Agenda Packets - 2006/05/08 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mounds View City Council April 24, 2006 Regular Meeting Page 27 Mr. Amundsen commented that the property owner has used the space for parking once, and it 1 was brought to the building inspector’s attention at that time, and shortly thereafter the vehicle 2 was removed. He stated the intent was to use it as a parking area. 3 4 Councilmember Flaherty asked if one can terrace up to the lot line. Director Ericson stated he 5 would rather not use that term. 6 7 Councilmember Thomas stated the code indicates a terrace is a porch area. 8 9 Councilmember Flaherty stated that the only need for a retaining wall is because of a change in 10 grade. He stated the change in grade precipitated a retaining wall. He asked what a change in 11 grade means and what is in the code for that. 12 13 Director Ericson indicated there is no setback. 14 15 Mayor Marty asked if they needed a grading permit for a change in grade. Director Ericson 16 stated there is a threshold below which a permit is not required, and the Public Works department 17 has that discretion. He stated that when the permit was brought forward last year, Public Works 18 indicated that no grading permit was needed because it was not an area of fill substantial enough 19 to require a grading permit. He noted this is not in writing, but he asked the Public Works 20 department to review it and they indicated it was not a problem, and based on that, the 21 Community Development Department issued a permit for the work to proceed based on the fact 22 that it was a retaining wall with associated fill. 23 24 MOTION/SECOND: THOMAS/FLAHERTY. To extend the meeting past 10:00 p.m. 25 26 Ayes – 5 Nays – 0 Motion carried. 27 28 Mayor Marty wondered if the permit was ever changed when the adjacent property owner first 29 came in and initially applied for a permit for a 23 inch fence. Director Ericson stated it does not 30 really matter if it was changed, as the permit was issued for work to proceed, and whether it 31 shows up as a fence or retaining wall is immaterial. He stated the end product is what the City is 32 looking at. 33 34 Mayor Marty stated that it has been mentioned that if something is not listed in the code, then it 35 is not allowed. He stated that the City has discovered that there are a number of holes in the code 36 to look into and readdress. He stated that unfortunately for the Amundsens, they discovered the 37 holes for the City due to their situation, and because of that, it would probably be grandfathered 38 in because it has not came up in past. He stated this type of work has been done in different parts 39 of the City, but if it is not listed, that is to protect the City from people bringing in different 40 things. 41 42 Director Ericson stated that the City has to look at the intent, and every code needs the clause that 43 states if it is not explicitly permitted, then it is not allowed. He commented there are holes to 44 allow what one would naturally see in any residential district. He stated birdhouses are not listed 45