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Editorial: Flexibility needed on variances I StarTribune.com <br />Editorial: Flexibility needed on <br />variances <br />Court ruling gives lawmakers a <br />chance to improve zoning rules. <br />Last update: September 2, 2010 - 6:58 PM <br />"Good fences make good neighbors" remains <br />the classic American land -use dictum, <br />although poet Robert Frost's intent was to <br />advance the opposite view -- that neighbors <br />don't really need walls to separate them <br />because more flexible solutions are possible. <br />Lorie Gildea, Minnesota's chief justice, <br />seemed to be of a similar mind last June. She <br />and the state Supreme Court overturned <br />lower -count rulings and took a hard line <br />against zoning variances, making them <br />almost impossible to get. Yet, in the same <br />ruling, Gildea invited the Legislature to revisit <br />the issue with an eye toward giving cities and <br />towns more leeway in making exceptions to <br />their zoning codes. She went so far as to <br />suggest a New Hampshire case (Simplex vs. <br />Newington) that lawmakers might draw upon <br />to add flexibility to Minnesota law. <br />Until then, the impact of Gildea's ruling has <br />been to pretty much shut down the variance <br />Page 1 of 2 <br />AT-PqL'00l T _� <br />Point <br />:your <br />' �y, 3nolzi�eb7nwsertd. <br />"° � � 7aftp./fstart+iLunecQrn <br />business at city halls across the state. People <br />wanting to build decks that protrude a few <br />extra feet toward a neighbor's yard can <br />forget it, at least for now. A business wanting <br />a sign slightly larger than the law allows is <br />out of luck for the time being. <br />'the court's decision arose fiom the desire of <br />a suburban Twin Cities woman, JoAnne <br />Liebeler, to remodel an old garage by adding <br />studio space above. Her neighbor, Beat <br />Krununenacber, objected. Not only would a t <br />aller garage block his views, he argued, but <br />the existing structure was technically <br />"nonconforming" and, therefore, could not <br />legally be expanded. (Built in the 1940s, years <br />before Minnetonka's zoning code took effect, <br />the garage lacked the proper setback to <br />conform to existing law.) <br />Still, Minnetonka gave Liebeler a variance to <br />allow her addition, and the courts upheld it, <br />applying a standard that had been used since <br />1989: Without the variance, Liebeler would <br />suffer "undue hardship" by being unable to <br />use her garage in a "reasonable manner." <br />But Gildea said the lower courts should have <br />applied a stricter standard. The real legal <br />meaning of "undue hardship" is that without <br />a variance, Liebeler's garage would not have <br />any reasonable use, she said. Thais a <br />1 <br />x k <br />_V ­ <br />IL PREM10trAuAm STEAKHOUSE <br />n ' <br />SUNDAY, WEVttiESDAY, THURSDAY <br />5 ta.n,. 10 P,w Y5+4 LAKE. <br />FRIDAY AND SATURDAY <br />9mtaa•Qa:anti p.a i��s'xse Nd:••.Ve. i� �e . "sun+wr PnySttCldiC@,C9nl.. <br />Print Powered i3y Ee <br />http://www. staitribune.comlopinionleditorialsll 02109084.html?elr=KArksUUUoDEy3LG... 9/27/2010 <br />