Agenda Packets - 2004/02/09 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Item No: 9A Meeting Date: February 9, 2004 Type of Business: CB Administrator Review: ____ City of Mounds View Staff Report To: Honorable Mayor and City Council From: Kristin Prososki, Planning Associate Item Title/Subject: Second Reading and Consideration of Ordinance 725, an Ordinance Amending the Zoning Code Establishing an Administrative Variance Approval Process; Special Planning Case SP-120-03 Introduction: The introduction and first reading of Ordinance 725 occurred during a public hearing at the City Council meeting on January 26, 2004. During the public hearing, one citizen requested clarification about the administrative variance approval process. Staff has not received any other citizen comments regarding this proposed amendment. Discussion: The administrative variance approval process was discussed at the December 3 and 17, 2003 Planning Commission Meetings. On January 7, 2004, the Planning Commission adopted Resolution 748-04, a Resolution recommending approval of a City Code amendment regarding administrative variances. (Resolution is attached to Staff Report.) The amendment would allow the Community Development Director to approve a variance request for property zoned R-1 or R-2 if it is a setback request within 25% of code requirements. In addition, the approval cannot create a setback of less than five (5) feet and the request must meet the hardship criteria as stated in the Zoning Code in Section 1125.2, Subdivision 2. If all the conditions are not met, the applicant is not eligible to request an administrative variance and may apply for a formal variance with the Planning Commission. If the Community Development Director chooses to approve the request, the adjacent neighbors will be notified by mail and allowed ten (10) days to respond to the approval. The Planning Commission will be presented with a summary report of all administratively approved variance requests at their regular meeting. If at any point during the process, any of the three reviewing parties (the Community Development Director, the adjacent neighbors and the Planning Commission) disagrees with administrative approval, the request is denied and the applicant has the option of applying for a formal variance. The fee for an administrative variance will be set by the fee schedule. For 2004, the fee for an administrative variance is seventy-five dollars ($75) and an additional one hundred dollars ($100) if a formal variance becomes necessary. Based on comments from the January 26, 2004 City Council meeting, Staff added a stipulation to Ordinance 725 that the Planning Commission would not only be provided with a summary of all administratively approved variances, but each request would be reviewed at their regular meetings.