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Item No: 07C <br />Meeting Date: March 26, 2012 <br />Type of Business: ROLL CALL VOTE <br />Administrator Review: _______ <br />City of Mounds View Staff Report <br /> <br />To: Honorable Mayor & City Council <br />From: Heidi Heller, Planning Associate <br />Item Title/Subject: Second Reading and Adoption of Ordinance 869 about <br />Accessing Parking Areas (ROLL CALL VOTE) <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Discussion: <br />Many properties in Mounds View have narrow driveways and/or more than two vehicles. The <br />City receives many complaints about and constantly finds vehicles parked off the driveway in <br />the grass. After repeated driving over the same grass area, eventually it turns into a dirt patch <br />and is not attractive. Several years ago, the City decided to allow up to 300 square feet of <br />gravel parking areas as a more affordable option for homeowners to expand their driveways or <br />add additional parking in the side or back yard. Most cities have driveway width and setback <br />regulations, even if they do not require a permit for one. The most common side setback <br />requirement is five feet. No cities require more than five feet (other than in a very low density <br />residential district) and only a couple of cities allow less than that. <br /> <br />A driveway can be expanded or a separate parking area can be constructed in the side or back <br />yard, as long as it fits within the dimension and setback requirements. The idea for the separate <br />parking area is to allow the storage of seldom-moved vehicles or trailers to be stored on the <br />property without taking up space on the driveway. One of the problems that City Staff sees is a <br />separate parking area in the backyard that is not connected to the driveway and is being <br />accessed regularly. A particular problem property is located on a corner, and a vehicle is <br />driving over the curb daily to park on a gravel patch in the backyard. Staff recommends adding <br />language to the City Code that would require a hard surface driveway installed up to a parking <br />area if used frequently. <br /> <br />Recommendation: <br />Staff recommends Council approval of Ordinance 869. Action on the ordinance is by a roll call <br />vote of the Council. Staff also recommends the Council consent to the publication of a <br />summary of the ordinance as authorized by City Charter section 3.07. <br /> <br />Sincerely, <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Heidi Heller <br />Planning Associate