
due to the large amount of parking that exceeds most other offstreet parking lots
in
the downtown village area of Lake Elmo. The Zoning Ordinance does allow, for
waivers of parking requirements in the GB — General Business District and any future
users would need to request such a waiver under if their parking needs exceeded the
amount available.
7) That the proposed variance will not alter the essential character of the locality in which
the property in question is located. Specific,/indings.- That the proposed lot split will not
change the current use of the site for offices andparking. Any potential impacts
associated with a lack ofparking for the office uses could be mitigated with a shared
parking arrangement that allowed any potential building tenants to use the parking
area outside of peak Church usage periods.
8) That the proposed variance will not impair an adequate supply of light and air to property
adjacent to the property in question or substantially increase the congestion of the public
streets or substantially diminish or impair property values within the neighborhood.
FSpecific,lndingse No impacts above and kvond those considered norinaxlfor aanp other
business use in the surrounding area would be expected should the variance be
granted
Based on the foregoing, the Applicant's application for a Variance is granted, provided the
following conditions are met:
RESOLUTION 2013-07
I. The Applicant shall execute a shared -parking arrangement with the future owners of the
former Lake Elmo Bank Building that will allow any future tenants of this building to use the
parking lot to be retained by the Applicant during time periods when the parking lot is not
used by the Applicant. The agreement shall be drafted to be reciprocal regarding the use of
the parking stalls that will be retained by the future owners of the fon-ner Lake Elmo Bank
Building.
2. The applicant shall provide for a drainage easement across the storm water infiltration area
that collects storm water runoff from both of the parcels to be created by the lot split.
Passed and duly adopted this Sth day of February 2013 by the City Council of the City of Lake
Elmo, Minnesota,
Michael P son, Mayor
ATTEST:
y�
A axe Bell, City Clerk
RESOLUTION 2013-07