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MO_ A T S i rf Item No: 5A uN� `/ Meeting Date: August 20, 2014 Type of Business: Planning Case City of Mounds View Staff Report To: Mounds View Planning Commission From: Heidi Heller, Planning Associate Item Title/Subject: Public Hearing - Consideration of a Variance for a Reduced Driveway Setback at 7851 Spring Lake Road; Planning Case VR2014-006 Introduction: The applicant, Corbin Hilgeman, is requesting approval of a variance for a reduced driveway setback on his property at 7851 Spring Lake Road. The applicant recently built a detached garage in the backyard and now wants to extend the existing driveway to connect to the new garage. This extended driveway will run past the house and be closer than five feet to the property line so the applicant has requested a reduced driveway setback variance. Discusssion: The applicant will be accessing the new garage in the backyard, so he will be installing a 10 foot wide driveway from the existing driveway around the house to the garage. The existing attached garage/house has about a 10 foot setback so where the new driveway runs next to the house, it would have an 8 -inch setback. The remainder of the driveway will have a 5 -foot setback. The Zoning Code states that the Planning Commission may issue a variance to provide relief to the landowner in those cases where the Code imposes practical difficulties to the property owner in the use of the property owner's land. This is true for all variance requests. State statutes require that the governing body review a set of specified criteria for each application and make its decision in accordance with these criteria. These criteria are set forth in Section 1125.02, Subdivision 2, of the City Code. A variance may be granted only in the event that all of the following circumstances exist: a. The variance is in harmony with the general purposes and intent of these regulations. The zoning code requires minimum driveway setbacks for aesthetics and to provide separation and some sense of privacy between neighbors. Homes are typically placed with the garage side having the least amount of setback, making it difficult to access the rear yards. Older homes rarely have more than a 2 -car garage so it is becoming more common for residents to have second garages in the backyard. b. The variance is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan. The Comprehensive Plan does not specify setback criteria, but it does support improvements to properties.