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Metro zoning variance? Forget about it I StarTribune.com <br />zoning' 9�,r�.. <br />br <br />Cities are struggling to deal with a <br />court ruling that has tied their <br />hands. <br />By NICOLE NORFLEET, Star Tribune <br />Last upd£rte: Septernber 18, 2010 - 9:5:3 PAA <br />Jon Hansen wanted to expand his driveway <br />to make it the width of his New Hope garage. <br />The job would require about $200 and a few <br />feet of concrete. Simple, right? <br />Try something closer to impossible. <br />Because of a recent Minnesota Supreme <br />Court decision that overturned the way cities <br />have interpreted rules for the past 20 years, <br />many homeowners who need a zoning <br />variance for a driveway, deck or other <br />property changes are out of luck. <br />In the past, applicants had a good chance of <br />getting a variance if their project was <br />reasonable. Now, they must prove that their <br />property would have no "reasonable use" <br />without it — a steep challenge. <br />Page 1 of 3 <br />)'Dint }'aur <br />ti itiobile bro %,ser to <br />� � i=ttp:ff{tartribunecam' <br />"Generally, I would have to say that [variance <br />requests] were most always approved," said <br />Curtis Jacobsen, director of community <br />development for New Hope. "Applying the <br />new standard, they would have all been <br />denied." <br />As the impact of the court decision has sunk <br />in at city halls across the state, planners and <br />residents have resigned themselves to wait <br />for legislation that can untie their hands. <br />For Hansen, who has been living in his two- <br />story home on Boone Avenue N. for about 20 <br />years, it would be hard to argue that he can't <br />use his house without a wider driveway. <br />"It pretty much screws up the whole state," <br />Hansen said. "if youre living in your property <br />or you can get in your property, there is no <br />reason for them to give you a variance." <br />When Hansen, 53, first built a three -car <br />garage, he was a single parent and the lone <br />driver in his household. Since then, he has <br />remarried and his family has grown. The <br />steep, tear -drop -shaped driveway is difficult <br />to navigate, he said, and seven drivers now <br />use it. <br />IL. PREMIO dTAumi STEAKHOUSE <br />SUNDAY, WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY <br />S P.M, •- 70 PQM, KE <br />FRIDAY AP11D SATURDAY Y S F .,� A <br />[ " 9xsda-iln�"re00 '.u51nV(t¢kAnut ma.5bm: rFm?mY,% nnystt[1ake.tam.:, <br />Print Powered By '_ <br />http://www.stattribune.com/local/103209639.html?elr=KArksUUUoDEy3LGDiO7aiU 9/27/2010 <br />