Agenda Packets - 2013/07/22 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mounds View City Council May 28, 2013 Regular Meeting Page 6 1 Council Member Hull questioned if Ms. Simkins could apply for a variance to keep the 2 container. Planning Associate Heller did not believe this would be an option. 3 4 Mayor Flaherty inquired if a shed could be built around the cargo container. City Administrator 5 Ericson explained the City does not regulate what residents store inside their accessory 6 structures. 7 8 Mayor Flaherty asked if the City could give Ms. Simkins more time to remove the cargo 9 container. Ms. Simkins stated the problem was that she was currently unemployed and has been to for the last eight months. She commented that it would not be possible for her to remove the 11 container and build an accessory structure in the near future. 12 13 Council Member Meehlhause questioned if the storage container were grandfathered in, if Ms. 14 Simkins would apply for an accessory structure permit. Ms. Simkins stated she would be willing 15 to apply for a permit. 16 17 Council Member Mueller indicated the cargo container did not have an improved surface 18 underneath it and the accessory structure permit could not be approved. She explained it was 19 unfortunate that Ms. Simkins was misled to believe the cargo container was allowed. However, 20 this simply was not and has not ever been the case. She did not believe a cargo container could 21 serve as an accessory structure. 22 23 Ms. Simkins stated she has been living in Mounds View for 28 years and has had her storage 24 container for the past 16 years. She indicated this container has not adversely impacted her 25 neighbors in any way. She requested again that her container be grandfathered in. 26 27 Council Member Gunn explained in the past, double curb cuts were grandfathered in when the 28 Zoning Code was amended. She recommended this same action be taken with the cargo 29 container. 30 31 Mayor Flaherty noted the container has been on this property for the past 16 years and the 32 property has received no complaints from the neighboring properties. He was in favor of 33 strengthening the City's Zoning Code, but supported Ms. Simkins' request to grandfather in her 34 cargo container. He questioned how to proceed with a motion to this effect. City Administrator 35 Ericson stated the Council could proceed giving direction to Staff to revise Subdivision 3. Staff 36 could then speak further with the City Attorney to modify this section of the Ordinance, which 37 would then be reviewed by the Council during the Second Reading. 38 39 Council Member Mueller expressed concern that the cargo container could be leaking lead-based 40 paint into the soil as it was not placed on an improved surface and its country of origin was 41 unknown. 42 43 MOTION/SECOND: Gmm/Hull. To Waive the First Reading and Introduce Ordinance 879, 44 Amending Title 1100 of the Mounds View Zoning Code to Add Regulations for Cargo 45 Containers, revising Subdivision 3 and requiring Ms. Simkins to apply for an accessory structure