06-01-2011 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mounds View Planning Commission Regular Meeting 4. Citizens Requests and Comments on Items Not on the Agenda None. 5. Planning Cases June 1, 2011 Page 2 A. Consideration of Variance Requests to allow for one -foot driveway setbacks at 5330 and 5332 Raymond Avenue; Planning Case VR2011-001 Planning Associate Heller explained the applicant, property owner, Michael Kinyon, is requesting variances to permit the new driveways at five of his side-by-side duplexes to have one or three foot setbacks from the north and south property lines. Mr. Kinyon will be adding attached garages to the rest of his duplexes, one on each end of the building, along with new driveways to replace the existing gravel. The lots are all 100 feet wide so only a single car garage will fit, but the owner would like to make the driveways wide enough for two cars to park next to each other. Most of the tenants have more than one vehicle, and with the current narrow driveways, they either park or drive off the driveway, or they have to move cars around when someone is leaving. Since there is no overnight parking on the streets in Mounds View, all vehicles must be in the driveways. Associate Heller stated the east side of Raymond Avenue has 14 side-by-side duplexes on identical 100 foot wide lots which causes issues when owners want to add additional space or more than a one car wide driveway to these properties. The applicant, Mr. Kinyon, owns ten of the duplexes on Raymond Avenue and received variances for reduced driveway setbacks in 1995 and 2008 when he added garages to his other duplexes on the block. Another duplex owner on this block received a reduced setback variance in order to add living space closer than 10 feet to the property line. Due to the lots being rather narrow for side-by-side style duplexes, the applicant is requesting to place the driveways one foot or three feet from the property lines. City Code requires that all driveways be at least five feet from the property line without a variance. The request is being made in conjunction with the street improvement project. This would assure that the proper sized aprons are installed to align with each new driveway. Associate Heller indicated the City was responsible for reviewing the practical difficulty of each request. Staff notified all surrounding properties of the variance request and no input was received. Chair Stevenson expressed concern about the protection of the lift station. He questioned if the lot located at 5374 had enough space for a driveway given its close proximity to the lift station in front of the house. Associate Heller stated this address would have the narrowest driveway and would run within two feet of the lift station. She noted that a guardrail surrounds two sides of the equipment and would offer protection, but that she would ask the Public Works staff if they felt something additional needed to be installed.