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Blacktop Paving of MN Variance Request Planning Case No. 539-98 • December 2, 1998 Page 3 3. Special conditions do not result from actions of the applicant: The condition which would warrant the granting of a variance is the direct cause of the applicant. Again, had the contractor or resident applied for the building permit before starting the work, they would have been informed that what they proposed was not allowable. This criterion cannot be met. 4. Granting this variance will not confer onto the applicant a special privilege: Granting of this variance would confer onto the applicant a special privilege not afforded to others in the same district, in that the City Code specifically prohibits driveways from encroaching any closer than one foot to an adjoining property. This criterion cannot be met. 5. The variance requested is the minimum variance which would alleviate the hardship. From staff's perspective, there is no hardship. Given that assessment, this question is not applicable and thus, the criterion can not be met. 6. The granting of this variance would not be materially detrimental to the purposes of this Title or to other property owners in this district. The intent and purpose of the Code with regard to driveway placement is clear. The one-foot minimum setback is a means to protect both property owners involved--the applicant and neighbor, in the event that a survey of the lot were to show the dividing lot line in a different location, such as on the driveway as opposed to next to the driveway. This criterion cannot be met. 7. This variance will not impair the supply of light or air to adjacent properties. increase congestion on public streets, endanger public safety. or substantially diminish property values in the neighborhood. While granting of this variance would not impair the supply of air and light to the adjacent property owners, the impact to property values or public safety may not be as clear. It would not be expected that traffic would increase as a result of the encroaching driveway. This criterion probably can be met. Except fur the last, none of the criteria can be met. According to Section 1125.02, Subdivision 2 of the City Code, a variance may be granted only when all of the seven criteria are met. It is staffs position that there is no hardship, and as such, no variance should be granted. Recommendation: Approve Planning Commission Resolution 563-98, a resolution denying the variance request of Blacktop Paving of Minnesota to permit a zero-foot setback for a driveway and requiring said contractor to remove one-foot's width of pavement, restoring area with sod, weather permitting. James Ericson, Planning Associate N:\DATA\GROUPS\COMDEV\DE VCASES\539-98\VARIANCE.RPT