Agenda Packets - 1998/12/14 - Laserfiche WebLink

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UNAPPROVE) Mounds View City Council November 23, 1998 Page 3 Associate Ericson gave the staff report as follows: On September 16, 1998, the Planning Commission, acting as the Board of Adjustment and Appeals, denied a variance request by Mr. Tobias to allow for two curb cuts on his lot, one accessing Eastwood Road, the other to access Sherwood Road. The Planning Commission acted to deny the variance request on the basis that there was no discernable hardship associated with the property which would warrant the granting of such a variance. Mr. Tobias was before the City Council exercising his right to have the Planning Commission's ruling of denial appealed to the Mounds View City Council. In April of 1998 Mr. Tobias's request for a building permit to replace his driveways was denied because of Mounds View's existing ordinance that limits a single-family home to only one curb cut. Mr. Tobias agreed to eliminate the Sherwood Road driveway and the City issued him the appropriate building permit. The contractor that Mr. Tobias had hired, ACI Construction Inc., did not follow the construction plan and reconstructed both the Eastwood Road driveway and the Sherwood Road driveway. This was not an intentional act by Mr. Tobias, but an error on the part of the construction company. Staff notified Mr. Tobias that he had two options to bring his property in compliance with City Code: 1. Remove the portion of the driveway going to Sherwood Road; or 2. Apply for a variance Mr. Tobias applied for the variance,which was denied. The Planning Commission determined that the work that Mr. Tobias had contracted for was not repair or maintenance type work but reconstruction; thus, the work required a variance. The Planning Commission also discussed its option to waive the one-curb cut requirement if it is in the best interest of public safety. The Planning Commission determined traffic counts in the area were not sufficient to warrant a hazard to either the property owner or drivers in this area. Ericson reviewed the rationale for the City's Code that does not allow for more than one curb cut for a single-family home. He also stated that no other variance requests with similar conditions had been made since 1979, the implementation date of the Code. It is the City's intent to bring nonconforming properties into conformance at the time that work is being done to the property. Mr. Tobias's problem was discovered when the City was doing its final inspection for the property, which is normal policy. Michael Tobias, 8111 Eastwood Road, said he has been a resident of Mounds View for over ten years. He and his wife have invested a substantial amount of money improving their home, including: New roofing, new bedrooms and bathrooms, and new siding. The final part of the improvement process was to repave the existing driveways. He stated these driveways were